Digital Platforms

The Group of North American Insurance Enterprises (GNAIE) executive director Douglas Barnet took to the podium at the 12th Global Conference of Actuaries to rally for the use of earned rate for discounting life insurance contracts.

Hewlett-Packard ratcheted up the battle for a share of increasing cloud computing revenues this week by launching a new design service aimed at helping organizations accelerate the adoption of cloud-based infrastructures.

Essent Guaranty Inc. marked its arrival Thursday, announcing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have approved it as an official mortgage insurer, making the Radnor, Pa., company one of only eight with such a designation.

Variable annuities (VA) sales experienced a rough start to 2009—a decline of 26% in the first six months of the year. But, the fourth quarter numbers—up 3% to $32.6 bllion—softened the blow. VA sales were only down 18% for the year, as quarterly VA sales slowly improve from the first quarter, according to LIMRA's U.S. Individual Annuities quarterly sales survey. VA sales totaled $127 billion.

Claims officers, more than ever, face rising loss costs, increased levels of litigation and higher rates of fraudulent claims, according to results from Towers Watson’s fourth “Property & Casualty Insurance Claim Officer Survey, The Economic Landscape and Operational Performance Metrics.”

Zurich announced the release of Zurich Pro Plus, an enhanced Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverage to address the needs of a broad range of business professionals, including consultants, and media and information technology customers.

Instead of purchasing new software, more than half of nearly 2,200 IT executives and technology decision-makers from Forrester's Business Data Services survey say they will be spending IT budgets on the operation and maintenance of existing applications in 2010. The fastest-growing small to midsized software markets will be customer relationship management or information and knowledge management, more than 20% of all small- and medium-size businesses (SMB) have concrete plans to implement these in 2010 or later.

A.M. Best http://www.ambest.com, Fitch Ratings http://reports.fitchratings.com, Moody’s Investors Service http://v3.moodys.com/Pages/default.aspx and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) http://www.standardandpoors.com/home/en/us released ratings updates. The following are some of the most recent:

Insurers seeking to improve operational efficiency using predictive analytics will have new solutions from which to choose, and professional assistance in their implementation, thanks to an enhanced partnership between Dublin-based Accenture and Cary, N.C.-based SAS, announced today.

Christopher Swift, previously vice chairman and CFO at American Life Insurance Co. (ALICO), an operating company of American International Group (AIG) with $89 billion in assets and operations in 54 countries, will join The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. as EVP and CFO. Effective March 1, Swift, a 27-year insurance industry veteran, will replace Lizabeth Zlatkus, who will assume the chief risk officer role at The Hartford.

Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. announced that it has decided to establish separate audit and risk committees that will be populated by board members.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. (RIMS) says pay-disclosure rules created by the New York Insurance Department are insufficient to protect consumers and urged the department to reopen a period of public comment on the proposal.

Much has changed in the use of standards and technology during the past four years, and the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, (ACORD), Pearl River, N.Y., intends to confirm how those changes are affecting efficiencies in the insurance industry.

Customer satisfaction with the goods and services that Americans buy remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), produced by ACSI LLC. The same doesn’t hold true for the property/casualty insurance industry. While the full index, which measures buyer satisfaction of 200 companies in 44 industries and government agencies, is largely unchanged (dipping 0.1%), the P&C industry declined 1.2% to an ACSI score of 80 (on a 100-point scale).

At a time when drivers and their habits—especially in regard to cell phone usage—are under a microscope, The Allstate Foundation released information regarding the behavior and attitude of teenage drivers.

Vendor recognized for document management expertise.

As deadline nears, NFIP extension is dropped from jobs bill.

The mortgage insurance unit of Old Republic International Corp. is asking a court to back its refusal to pay claims on soured mortgages originated by Countrywide Financial Corp.

Google Buzz users went nuts when their contacts were assembled without their consent, but other social media users are only too happy to air every piece of dirty laundry in their baskets to anyone who will listen.

Forrester report finds insurance providers among top industries in ranking of customer service interactions.

Insurers look to new crop of quality mortgages to offset losses on loans made during the bubble years, but dealing with tougher underwriting standards.

America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association lead the collaboration.

Celent recognizes carrier’s use of analytics technology to identify cases of fraud that may be abnormal, or too hard to spot with the human eye.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York says it will not “sit back idly and let the department impose an unnecessary rule that will only serve to add another time-consuming and costly requirement for our members.”

The reported -4% composite property/casualty rate decrease points to a prolonged soft market, MarketScout says.

A recent report points to insurers’ need to address policy admin issues in order to reduce costs and remain competitive. But are vendors up to the task?

The new ranking system measures employees’ performance relative to their peers.

Insurer to offer free identity theft consultation and restoration services after hard drives containing protected health information on at least 521,761 members were stolen.

Sen. Bob Corker, like Sen. Shelby, opposes letting consumer protections trump safety and soundness, and objects to creating a separate protection agency.

Insurers with large books of defined contribution business are well positioned to benefit from news that the Obama administration is promoting the use of fixed annuities, Aite Group says.

The terms of the deal have not been finalized, and the payout mix could change, sources close to the matter say.

With Toyota owners being assured yesterday by PCI that their claims will be covered, auto insurers deliberate taking action against the vehicle manufacturer to recoup costs.

State Department of Insurance says the regulation is designed to provide transparency by requiring agents and brokers to describe to clients their role in a business transaction and how they are compensated.

Continuation of subsidy is reported to be included in jobs bills under consideration in Senate.

Life settlements industry says their practices not synonymous with STOLI.

Study finds nearly 20% of life insurance producers willing to switch to another carrier whose culture, style and office support are a better fit.

A.M. Best revises CNA Insurance Co.’s outlook to stable from negative and upgrades Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.’s financial strength rating.

A new study from IBM suggests that data governance is critical, but actions based on data are unique.

Insurer qualified its overall growth objective of working with agents who can provide “superior levels of customer service.”

Company says suit that alleges it pilfered workers and trade secrets is without merit.

Priorities through 2012 include a focus on underwriting discipline, risk management and gearing up for Solvency II.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and the Insurance Information Institute were among the organizations urging reform.

Dodd presses ahead without Shelby, but can he succeed?

USAA tops list of insurers garnering high marks for being perceived as doing what’s best for their customers, not just their bottom line.

Complaint alleges recently departed workers conspired to misappropriate Liberty’s trade secrets.

S&P cites acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in downgrade.

iPartners’ Insurance Scorecard offers performance management dashboards and scorecards, ad-hoc detailed analysis and production reporting.

Elementum will utilize CATRADER and ALERT to manage risks associated with its portfolio of cat bonds and other insurance-linked securities.

Experts say the best way to address systemic risk is by providing the regulatory community with direct access to a database that contains all firms’ networks of financial information.

IVANS study sees carriers embracing automation and efficiency efforts.

Talks have collapsed between Senators Dodd and Shelby over how best to improve consumer protection.

Lawmakers set to unveil bill that will strip some insurers of protections enjoyed under McCarran–Ferguson Act.