Digital Platforms

In an assessment of how distribution trends reflect an increase in online sales, A.M. Best highlights continuing market consolidation.

Senate Banking Committee will examine the effects of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012, which eliminated grandfather clauses that prevented premiums from rising for some properties.

Swiss Re’s global ranking highlights the threat of earthquakes and flooding to growing population centers in Asia, home to eight of the 10 most at-risk cities.

The two most exposed cities are earthquake-prone urban centers along the West Coast, according to a new report from Swiss Re. The study takes into account population and exposure to five natural catastrophes, including storm surges, earthquakes and more.

Company’s research finds 85 percent of insurers would decline terrorism coverage without government backing.

In comments submitted to the Presidents Working Group, the American Insurance Association says terrorism is an uninsurable risk and requires partnership with the government.

Farmers filed claims on 8.213 million acres of grains, oilseeds, cotton and sugar as of September 1, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

Strategy Meets Action recognizes Amica Mutual Insurance, Great American, two other insurers and one IT solution provider for successfully implementing next generation technologies or reflecting the spirit of innovation.

Australian P&C insurer deploys for 1,300 PolicyCenter users in "big bang" roll out.

Life insurer looks to offer a more efficient life insurance application and delivery experience.

The flooding has caused 15 Colorado counties to declare a state of emergency, including Boulder, which President Obama has opened up to federal assistance.

The multi-line insurer looks to the iWorks Prophet Managed Hosted Service platform to improve efficiency and compliance of actuarial modeling operations.

Since 2006, INN's Women in Insurance Leadership program has honored the extraordinary accomplishments of more than 60 professionals whose leadership and performance have redefined the insurance business and its application of technology. Today, nine more names, as well as the program’s first-ever repeat winner, are added to the distinguished list.

The group of insurers may have to increase assets held to back payouts by $4 billion.

Speaking at this week's CIO Summit in Atlanta, Richard Wiedenbeck, VP of IT for Ameritas Life Insurance, argues that IT departments need to evolve beyond being order-takers.

Europe and Bermuda still account for a large portion of P&C business among U.S. reinsurers, who are becoming increasingly open to new sources, such as Brazil and Singapore, according to data from SNL Financial.

New claim functionality designed to provide a fraud score and help insurers reduce fraud costs.

The ease with which social media is ignored could be its greatest strength, according to Novarica's Matt Josefowicz.

MetLife retains its top spot among top-tier life insurers increasing its direct written premiums by 0.25 percent through the first half of 2013, according to SNL Financial.

Critics argue that because homeowners must file claim forms, only a small fraction of the $291 million settlement will be paid.

The Lead Director - Senior Information Officer shares her thoughts on being a woman in insurance, challenges leaders face and what she’s doing to continue to grow and develop as a leader.

InsuranceSuite chosen by the P&C insurer for rating, underwriting, policy admin, billing and claims management purposes.

The last five years find the P&C sector performing below industry averages, according to a new report from Fitch.

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan insurance agent licensing reform bill, also known as the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2013 (NARAB II), by a 397-6 vote.

The federal case, thus far, involves 41 North Carolina tobacco farmers, as well as insurance agents and claims adjusters.

Modeling firm looks to a more comprehensive use of exposure data and analytics in an attempt to improve workflows.

Ovum says budgets will increase 6.5 percent CAGR over the next four years as insurers shift to growth strategies from cost-cutting.

In a new FICO survey, 31 percent of insurers said fraud accounts for as much as 20 percent of claims costs.

Under the deal, Chase agreed not to take commissions or engage in certain reinsurance arrangements with Assurant for six years.

Operational efficiency and underwriting discipline are crucial for growth and therefore are dictating commercial lines carriers’ technology purchases, according to a report from Novarica.

In the past 18 months, an estimated $10 billion of new capital has entered the reinsurance market and changed the nature of the sector's capital structure, according to “Capital Stewardship: Charting the Course to Profitable Growth,” a mid-year market report from Guy Carpenter.

Commercial insurance prices rose 6 percent, continuing the trend of steady increases, according to a recent Towers Watson study.

The eighth tropical storm of the season could become its first hurricane by Wednesday; if it doesn’t, it will be the first time the industry hasn’t seen a hurricane hit land by mid-September.

The Montpelier Risk Institute is partnering with researchers from Canada and Europe in an attempt to keep up with evolving risks, such as climate change.

Kaiser Permanente and Prudential rank in the top 10 of LATINA Style magazine's 50 Best Companies for Latinas list.

Reinsurers are under pressure to shore up earnings hurt by disaster claims and low interest rates.

While progress in the traditional variable annuity market has been marginal, global analytics firm Cerulli Associates says there is promising opportunity in other business lines, including deferred income annuities and structured VAs.

FireLight, an e-application business fulfillment platform, is designed with a mobile component as well.

Wildfire and flood claims were not enough to knock either sector off course last month.

Some of the same data analysis technologies being used by Western governments are cheap enough to be employed by financial services companies as well.

TransRe, a global reinsurer has selected MetricStream’s federated information architecture, which is designed to support the full range of risk and compliance processes, enable multiple reporting facilities and link to existing enterprise.

Continued growth is expected, according to a new report from Conning, but insurers will have to deal with ongoing challenges that include hiring agents and implementing tech-savvy platforms.

GuideOne Insurance, a national niche market insurer, has deployed Guidewire’s ClaimCenter as its new claims management system. GuideOne is currently in production with ClaimCenter for its workers’ compensation line of business and is in the process of implementing its other lines including auto, homeowners, business auto, commercial property and liability in a phased deployment approach.

Software designed to help address cost barriers created by the high costs of in-car telematics devices.

SmartUBI software designed to offer a smartphone app backed by cloud-based analytics technology.

Esurance has selected Modus as its telematics vendor for the DriveSense program, which is deployed across the United States. Modus is providing its full-service UBI solution including logistics, integration, application development, data warehousing and support services.

If insurers guarantee drivers’ premiums would not rise, 89 percent of recent survey respondents said they either would buy a usage-based insurance policy or are willing to consider the concept.

Insurer looks to emphasize collaboration and productivity with new software.

Among Fortune 1,000 firms, insurers are one of the most-concerned industries when it comes to cyber threats, according to a new report by Willis North America, titled “The Willis Fortune 1000 Cyber Disclosure Report, 2013.”

The impact of weather-related hazards is dependent on, among other factors, the total insured value and annualized property value of a given area, according to a new study from Guy Carpenter.

In the second quarter, fixed annuities experienced highest quarterly sales since 2011, according to data from Morningstar and Beacon Research.

Suite designed to allow life/annuity insurers to address redundancies in data and functionality.