High evolved: more insurers are using technology to amplify their brands and to entertain.

The terms "innovative" and "technology" are nearly synonymous, and the insurance industry is recognizing that connection by striving to reach new heights with cutting-edge developments.

But compared to other businesses, insurance companies haven't traveled that far down the innovative technology pathway, according to Chad Hersh, senior analyst with Celent's insurance practice.

"Innovative technologies are used on a smaller scale in insurance than other industries," Hersh said.

Coca-Cola engages consumers on its interactive Web site by allowing them to listen to music, create their own Coca-Cola artwork and collect and trade digital stickers of European and Mexican National football teams. Users logging onto Hersheys.com can record their own karaoke ring tones, and Web surfers at Ford.com can enter a virtual showroom where they can access interactive product information and locate dealers.

"Much of the innovation [in insurance] is done outside of carriers themselves throughbrokers and agents, who are being more innovative in teaching consumers about insurance via blogs, podcasts and other technologies," Hersh said.

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That's not all. Regulatory constraints are limiting insurers' creative abilities, he said.

But that's not stopping some carriers, who are developing and offering everything from interactive Web sites to video games in order to engage consumers, build brand awareness and use digital entertainment to grab a competitive edge.

For Hersh, "consumers are long past ready for creative, interactive technologies because innovations are now a part of their everyday lives."

Added to that is their need to understand the complex topic of insurance, he said. "So it's important for companies to put out anything they can to educate consumers in an innovative, entertaining way."

* Geico: Stone-Age Superstar

Today, more than 60% of Americans have online access, and the Web has become a powerful tool for converging innovation and technology with marketing.

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Increasingly, insurers are doing just that. This year, auto insurer Geico unveiled cavemanscrib.com, an interactive Web site, to expand on its popular "Caveman" TV and print ads. In the ads, Neanderthal characters struggle to deal with the modern world. The campaign's tag line is "So easy a caveman can do it." Geico's parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, is the fourth-largest writer of total auto insurance based on direct premiums written, according to A.M. Best Co. data.

The first version of cavemanscrib invites Web users to enter the caveman's apartment as he prepares for a dinner party. There, users can click and interact with several special feanares, including opening the caveman's magazines and books, seeing what's playing on his iPod, checking out his high-end electronics and selecting the clothes he should wear to the party. In August, an additional version was added featuring the party itself.

"We wanted to respond to the high interest in our commercials in a viral nature," said Phil Ovuka, director of creative media services.

The site originated as a small idea where users could log on and dress the Neanderthals in various outfits, he noted. "But we realized that wasn't enough, and fairly Internet-savvy people would be looking at it," Ovuka said. "We wanted to show this was of the right quality and complexity so that people could get something from it."

Each click on an interactive feature kicks off a new Flash file, Ovuka said. The background was filmed in an actual home, and "we created what we thought would be bones of a cosmopolitan condo.We put in furniture, shot video, got composites in Adobe After Effects and then added more effects," he said.

The site helps users connect with the company in a new way, said Ovuka. "We want to give the audience more than they can get in a 30-second spot, and it's a way to fill in the gap between releases of new ad spots."

As of June, there were more than 44 million hits on cavemanscrib.com, he said.

* State Farm: Online 'Vroooms' Up

State Farm also is bringing innovation to the Web.

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Last year, the company became the first property/casualty insurer to be a sponsor of a major film promotion with the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. State Farm created an interactive micrositc on Disney Online which allowed Web users to engage in activities about the movie and learn about auto insurance. Interactive features allowed consumers to design their own "Cars," create songs with various car sounds, play online games, get an auto insurance quote and locate a local State Farm agent--all in an "entertaining and nonthreatening way," said Tim Van Hoof, director of advertising.

"The Disney brand is powerful and stands for many of the same things as the State Farm brand," he said. "It was a great opportunity to bring the two together around a movie about cars--something near and dear to our hearts."

Also, the partnership was part of a larger move by companies to ramp up marketing in a more entertaining way, Van Hoof added.

Not only did the innovation increase brand awareness and boost agent and employee excitement, but State Farm also said results showed that during the Cars celebration, the 300,000 vehicles added by the company during the second quarter outpaced the rest of the industry and outpaced results from any quarter in 2005 and 2006. State Farm is the largest U.S. writer of total auto insurance based on direct premiums written, according to A.M. Best Co. data.

* Nationwide Financial: Putting an 'E' in e-Retirement

"People now are looking for experiences like YouTube and MySpace," said Keith Millner, senior vice president of Nationwide Financial's In-Retirement business unit. "It's not just about information anymore. It's also about information being delivered in an entertaining way."

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Nationwide wanted to combine entertainment with retirement planning, and in 2006 it launched its RetirAbility Check tool to study online users' retirement preparedness.

"Consumers were dissatisfied with current online retirement calculators and Web sites. They want the three F's--fast, fun and free," said Millner. "Often, they're interested in learning more, but when they begin inputting numbers it becomes complex, time-consuming and requires much information. We wanted to make the experience fast, smart and entertaining to get people engaged so they would stay involved until they reach the end of the technology tool."

On the tool, crafted by Web designer Brulant, online guides, similar in age and gender to the user, offer tips, prompt users through a series of questions and interact in surprising and sometimes comical ways. RetirAbility Check then generates an R-score, which is a single number similar to a credit score, that measures retirement readiness.

More than 800 different scenarios were filmed to develop a library of actors' dialogues that correspond to different scenarios, said Millner.

"We then had to integrate that within the confines of additional Web links and answers to questions," he said. Consumers enter customized information, so "it's not a generic tool. Someone age 65 gets different answers than a 30-year-old. Much customization had to be built behind the scenes." Data is generated by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research.

Consumers also can compare their R-scores nationally to others within the same sociodemographics, he added.

As of midsummer, more than 446,000 hits were received on RetirAbility's landing page and nearly 83,000 R-scores were generated, Millner said.

"The biggest impact has been accessibility," he said. "Someone can log on at their leisure and access things that before they would have ventured to the library to find or asked an expert. Accessibility through technology, primarily the Web, has driven the level of knowledge and awareness consumers have about many topics, particularly financial services."

Nationwide Life Group is the 15th-largest U.S. life writer based on admitted assets, according to A.M. Best Co. data.

Getting a Busy Signal

Will cell phones and their heavily used feature--text messaging--become the newest way for carriers to reach out to consumers?

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Not likely, said Chad Hersh, senior analyst with Celent's insurance practice. "That's now limited to Europe, where it's viewed as an acceptable way of marketing," he said. "In the United States, it's still viewed as a tremendous intrusion, and many people pay for each text message they receive."

State Farm is treading lightly in this area, noted Tim Van Hoof, director of advertising for State Farm. "Consumers have mixed signals about cell-phone marketing," he said. "They want it if it's at the right time. If we can determine someone in the market is moving or purchasing a car, there may be an opportunity to connect with them in a nonintrusive way. People are becoming more open to that in cell phones, PDAs and e-mails. At the end of the day, we want to provide information and value, not annoyance."

It's important to be sensitive, not invasive, Van Hoof said. "We want to invite people into an interaction with us and then ask their permission. Once they do, we begin to leverage more of the technology the moment we're invited in," he said.

"We need to be more efficient with each technology as they come along, without alienating the customer," he said. "It's a competitive world and we don't want to miss an opportunity to jump on something before someone else does."

* Safeco: Space-Age Teen Safety

Fifteen years ago, the creation of a network of global positioning satellites took navigation to a new level.

Safeco Insurance is expanding on GPS with its Teensurance program, launched in June, to help parents monitor teen drivers. "Traditionally, parents felt adding teen drivers to policies meant increased rates," said Jim Havens, vice president of customer solutions. "But insurance wasn't their main concern. Rather, parents want peace of mind and assurance that their teens are safe on the road."

Teensurance's SafetyBeacon feature is a GPS device about the size of a deck of cards that fits out-of-sight under the dashboard. The device tracks teen drivers' locales and sends event notifications to parents via e-mail, voice mail or text messages. For instance, the system can notify parents if a teen exceeds the speed limit or drives during nondesignated times.

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Other features include an online Teen Dash assessment tool that surveys teens' concerns and presents opportunities for them to talk with parents about driving, and a Roadside Assistance program that follows teens--not their cars--if they become stranded, he said.

"Technology is exploding," said Havens. "Life events are largely managed by hope and worry, and this technology allows parents to have a better chance of parenting in some situations. Statistics are designed to scare parents and teens, but no one has stepped up to the plate until now to address the 'so what' of teen driving and see what do we do about it." Safeco is the 13th-largest U.S. writer of total auto based on direct premiums written, according to A.M. Best Co. data.

* Cigna: High Scores, Better Outcomes

Cigna, too, is putting a new spin on innovative technology.

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In 2006, the health plan partnered with nonprofit HopeLab to offer ReMission, the first PC-based video game for teens with cancer. The game's mission: to help Roxxi, a 3-D "shooter" nanobot injected into a patient's bloodstream, battle cancer cells, bacteria and other enemies using tools and "friendly" characters such as white blood cells and power-ups with antibiotics. Gamers advance through 20 levels on a journey through the body of young patients with different kinds of cancer.

In a recent clinical trial of 375 teenage cancer patients, HopeLab found that 80% of teens playing Re-Mission had significant improvement in cancer-related knowledge, said Dr. Christina Stasiuk, senior medical director for medical management for Cigna HealthCare. Also, the teens had significantly higher cancer medication adherence. blood levels, self-esteem, partnerships with doctors in treatment plans and reporting issues, antibiotic levels in the blood, and quality of life, she added.

Cigna is distributing the game free of charge to pediatric oncologists, pediatricians, and teens and young people with cancer. The game, available in English, French and Spanish, is rated "T" (for Teen) and is targeted to 13- to 29-year-olds. "Communication is generational-having moved from print to radio to TV, and now there's the interactive generation.This game targets teens with information they can understand in a format they can relate to and do on their own," Stasiuk said.

Key Points

* Entertainment through innovative technologies is helping reach, amuse and engage consumers.

* Insurers are creating interactive Web sites, computer games, navigation systems and other technologies.

* The industry as a whole has been slower than others to embrace creative technologies to reach audiences.

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Learn More

Cigna HealthCare A.M. Best Company # 68124 (Cigna Insurance Group) Distribution: Agents and brokers

Geico General Insurance Co. A.M. Best Company # 01852 Distribution: Direct

Nationwide Life Group A.M. Best Company # 70350 Distribution: Independent broker/dealers, wirehouses and other regional financial firms, financial institutions, financial planners, NLICA agents and Nationwide's property/casualty agents

Safeco insurance Cos. A.M. Best Company # 00078 Distribution: Independent agents

State Farm Group A.M. Best Company # 00088 Distribution: Exclusive agencies

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