Posted 1/13/10 by BT            

As many of you are now aware there was a very serious earthquake in Haiti.  There are several of you who have clients currently in Haiti. Below is a list of resources you may offer to your clients and their family members if you are contacted.  These resources should be able to provide them needed assistance:

For a Client in an Earthquake Area: 

Refer them to FEMA’s web page about “What to do After an Earthquake”  The most important things are to listen to the radio and to only place phone calls in the event of an emergency, since call volumes are very high during these times.

For Family Members: 

The U.S. State Department Operations Center is advising Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti to call 1-888-407-4747. Due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording. “Our embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American citizens through our Warden Network,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement. “Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time.”  

You can also follow the U.S. State Department’s latest Tweets for up-to-date information: http://twitter.com/dipnote

For Anyone Needing to Contact the HCCMIS World Service Center for Support: 

Call: 800-605-2282 in the US, or collect outside the US at 317-262-2132.  HCCMIS coordinates evacuations via these phone numbers and arranges for medically necessary evacuations through various service providers in several regions around the world.

Chat: If our phone lines are busy, Customer Service is also available online via Live Chat.

Email: If you need assistance but it is not an emergency, please connect with us via email at service@hccmis.com to ensure our phone lines are available for those with emergencies.

Twitter: We will be closely monitoring our Customer Service Twitter account, @HCCMIS_Support, and sending out updates and news as the situation develops.  Please contact us via Twitter with any questions as well.

By JM 12/8/09

We at HCCMIS believe that customers are people first and are constantly looking for ways in which we can connect on a more personal level with both our current customers and those interested in our services. In order to achieve this “personal touch,” we have taken the road formerly less traveled by companies in our industry.

In a recent article in the Houston Business Journal titled, “Old-line companies turn to social media for marketing,” HCC Medical Insurance Services (HCCMIS) is noted for engaging our clients in a more contemporary method – through the use of social media.

HCCMIS is currently active on Twitter, Facebook, FastPitch, Linkedin, and our blog. We are also working towards becoming more active on You Tube and Wikipedia.

Rather than just pushing you, the consumer, to “buy, buy, buy” through our social media accounts, we’ve opted to use them as a tools to update you on news and fun facts in both the travel and health sectors. We feel that engaging and following up with our “fans” and followers allows us to get in touch with what you want and need first, then work on finding the most appropriate policy to match those needs.

We’re also using social media as a way to connect with you on a service level. If any questions or issues arise, we want you to feel comfortable talking to us about it. Some people feel more at ease doing this in the world of social media, so we are doing our best to comply with that.

We hope that our efforts in spending more time conversing with you through these methods will both enhance your experience with HCCMIS and allow us to focus on assisting you with your true needs.