Digital Platforms

From cloud computing to legacy systems to the business/IT relationship, insurance CIOs discuss areas affecting their careers and ability to perform.

Lower expenses offset declining revenues and investment losses to help U.S. life insurers generate $8.9 billion in Q2 net income.

Conning reports that despite only being written in just 25 states, workers' comp state funds are poised to overtake private plans.

Competing testimony before House committee highlights schism over creating a national regulatory presence to monitor insurers.

A new report from J.D. Power and Associates Reports finds overall satisfaction with homeowners insurance has significantly increased for the first time in five years.

America's Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross and Blue Shield have collaborated to give providers one-stop shopping when conducting transactions with insurers.

FDIC Chairman says federal resolution authority must transcend industries and international borders.

Island Insurance benefits from DRC’s industry experience as well as its local presence.

Vertafore will still manage its Software-as-a-Service-based products internally, but Savvis will operate the scale-related IT infrastructure.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Fox Lawson & Associates LLC, a compensation and human resources consulting firm specializing in wage and classification studies.

Medical malpractice insurers and actuaries can breathe a short sigh of relief before bracing for future challenges, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decision to no longer reimburse for certain hospital-acquired conditions.

While the details of the legislation remain unchanged, the proposed Office of National Insurance has been renamed the Federal Insurance Office.

A.M. Best announces ratings changes for Ameriprise, General Re Corp., QBE the Americas and 10 other insurers.

Burning the midnight oil, Senate Finance Committee finalizes health care reform legislation

Insurers convene with other experts to discuss a convergence of consumer protection and compliance-related challenges associated with social networking.

After much speculation about how much AIG owes the government, the company releases a statement containing facts.

More research on IT spending filters in, and the conclusions are pretty much the same: IT spending for property/casualty insurers flat to slightly higher through 2010.

President Obama signs a last-minute extension of the oft-extended National Flood Insurance Program.

A survey reveals a high level of customer loyalty and satisfaction among respondents.

Bucking national unemployment trends, large agencies are adding producers, a new study finds.

Former Bank of America exec Liam McGee will succeed Ramani Ayer.

The Senate Banking Committee Chair wants to "eliminate the overlaps, redundancies and additional red tape created by the current alphabet soup of regulators."

A recent survey shows a gap in IT’s ability to deliver and demonstrate the value it provides the business, and IT execs blame their IT systems, processes and services.

Not only does asking an agent for customer lists cause agents to question your rationale behind the request, it is a significant breach of the relationship, Professional Insurance Agents say.

One of the most frightening aspects of the financial services meltdown is that it may well happen again. Indeed, a new paper from Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Joint Risk Management Section says a focus a widespread embrace of enterprise risk management coupled with regulatory enhancements are needed to avert future crises.

As part of its stated goal to create a digital insurance community, Insurance Networking News is adding a comments section to its blog postings. This functionality is part of a larger effort to leverage INN’s Web site to offer timelier editorial offerings.

The arrival of BPM as a transformational initiative is creating new opportunities for carriers to think about new ways of doing business.

Just a year after the launch of its Attachments Warehouse, the National Insurance Producer Registry(NIPR), a non-profit affiliate of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, announced an enhancement to the licensing tool that electronically stores documents submitted by applicants. NIPR’s Reporting of Actions (ROA) expands electronic filing abilities to enable producers to submit necessary documents for reporting administrative, criminal or civil action.

Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO and the Des Plaines, Il.-based National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) are partnering to create a national information sharing system aimed at thwarting cargo crime.

Few organizations, including insurers, have even begun PIM initiatives; lack of resources a major barrier.

USAble Life and Benefitfocus have struck a multi-year partnership through 2013 that leverages the Benefitfocus suite of solutions related to how group and voluntary benefits are sold, enrolled, billed and serviced, the companies report.

AXA Insurance UK has signed with Duck Creek Technologies Europe Ltd., a software and service solutions provider for the insurance industry, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to supply a new commercial insurance processing system for the insurer.

Genworth, Markel and Unum are just a few of the insurers affected by A.M. Best and Fitch’s latest rating actions.

The Xerox name is generally well known. And now, Xerox Corp. may become even more well known in the insurance industry, as it signed a definitive agreement with Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) to acquire the business process outsourcing (BPO) firm.

A decline in investment gains seems to be the driver of private U.S. P&C insurers’ poor first-half net income numbers. Net income after taxes fell 59.3% to $5.8 billion in first-half 2009 from $14.1 billion in first-half 2008. P&C insurers’ net investment gains—the sum of net investment income and realized capital gains (or losses) on investments—fell 50.2% to $12.4 billion in first-half 2009 from $24.9 billion in first-half 2008, according to ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

Association cheers legal ruling in Michigan.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is denouncing marketing efforts by insurance companies aimed at shifting the debate over Medicare Advantage.

Discoverture Solutions (Discoverture), .a Phoenix-based insurance industry-focused IT solution and service provider, is pleased to announce the company's software development center achieved a CMMI Maturity Level 3 rating during a recent appraisal.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America of New Jersey is recognized for its contributions to education.

One of the most contentious subjects broached at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Fall 2009 meeting was the issue of a public catastrophe model.

Testifying before the House Small Business Committee, J. Douglas Robinson, chairman and CEO of Utica, N.Y.-based Utica National Insurance Group, said efforts to rein in the excesses of Wall Street firms might adversely impact smaller insurance companies.

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) is expressing gratitude for an amendment that counters efforts to exclude independent agents from the health care exchanges envisioned in America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

Insurance IT Budgets: It’s a tricky time for those who must make plans for next year, but where should insurers draw the line between caution and boldness?

While endorsements of an optional federal charter for insurers were easy to come by during the previous administration, the Obama administration has largely avoided offering an opinion on the controversial issue.

Photos from INN’s Women in Insurance Leadership Forum.

Now’s the time for life insurers to target consumers, as Americans show increased interest in financial protection, according to surveys.

Association says their proposal offers a more comprehensive solution to cross-border reinsurance transactions.

While the universe of financial services regulation is in flux, one key component, a proposed consumer financial protection agency (CFPA), is taking shape. The CFPA will have a mandate to set rules governing all financial institutions,

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) (www.naic.org) passed legislation today that adds changes to the Standard Valuation Model Law. When enacted by state legislatures, the changes, addressed at the Executive/Plenary session of NAIC’s Fall national meeting in National Harbor, Md., are designed to improve the way life insurers calculate the reserves held to protect consumer’s financial interests in insurance products, says the organization.

The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York State are offering access to the PIA Technology Hotline, a new member-exclusive resource to help agents navigate the myriad technology options available for their businesses.

Productivity and cost control lead the list of key challenges; business intelligence, meanwhile, tops the list of application and technology priorities.

Vice President Joe Biden faced a standing-room-only audience yesterday at a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), where he discussed the Administration’s health care proposal and the need to create a level playing field in the insurance industry. Biden was invited to speak at the NAIC Fall meeting in National Harbor, Md., where he told members that the reform health care would not impact health insurers’ competitive set. “I want insurance companies to make money,” he said.