Data security

Brussels – Under a new measure that may be proposed as early as July 10, insurers within the European Union that conduct business across various borders may be supervised by regulators representing larger groups. EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy is expected to propose Solvency II, a law designed to help regulate how insurers set aside money to cover risk and provide increased policyholder protection while creating a more competitive insurance marketplace. But Peter Skinner, who is expected to steer the measure through parliamentary channels, said lawmakers were already considering a "plan B" if no deal is reached on the supervisory aspects of Solvency II. Conflicting news reports state that the Solvency II deadline may be moved to 2010. Currently, multinationals such as Allianz, Generali, Aviva and Axa, account for 85% of total premiums in Europe, and represent 14 of the bloc's 27 member countries. The fear, say analysts, is that if a new measure is passed, national watchdogs could be given a limited role as supervisors in London, Frankfurt and Paris, home to many of the big groups, take charge. Lawmakers say that the assembly and EU states have joint say on Solvency II. A 28th regime would likely be a voluntary scheme outside existing legislation in the 27 EU member states. Skinner reportedly wants home regulators to be responsible for approving an insurer, with local watchdogs keeping a day-to-day eye on how much capital groups have locally to cover domestic risk. Sources: Reuters, The Insurance Insider

BANKS SHOULD SET SIGHTS ON RELATIONSTo entice customers to buy more financial products and services, financial services companies need to focus on improving their relationship strategies, according to Gartner Inc., a research firm headquartered in Stamford, Conn.

ISTREAM TO INCLUDE NEW FUNCTIONALITYWhitehill Technologies Inc., Moncton, New Brunswick, announced new functionality in the IStream document automation suite, including IStream Publisher and IStream Document Manager. The IStream suite is designed to enable business users to create 'model documents' that control the language, layout and look of complex files, such as policies and contracts. IStream can be used to create and control virtually any kind of insurance document, from contracts to welcome kits to group booklets. New functionality includes add-ins for Microsoft Word and Adobe Reader, letting users create complex documents in a familiar, easy-to-use, interactive environment. As data or standard wordings change, users can automatically update their documents to reflect those changes. Leveraging industry-standard applications gives insurers the power to create and update documents easily as part of their normal processes.

Insurance carriers need product development flexibility and "speed to market" to maintain competitive advantage. To help accomplish those goals, INN asked Doug Roller, CEO of Bolivar, Mo.-headquartered Duck Creek Technologies Inc., to describe his "product in a day" concept.INN: How would you define "product in a day?"

The founders of Boston-based Homesite Insurance Group came together nearly a decade ago to create a progressive homeowners insurance company. In the quest to make their dream real, they got some help from software that links risk to geography.Today, Homesite sells in 43 states, and its underwriters evaluate the risk associated with each potential policyholder's address, says one of the founders, Manuel Rios, who now serves as Homesite vice president and chief underwriter. They do it with GeoStan geocoding technology from Group 1 Software Inc., a Pitney Bowes Co. in Lanham, Md.

XL GLOBAL TO USE INTERCEPT TO MANAGE PROCESSESStamford, Conn.-based XL Global Services Inc., a part of the XL Capital Ltd. group of companies, will use Intercept Studio, a flagship product from Baltimore-based AVIcode, to manage business processes worldwide.

Converting a book of business to a new system can be viewed by some as the riskiest part of a new system implementation. However, with proper time and resources, conversions need not be feared. They are all part of the system migration, which is to enable the company to improve its ROI and competitiveness. Each company needs to assess the cost, time and benefits, and if sufficient resources and time are allocated, success is manageable.In single-phase conversions, all data is converted at one time with two options. Sufficient history levels (number of years) are converted that enables the discontinuance of the existing system. And the latest versions of data are converted to allow the new system to be used for all future transactions. The existing system is retained for a period of time for inquiry purposes into past transactions.

Dublin, Ireland - The lack of a structured prioritization model for allocating risk and fraud budget resources is hindering many financial institutions in their fraud mitigation efforts, according to Research and Markets, which has announced the addition of new Javelin Strategy report "Risk & Fraud Budgeting Model: Prioritizing the 2008 Budget for Effective Fraud Mitigation" to their offering.

Washington, D.C. - The Department of Justice and FBI announced the results of an ongoing cyber crime initiative called "Operation Bot Roast," which has identified more than one million victim computer IP addresses.

U.S. CONSUMERS WANT CONTROL OF E-HEALTH RECORDSAmericans show a strong interest in controlling their own electronic medical records, according to a national survey released at a health IT conference.

ARCOT SYSTEMS AND ADOBE WORK ON DIGITAL SIGNINGSunnyvale, Calif.-based Arcot Systems Inc. has collaborated with San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. to create a new option for digital signing in Adobe Acrobat software and Adobe Reader software using "Roaming Digital IDs."

PURE CHOOSES ONESHIELD FOR POLICY ADMIN SYSTEMPrivilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), a startup with headquarters in Plantation, Fla., has selected software from Westborough, Mass.-based OneShield Inc. to support administration of new insurance products. PURE deployed OneShield's Dragon platform to manage the end-to-end policy administration of PURE High Net Worth Insurance personal lines product offerings.

New York - In an effort to involve its members in government affairs and lobbying initiatives, the New York-based Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. (RIMS) launched the RIMS Legislative Action Center on its Web site at www.RIMS.org/LegislativeAction."RIMS has made it easy for risk professionals to become more active in government affairs," says Terry Fleming, member of RIMS Board of Directors and director of the division of risk management for Montgomery County, Md. "RIMS is recognized in government as the voice of risk management, but we need members to become more supportive. RIMS Legislative Action Center will provide the risk management industry with the tools necessary to reach out to members of Congress and make their voice heard."

Washington - Life insurance costs could be reduced by billions of dollars annually under an optional federal chartering system, according to a new study, comprised of research from Steven Pottier, associate professor of insurance at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. - The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a provider of vendor-neutral certifications for technology professionals, announced that five more companies in the printing and document imaging business are supporting development of a professional certification for the industry’s technicians.

Johnston, R.I. - Financial executives at the world's largest companies expect the severity of their most prevalent business risks to remain constant or intensify through 2009, according to the "Managing Business Risk Through 2009 and Beyond" study commissioned by commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global, Johnston, R.I. Executives identified the top three biggest threats to their organizations' revenue as competition, followed closely by supply chain disruption and property-related risks. The study also reveals a range of emerging risks that, while not among their primary concerns today, executives say could pose challenges in the years ahead. The study findings include the perspectives of more than 500 financial executives in North America and Europe-including CFOs and treasurers-who work for companies with at least US$500 million or more in annual revenue. Among the key findings:-- Of financial executives in the study, 62% expect risk from competition to increase through 2009, while only 4% expect it to decrease. -- Nearly one-quarter of financial executives expect supply chain risk to increase through 2009, while only 8% expect it to decrease. -- The top five emerging threats for corporations include changes in competition, government and regulatory developments, pricing volatility, variable client demand and political threats. --In the years ahead, finding enough time, money and people will be the biggest challenge to implementing a strong risk management program, said 56% of financial executives. -- More than one-third of financial executives expect a significant challenge in getting senior management to make risk management a top priority. -- Attitudes about managing business risk vary significantly among financial executives in France, Germany, North America and the United Kingdom. Consequences of Risk "This year's study results are a forceful reminder that managing business risk is a continuous, dynamic process, and not something a company can afford to be complacent about," said Ruud Bosman, executive vice president at FM Global. "Successful organizations proactively identify and address the threats they face today, while never losing sight of emerging risk on the horizon." More than one-half of the financial executives warn that a disruption to their top revenue driver can mean a loss of competitiveness, which can translate into both a loss of market share and reduction in their company's valuation. Additionally, almost one-quarter of executives report such a disruption could result in employee layoffs and/or an adverse impact on the local economy. Other top potential consequences executives cite include having to exit a line of business, undergo leadership changes, witness their company's credit rating downgraded, or face regulatory scrutiny or legal action. "As the financial executives interviewed for this study warn, the price of a major business disruption can far outweigh the cost of effective risk management," says Bosman. "Organizations that may be tempted to shortchange their risk management efforts face potential consequences ranging from the severe-a loss of competitiveness-to the catastrophic-having to cease operations altogether." Differing Country Views While financial executives in Europe and North America share many of the same concerns about the state of business risk, the study reveals a number of significant differences between the attitudes of executives based in the United Kingdom, and those of senior management in France, Germany, and the United States and Canada. For example: -- A higher percentage of North America-based financial executives are concerned about risks related to supply chain and property than their counterparts in Europe, who tend to focus more on risk related to competition. -- On average, 59% of financial executives say a loss of competitiveness is the most serious consequence of risk affecting their top revenue driver; however, only 37% of financial executives in France feel the same way. -- While nearly two-thirds of executives in the United Kingdom and North America cite downside risk as posing the most prevalent threat to their revenue, the same applies to only 45% of Germany respondents. -- U.K.-based financial executives routinely express more pessimism than their counterparts elsewhere: Of U.K. executives polled, 62% worry about a loss of competitiveness compared with 51% of all other respondents. -- Of U.K.-based respondents, 24% say a disruption can lead to exiting a line of business or ceasing operations all together, and 21% say it can lead to leadership changes. By contrast, only 10% of all financial executives worry about exiting a line of business or ceasing operations as a result of a major business disruption, and only 8% worry about leadership changes. The study is available online at http://www.protectingvalue.com. Sources: FM Global, PR Newswire

Des Plaines, Ill. – The nation's property and casualty insurance companies are calling for a united front in the fight against fraud after completing a two-year study that showed the industry’s efforts have been fragmented and inadequate.

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted a model law development framework as part of an effort to respond to state, federal and international regulation.

Washington - Federal, state and local governments, the private sector, and American citizens themselves must be substantially better prepared to face the devastating impact of future mega-catastrophes, according to The Financial Services Roundtable, headquartered in Washington.

Minneapolis - As part of the association's Executive Education Program, the Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA) will present the 3rd Annual CIO Roundtable program on Tuesday, June 5. This exclusive, "by invitation only" event will feature expert educational sessions sponsored by IASA associate member companies, including: AT&T, Document Sciences, Duck Creek Technologies and OnBase Insurance Solutions by Hyland Software. Admittance to the CIO Roundtable is complimentary to any qualifying chief information officer registered to attend the 2007 IASA Annual Educational Conference & Business Show, June 3-6 in Minneapolis.