Digital Platforms

It appears that 2010 may be a fairly good year after all for U.S. life insurers. Rebounding from the financial crisis, insurers continued to hold large cash and cash-equivalent assets, notes A.M. Best, but during 2009, such amounts began to decline as companies sought higher yields that were needed to back life and annuity products.

Dutch insurer reportedly will shutter additional operations in Britain.

Distracted driving is quickly rocketing up the ranks of risks for insurers. Coming on the heels of a Chubb study last week that found motorists are in favor of banning cell phone use while driving, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) today reinforced the popular sentiment that the issue of distracted driving absolutely must be addressed on multiple fronts, including:

A report indicates that the Obama administration will work to promote the availability of annuities and other forms of guaranteed income.

Disclosure of risk related to AIG’s portfolio of credit default swaps and securities lending program the focus of class-action suit.

Blue Shield of California will make $24.8 million in bonuses available to medical groups and independent practice associations.

Sonoma Risk Insurance Agency recently announced the distribution of contract litigation insurance in Illinois. The policy is underwritten by Zurich in North America, and is intended to help protect plaintiffs and defendants from having to pay their adversary’s attorneys’ fees should they lose their contract case. Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc. is the preferred distributor in the state of Illinois, Sonoma Risk says.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) announced the 224 independent insurance agencies that have been selected for the 2010 Best Practices Study. Agencies are selected from across the country after a nomination and vetting process.

So far there doesn’t seem to be much demand from plan participants, but insurers are pushing hard to get their piece of the trillions now invested in 401(k) plans.

Bloomberg says deal to expedite sell-off of government stake in insurer may be announced soon.

Devices will develop analytic methods for personal and commercial auto insurance.

Chubb survey finds more than half of U.S. motorists say they have used a cell phone while driving, but 90% say it should be illegal to do so.

Insurers may want to keep an eye on the success of the card issuer's new app, which allows users to post details about their purchases.

House vote grants one more year for cash-strapped program.

ISO plans to develop a behavior database to aid underwriting decisions, but it’s important to remember that correlation does not necessarily equal causation.

National Union Fire Insurance Co. allegedly violated Minnesota law by selling at least 1,500 "Essential Health" plans to Minnesota residents.

Several key provisions of the health care reform law go into effect today.

The typically soft-spoken Alabama Republican told reporters "there's no question" he will be elected chairman by the Republican Steering Committee.

The recession has etched permanent changes into the auto-physical damage industry, according to the “CCC Crash Course Update 2010,” a semi-annual publication written by CCC Information Services Inc. Contributing to the situation is the fact that consumers remain burdened with significant debt, unemployment remains high and consumer spending and consumption are still reserved, notes the publication’s author Lead Analyst Susanna Gotsch. The slow economic recovery is causing lower claim frequency and fewer repairs, which translates into a soft market for the automotive insurance and collision repair industries.

Amica Life, Allianz among companies recognized by StoneRiver

Agreement designed to bring mobile enterprise application platform to market.

A difficult economy and poor customer service may encourage fraud, according to a new Accenture survey.

New report surveys efforts to draft specific rules for the insurance industry.

With eight days to go before it expires, the bill now awaits passage from the House.

New report reviews solution providers as response to insurance agents’ demands for technology solutions that make it easier to do business.

Insurers recently have cut settlements with lenders, accepting cash in return for not investigating or rescinding coverage on mortgages that were the result of sloppy or fraudulent underwriting.

The Silverlake Forms Development Environment enables users to create or edit a form once using a WYSIWYG designer and output into multiple formats.

Fitch and S&P affirm ACE Ltd. ratings, A.M. Best downgrades Farmers’ Mutual Insurance, S&P lowers ING’s U.S. subsidiaries.

Advancements in health care analytics could mean big changes for insurers.

New survey says life insurers need to provide more information about the products they offer.

Zurich shares key lessons from losses over past 10 years; loss mitigation practices.

Personal and Commercial Lines Interface Leadership awards were presented during ASCnet’s 2010 TENCon event; Allied Insurance and Chubb won Innovation Interface Leadership Awards.

The Exchange is a business and renewal submission placement platform designed to enhance the flow of application data between agents, brokers and carriers.

At NAMIC convention, speakers urge continued industry engagement as legislators reshape regulatory environment.

For the sixth straight quarter, commercial insurance prices have remained stable, which Towers Watson attributes to predictive modeling techniques.

PCI urges Congress to act as NFIP set to end during height of hurricane season.

About 50.7 million people lacked health insurance in 2009, up almost 10% from 46.3 million in 2008.

New website intended to serve the litigation discovery needs of insurers.

President says Harvard professor will help pick agency's first director.

Observers opine that regardless of their feelings about Elizabeth Warren, it's hard to see her nomination as a very satisfactory result.

As substantial changes to the regulatory environment percolate, Swiss Re takes measure.

At CSC’s Future Focus, the buzz was around consumers, agents and mobility—all topics insurers can’t ignore.

New PCI data shows spike in earnings and surplus compared to same period one year ago, but underwriting losses mount.

Insurers need to rethink their document automation and management strategies due to complex internal structures and multiple document composition engines, notes a new report by Celent.

Agents Council for Technology offers free customizable starting point for agents’ own security plans and programs.

The appointment avoids a potentially difficult Senate confirmation battle for Warren, who is strongly opposed by the banking and financial services industry as well as several GOP lawmakers.

The FHA plans to raise its premiums next month, which could restore the competitiveness of private mortgage insurance.

GeoMetric assesses risk using driving locations.

SaaS-deployed OnBase OnLine will be available to Hyland customers on five continents in 2011.

New Aon report delves into the shifting criteria for enterprise risk management that rating agencies and regulators are using to determine insurers’ fiscal health.

A.M. Best affirms White Mountains Insurance Group and its subsidiaries; S&P corrects its outlook on Genworth’s mortgage insurance arm.