Insurers have been reaching out to such firms and offices to make sure they too are compliant. Travelers Property Casualty Corp., for instance, has been working with its software vendors, including Microsoft, IBM, and Lucent. From now until the end of this year, Aetna will monitor and shore up the Y2K work it has done during the past two years. It will prepare for the transition to the year 2000, making sure its systems are properly backed up in case of problems. Though he doesn't expect Y2K glitches to be widespread among insurers, Sheffield acknowledges that some customers could see some delays in claim processing, policies being issued or billing.
Insurers say they have extensive contingency plans.
Travelers spokesman Keith Anderson said that, even in storms, if a power outage affects one claims center, phone calls are automatically rerouted to another center. In the event of a Hartford power outage, Travelers has offices downtown, supplied with emergency generating equipment, where 50 key people can work. All rights reserved.