Digital Platforms

Delaying the health insurance employer mandate mostly affects employers, experts say; health insurers continue to focus on exchanges.

The White House on the evening of July 2, in a blog posting from Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President, announced it will suspend for one year reporting requirements in 2014 for larger employers to demonstrate compliance with a mandate to offer employees health insurance coverage, and not enforce financial penalties for larger employers that fail to comply until 2015, one year later than authorized in the Affordable Care Act.

The largest U.S. life insurer is proposing an alternative to the Fed that it feels is more appropriate for insurers deemed systemically important financial institutions.

Insurance QuickPass designed to digitize insurance policies in an app for drivers.

Allstate, Lincoln National and 14 others receive updates.

Business management and accounting solution designed to manage RSA’s Group Reinsurance portfolio.

Increasingly sophisticated user expectations drive tech market, Celent says, as insurers look for ways to differentiate commoditized products.

Declining U.S. property rates and reinsurers' desire to maintain their market positions is spilling over into other classes, according to a report from Willis Re.

Financial service firms plan to increase IT operational budgets by a modest 2.1 percent this year, while about 45 percent are increasing headcount, according to a Computer Economics IT study.

Progressive has been licensing UBI intellectual property since December 2012.

Maximizing IT’s value requires realistic expectations and transparency, as well as planning and decision making that are aligned with business goals, according to PwC.

The specialty insurer can now use location parameters, policy type, limits and other attributes to deliver rich, contact-sensitive information to underwriters.

Talon designed to help the reinsurer target and price new markets.

Agent and consumer portals, business intelligence and core systems revamps are top priorities, as personal lines insurers concentrate on growth, expense reduction and improving underwriting results, Novarica says.

Berkshire to pay $285 million for variable annuities business, as The Hartford continues to divest in an attempt to focus on property/casualty operations.

Since the option to buy commercial insurance materialized online, the segment has become more open to the new channel as it prioritizes price and convenience, according to Novarica research.

Aite Group research recommends smaller insurers leverage new technologies to eliminate disadvantages of scale; describes opportunities to cut losses and 10 startups offering applications to address those opportunities.

New data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau ranks the 15 places in the United States with the most vehicle thefts.

P&C impairments see significant drop from the 34 reported for 2011; however, auto writers and risk retention groups continued to struggle, according to recent A.M. Best report.

State Farm, AAA and Allstate also included in the top 100 of Temkin's 2013 Trust Ratings.

Florida Commission certifies AIR’s latest models for residential and commercial residential properties in the state.

New York Senator calls for FEMA to penalize insurers leaving the region.

Net gains reflect premium growth, increases in reserve releases and a decline in weather-related catastrophe losses, according to ISO data.

Workers' compensation has been the worst-performing segment among major commercial lines for some time, the rating agency says, but is set to improve over the remainder of the year.

Customers are much more likely to stay with an insurer through a price change if they are notified of it and given an explanation in advance, according to a new study from J.D. Power and Associates.

Insurer seeks more configurability, direct access with new payroll and talent management software.

Sixty percent of large U.S. insurers currently offer discounts through telematics programs.

The fallout surrounding the U.S. criminal probe of his company dampens Ebix Chairman and CEO Robin Raina's recent hot streak.

Workers' comp carrier seeks to improve risk selection, pricing accuracy with predictive modeling component of InsureRight.

Insured losses from the last two months for the insurer reach nearly $550 million.

Annual survey from Guy Carpenter finds use of direct reinsurers and intermediaries increased; top challenge for insurers is maintaining rate levels.

Ratings, underwriting, policy administration, claims and billing platforms included in purchase of InsuranceSuite.

INN also announces the launch of its Women in Insurance Leadership microsite and a new monthly program highlighting female leaders in the insurance industry.

PURE, a personal lines insurer, created a pre-fill capability for auto insurance quoting by integrating external data with its existing policy administration solution, which enabled the company to streamline the application process and improve cross-sell with homeowners.

Surveys from Towers Watson and IIS describe global insurance executives’ concerns and find much consistency across nations.

The insurer's vice chairman responds directly to a regulator's claim that insurers use captives to alleviate capital requirements.

iGATE aims to improve operational efficiencies with new policy administration system.

Advancing women to the top may be a journey, but how to do so is no longer a mystery. New research points to four principles that can help just about any company.

LifeApply designed to provide flexibility to respond to carrier’s business needs.

Mandates to conserve fuel, curb emissions and increase service levels are driving adoption, according to ABI Research.

As businesses set out to use more analytics to interact with consumers across an average of 3.6 channels, data quality becomes increasingly important, according to a recent report.

Every month INN will talk to a leader about her leadership style, challenges she faces as a woman in insurance and how she overcomes them. Deadline to submit - July 10th

Sixty-seven percent of recently surveyed insurers are currently addressing core systems modernization, and 54 percent said finding a trusted partner with an integrated solution platform is important.

The insurer's "technology-driven business strategy" is an ongoing effort to inspire innovative ideas that help build strategic business platforms.

State insurance regulators were among those who attended a private meeting hosted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency about alleged kickbacks and price gouging.

Concerns among agents center around potentially declining commissions and market share, plus increasing requirements for technology and training, according to SMA survey.

Superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services wants a countrywide halt on captive insurance deals, claiming states are allowing the use of risky collateral.

The Philadelphia Contributionship purchases processing solution in an attempt to modernize policy administration and core business operations.

The specialty insurer can now mine event data from various business solutions, correlate that information and present it to various stakeholders.

Small agencies are growing faster than their larger counterparts, in part because of greater investments in mobility and other technologies, according to a new survey from Vertafore.

FIO emphasizes global responsibilities and opportunity for growth.

Comply solution designed to enable insurers to manage risk by automating regulatory change management processes.