ColonialConnect for Plan Administrators_SM is a secure web site that helps employers save time and money by reviewing their bills and paying them electronically. The service-oriented site also provides around-the-clock access to information, service tools and forms employers need for their employees’ benefits plan. The site features tips to make claims, enrollment, billing and plan administration easier; forms for claims, reinstatement or changes to coverage; and online reports and tools for plan administration.

“Customers are finding tremendous value in the web site, judging from its explosive growth,” said Marianne Adams, director of account services at Colonial. “One reason is this type of service-oriented site for plan administrators is very unusual in the voluntary insurance industry. Other companies may offer similar services only to selected clients or for group products, but Colonial thought it was important to make this kind of service available to all our customers.”

The site was launched in July 2001 and had about 500 members by year-end. Membership doubled to more than 1,000 in the first three months of 2002, then began to mushroom to its current 10,000-plus count, and is still growing.

Services of the web site include:

• Ez Billing — a fully automated bill reconciliation service.
  
• E-Bill — an online view of the account’s bill and e-mail notification when the new bill is posted on the site.
  
• E-Pay — an online payment service.
  
• Electronic enrollment services — for example, data transfer of employee census information needed for benefits enrollments.
  
  

Web site members also can e-mail key home office service areas and access service and human resource information, such as billing administration tips, claims filing, flexible benefits plans, handling an employee’s leave of absence, a special compilation of the CCH HR Web Site, and more.

Ez Billing in particular has been a big hit with customers, according to Adams. “It’s simple, it’s easy and it’s free,” she said. “In fact, it’s as easy as sending an e-mail attachment.”

A customer simply e-mails Colonial an electronic file showing premium deductions for employees’ payroll-deducted supplemental products, Adams explained. The file can be submitted in almost any PC format. There is no need for the group to receive or reconcile a bill. Colonial compares the group’s deduction information to Colonial’s records and informs the plan administrator if there are any discrepancies.

Ez Billing eliminates nearly all of the employer’s billing administration time. The electronic process also reduces errors compared to a manual billing process, improving billing accuracy. Security issues are not a concern because the file is e-mailed directly to the secure ColonialConnect for Plan AdministratorsSM web site. Like the web site, Ez Billing is available to all customers, no matter the size or type of group.

“We want to make working with Colonial as easy as possible for our customers, and this web site is another way we do that,” Adams said.

A demonstration of Ez Billing is available on Colonial’s public web site. Log on to www.coloniallife.com for more information on Colonial’s services and products.

Colonial Supplemental Insurance is the marketing brand of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. Colonial is a market leader in benefits communication, enrollment and customer service while providing supplemental insurance to employees and their families at the worksite. A subsidiary of UnumProvident Corporation, Colonial is based in Columbia, S.C. and operates in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Colonial underwrites a broad line of insurance coverages, including accident, hospital confinement indemnity, disability, life, cancer and critical illness insurance policies. Similar products, if approved, are underwritten in New York by a Colonial affiliate, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company. “Colonial Supplemental Insurance” and “for what happens next” are registered service marks of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. The logo, separately and in combination with “Colonial Supplemental Insurance,” is a service mark of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. All rights reserved.

For more information about Colonial’s products and services or opportunities with the company, call (803) 798-7000 or visit www.coloniallife.com.