Digital Platforms

Insurers may learn something from banks' successes in the social media realm.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may prove to be the most important agency to watch in 2011.

Setting $4.3B of credit, AIG systematically tries to exit bailout.

Sedgwick Claims Management Services purchased the unit for $278 million in cash.

Gartner predicts continued growth and increased deployment of social business technologies; cloud and SaaS remain keys to adoption.

Analyst flips the coin to uncover the biggest losers by market cap in 2010.

Perhaps no section of the law is more critical to that discussion than the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s power to unwind failing giants.

Survey finds misgivings about annuities rampant in wake of financial crisis.

SSA & Co. predicts 2011 will feature more complexity in the insurance industry and less customer service outsourcing.

Deciding which financial firms beyond banks are systemically important is one of the biggest decisions still to be made by regulators under the Dodd-Frank Act.

A member of RIMS’ board since 2000, Scott Clark will succeed Terry Fleming as RIMS’ president.

Business intelligence and document automation solutions introduced for insurance companies.

Insurer revamps website with research and tools to help employers manage the issue of absence administration.

New figures from PCI and ISO reveal a 62% gain in net income for P&C insurers.

New report highlights best practices for ensuring that projects come in on budget.

A.M. Best affirms AIG’s P&C and life/health subsidiaries; Moody's affirms Fireman's Fund intercompany pool; Fitch affirms Lloyd's of London.

IIABA says removal of uncertainty going forward is key as President Obama signs extension of existing rates

With all the reports about how much insurers plan to spend on technology in 2011, little has been written about the impetus behind the decision. For carriers focused on compliance with regulatory bodies (which comprises the bulk of insurers), the strongest incentive for technology investments is risk management.

Association will focus first and foremost on working with regulators on implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Fitch’s methodology is based on strategy/franchise strength, sensitivity to the insurance pricing cycle, earnings performance, and funding and capital.

Throughout the United States, arson, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft fell and burglary all decreased this year, says FBI.

Vendors serving the insurance industry make analyst's year-end list.

Treasury secretary testified before Congress yesterday, saying that the bailout will show a "positive return."

It's illegal to text while driving in most U.S. states. Yet a study by researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) that tracked four states’ claims activities before and after such laws were passed finds no reductions in crashes after laws take effect.

New report details principles of document management in insurance.

Guidewire ClaimCenter enabled Everest National to capture more and better data, and provide better operational reports and on-line management tools.

After procedural hurdles held up the vote for much of the day, the House reconvened in the evening to settle the terms.

New life insurance premiums sold through banks in Q3 2010 hit $512 million, up from $225 million in Q3 2008.

Regulatory, economic uncertainty cloud life and annuity carriers’ growth potential, making delivery of new products, cost cutting now mandatory, notes Ernst & Young report.

Gartner report offers new strategies for IT leaders.

Insurers may be interested to note the results of the study released by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Five severe weather events, one winter-based storm, two earthquakes and two floods comprised the top 10 insured loss events, says Aon Benfield

Chronicling insurers' continuing challenges combating auto theft, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) today released its annual list of most frequently stolen vehicles.

Farmers survey cites Madison, Wis., as most secure large metropolitan area in United States.

Rep. Barney Frank plans to defend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act from Republicans, and he made it clear he's willing to get personal.

Study of online acquisition methodologies notes lack of swift follow-up, other inefficiencies hampering insurance carriers.

The current mind-set of most P&C insurers in India is to utilize technology as a tool to realize efficiencies and streamline operations at the same time, keeping the focus on growth and reduction in costs, according to a new report from Celent. The sector is expected to invest close to US$1.43 billion in technology by 2014.

Health insurers fared poorly in annual ASCI customer satisfaction survey, rating only marginally better than airlines, newspapers and the government.

A FINRA survey finds “a significant disparity” in the general financial literacy of Americans on a state-by-state basis.

The payment stems from a derivative suit filed by investors against executives and directors.

Fitch affirms all AXA entities; S&P lowers credit rating on Manulife Financial, rates Berkshire Hathaway’s senior notes; A.M. Best comments on Aetna; Moody’s affirms WellPoint, Munich Re.

The modern-day searching and buying patterns used by consumer for insurance are shifting, and insurance companies cannot rely on traditional channel strategies to reach them, according to a study released by IBM today.

Towers Watson survey says insurers are increasingly employing predictive modeling as rates continue to be weighed down by excess capacity.

The measure advanced Monday evening, with 45 Democrats and 37 Republicans voting to invoke cloture.

Virtualization and solid state disks are the next most important in terms of overall impact going forward, study says.

Insurers, banks, credit unions and more affected by partnership.

Claiming that the “dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance,” federal judge blocks implementation of key provision of health care reform.

Korea’s largest non-life insurer’s goal is to use predictive models to enhance fraud detection processes.

CSC has launched a four-stage, pragmatic program for financial services firms to use cloud services to gain flexibility and agility in their computing environments. CSC says it is leading financial services firms to the cloud, without jeopardizing high-performance, security and compliance requirements. The staged approach is described by CSC as progressing from early use of low-risk, horizontal shared services to deployment of ancillary applications, and then a cloud-enablement of mission-critical applications, all in parallel with the introduction of unique, cloud-only functions.

A culture of complacency hampers information security efforts, and as a result, sensitive corporate data is vulnerable to tampering and theft.

Carrier will implement Detica NetReveal in their general insurance business to combat claims fraud.

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held a special interim election during a conference call. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner James Donelon was elected NAIC VP and Illinois Insurance Director Michael McRaith was elected NAIC secretary-treasurer.