Digital Platforms

Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting firm, asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate their customer experiences on a scale of 1-to-7, in terms of being functional, accessible and emotional. Temkin limited the analysis to 246 companies, each of which included responses from 100 or more consumers. USAA was the top-ranked P&C insurer, and TriCare was the top-ranked health plan.

Celent recognizes the technology initiatives of 15 insurers and names XL Group the Model Insurer of the Year.

2014 could be one of the largest open enrollments in history.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty CEO Axel Theis sees “significant” growth fueled by Brazil’s expanding infrastructure spending.

Insurer to integrate InsureRight 2.0 analytics solution into underwriting practices.

CEO Robert Benmosche says the insurer will put a concerted effort toward re-establishing AIG throughout the world with its life-insurance product.

Weak economic growth, an extended period of low interest rates, weak investment income and rising regulatory demands continue to challenge the industry.

A review of losses tied to weather-related catastrophes reveals that climate-change models are but one of a growing number of complexities affecting all stakeholders.

If you’re only watching social media chatter, there are big customer support and marketing opportunities passing your business by.

Insurers rank location-based services as most important on their list of needs.

Society to go with Cover-All’s Dev Studio and Test Studio for commercial lines underwriting and rating.

AIG takes a hit; Allianz Life, State Auto and two others also announced Q4 and 2012 financials this week.

Business intelligence will still see billions of dollars, but struggling global economics and slowed sales cycle are hampering growth.

The use of enterprise risk management applications continues to evolve, according to “2012 U.S. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Survey,” from Gen Re. The survey focused on setting biometric risk assumptions, which had largely been ignored by previous ERM research.

Partnership provides mobile access for group life insurance enrollees to view their accounts.

While insurance deal volume remained flat in 2012 compared to 2011, momentum increased in the final quarter of 2012; PwC expects this momentum to continue into 2013 despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, according to a new report from the consulting firm, titled “A case for optimism, in the face of uncertainty: 2013 U.S. financial services M&A insights.”

North American insurers ranked product pricing (51 percent versus 39 percent in 2010), risk strategy (48 percent versus 38 percent in 2010) and reinsurance strategy (44 percent versus 34 percent in 2010) as the areas of their business most impacted by their evolving enterprise risk management (ERM) programs, according to a new Towers Watson survey.

Indexed and deferred income annuity sales experience significant growth, but declining sales of fixed and variable annuities drag down total annuity sales.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut make up 218,000 of the claims.

A new report highlights a wave of mobile-focused techniques spreading among hackers.

More than one-third (36 percent) of 18-to-29-year olds reported one or more traffic tickets in the past five years, the highest percentage of any age group surveyed, according to a survey from InsuranceQuotes.com.

In testimony, PCI points to studies indicating credit-based insurance scores are highly predictive and result in lower rates for more drivers.

Two-year modernization initiative will overhaul all Gerber Life's lines of business.

A new report from Celent outlines the process of going from a big data spectator to becoming a practitioner and more.

Of those insurers participating in the survey, most (57 percent) said UBI is predominantly a rating accuracy play, which SMA acknowledged as a logical assumption, as the auto insurance value proposition is primarily about price. However, 43 percent said UBI’s value is in reducing loss costs by improving driver behavior and increasing retention (43 percent). Attracting new customers and claims control followed distantly, with 14 percent each.

The insurer will use the Insurance Scorecard platform to consolidate its multiple data sources for meaningful and actionable analysis.

After another year of meager growth, a new report from Gartner posits that this year businesses are primed for spikes in analytic adoption rates.

What do you get when you mix trillions of dollars in assets and a quasi-ignorant understanding of finance? Enter the Generation X and Generation Y consumers.

Arch Re, CNA, Main Street America, Marsh & McLennan, MetLife, Nationwide and Willis announce fourth-quarter and 2012 financials this week.

The Committee urges the Federal Insurance Office to submit its long overdue reports, including those on the insurance industry in general and recommendations to modernize and improve the U.S. regulation.

A new report contends that insurers that commit to analyzing data from social media will be able to better establish an ROI.

Trade agreements could enhance regulatory cooperation and efficiency, promote competition, and prevent regulatory gaps and overlaps.

Calls for improved information sharing and a set of standards should alleviate insurers' concerns with cybersecurity—but it also puts some pressure on insurers to update themselves along with the standards.

NILS INsource and NILS INcompass products designed to help monitor, implement regulatory changes.

The record-high interest in hiring from the middle of last year is continuing to grow, as 56.2 percent of insurers are planning to increase staff over the next 12 months, according to the latest “Insurance Labor Market Study” conducted by Jacobson Group, an insurance staffing company, and Ward Group, and insurance consultancy.

Market positioning cited as primary reason for IT budget growth; 10 percent of insurers will reduce IT budgets by 10 percent this year, SMA finds.

Legal Solutions Suite purchased in an attempt to simplify billing and expense tracking, monitor outside counsel performance.

Anticipating a more customer-centric strategy, insurers will look to new data sources and analytical techniques to sharpen risk understanding and customer profiling, according to a new report.

Purchase highlights recent reports indicating life insurers are outspending P&C insurers when it comes to online/mobile quoting systems.

California leads states in QCs; suspicious loss of jewelry increased 86 percent.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, acting as regulatory overseer to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will further review the force-placed market and its costs.

Underwriting loss increased by $26 billion, net income fell $10 billion, but the commercial P&C sector can expect 2013 to be better financially.

As a combined average, 42.3 percent of Europeans switching auto or household insurers, or buying for the first time, did so online last year, according to “Aggregation Metrics: Consumer Approaches to Insurance Comparison Sites in Europe,” a research paper from Finaccord. This up from 35.4 percent in 2008, making online aggregators and online comparison sites the fastest-growing distribution channel.

The P&C sector leads insurers in mobile offerings, investments; however, life/annuity insurers are investing more in quote and buy capabilities.

Patent provides a method for managing the policies and security of portable devices that store data through a third-party cloud service.

A new report shows mid-size and large P&C and life/annuity insurers are supporting or planning to support bring-your-own-device, especially for tablets.

See which insurers Superstorm Sandy hit the hardest, as Allstate, Prudential and four others release fourth-quarter and year-end results.

Data experts challenge the basic framework for big data programs.

Insurers can expect winter storm loss damages to return to normal after this weekend.

Analysis from HealthPocket Inc., a health insurance information site for consumers, shows that health insurers have some work to do in the areas of out-of-pocket expenses and transparency. The analysis indicates that 38 percent of plans did not disclose their deductible within its annual out-of-pocket limits, concealing the full amount a person could pay if the “Summary of Benefits” was not read carefully. Once these deductibles are factored in, many plans are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

FFVA Mutual Insurance buys into Valen's predictive analytics suite in an attempt to bolster its underwriting performance.

Recent survey reveals cyber risks to be the biggest business concern; insurer develops mobile app in response.