Digital Platforms

The partnership seeks to enable P&C insurers to strengthen relationships with their clients and distribution channel partners.

Analysts say it could be a challenging time to introduce an advisory platform of any sort.

Sometimes the solution to reaching insurance company customers is deceptively simple.

The Treasury is expected to announce today that a few firms have been allowed to repay Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, signaling government confidence that the worst of the crisis may be over.

AQS, Duck Creek and Sapiens enter the first day of the conference with news of system enhancements, while Insurance Systems opens its first U.S.-based office.

The Nolan Company released a new report on the topic of service improvement and differentiation.

A new survey eliciting the opinions of insurance executives about the software products they use yields some interesting results.

StoneRiver, a provider of technology and strategic solutions for the insurance industry, announces that Montgomery, Ala.-based Alfa Life Insurance Company (Alfa) has reported immediate improvements in their new business processes with the use of LifeSuite, a Web-based new business and automated underwriting system from StoneRiver – Insurance Solutions (previously Fiserv Insurance Solutions).

Legislation seeks to undue Securities and Exchange Commission decision to regulate fixed annuities as securities.

Troubled company expected to trim 17% of workforce.

Reports show that five large private insurers and the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans spent a total of $6.4 million in the first quarter on lobbying efforts.

The president says all the right things about the threat to our nation’s systems, but his plan remains sketchy at best.

Document/content management saw the most activity among property/casualty and life/health insurers and vendors.

President signals intentions regarding health care reform in letter to Senate heavyweights.

In a letter to the Treasury Secretary, ACLI chief denies federal charter will cause regulatory race to the bottom.

New report holds that of the lessons to be learned from the financial crisis, risk management should serve as the primer.

Forrester research finds that 60% of U.S. insurers hope to replace their core applications and its underlying server infrastructure.

Casualty Actuarial Society hosts panel on climate change.

Life insurer says malware at fault for leak.

The companies posted a combined net realized loss of $3.17 billion for the quarter, according to a report from the Reinsurance Association of America.

Celent profiles 45 policy admin systems for commercial and personal P&C insurers, and details seven advanced functionalities that indicate a good modern system.

Given insurers' tight budgets and expectations of greater regulation, more companies have begun to adopt governance practices.

Insurers should consider ERM a process, not just a platform, say study authors.

Wisconsin senator cautions on health insurers’ solvency issues.

Downturn results in biggest drop in 66 years.

Travelers chosen "to restore the financial industry to full representation in the Dow.”

Experts say that the next wave of bank and wealth management products will be linked more to insurance offerings to provide customers more guaranteed income streams.

In a down economy, gold futures are up, and the insurer is betting on a healthy return on its investment.

The insurance industry was at the forefront when mainframe technology began to be used in business some 40 years ago, but we quickly lost that reputation in the years since. In fact, insurance—by nature a risk-averse business sector—has been slower than most to adopt new technologies, and wireless devices are no exception.

Rochelle, Illinois is probably not the first place one would look to find a data center replete with leading edge technology. Yet, it is here in this pastoral hamlet 80 miles west of Chicago that Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate Insurance Co. has built a new facility that employs a mix of technologies and design elements to markedly reduce energy consumption.

Auto-Owners Insurance Group and Transamerica Life Canada among those rated in A.M. Best’s most recent reports.

Puerto Rico-based property and casualty firm Universal Insurance Co. has contracted with The Insurance Automation Group to develop an enterprise software solution to automate its surety bonding workflow. Insurance Automation Group is the developer of iAutomate: Erlon Surety, a leading surety workflow automation solution for insurance firms.

Supporters of an optional federal charter (OFC) for insurers are taking exception to a New York Times editorial, which charged that an OFC would engender regulatory arbitrage.

Vertafore, a provider of software and services to the insurance industry, today announced that TransactNOW and PL Rating facilitated more than 3.4 million agency-carrier transactions in the first quarter of 2009. The strong first quarter results show that agency-carrier connectivity has reached a critical mass, with more carriers enabling real-time transactions through Vertafore's systems and more agencies taking advantage of this connectivity, the provider says.

The insurer plans to sell $1.25 billion in stock and use the funds to boost capital or repay debt.

Technology can integrate loss-inspection reports into workflows, and create a standardized way to collect and decipher information.

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AGENCYPORT AND RISKMETER INTEGRATION PROVIDES INSURERS WITH STP

Pressed to reduce risk and boost compliance, more insurers are automating the management of their investment portfolios.

Commercial messages in our inboxes are a commonly accepted nuisance, but we have lost sight of the danger they represent.

Insurance customers aren't happy with the current level of customer service, preferring to talk to customer service reps rather than use the Web.

MetLife's mortgage business has taken off, and provided additional opportunities for the company to cross-sell its insurance products and services.

Forrester says P&C insurers fair well annually in its rankings due in part to their massive advertising spend.

Life insurers need to redouble efforts to parlay Web searches into meetings with agents.

A tight credit market won’t eliminate deals involving insurance agencies and brokerages.

The health insurer was the top-rated national payer as ranked on overall performance in a survey conducted by athenahealth Inc.

Companies, associations and individuals now have until June 12, 2009, to nominate a woman in the insurance industry who is a true leader, progressing to greater and more diverse positions of influence and authority, and carving a path of excellence for others to follow.

Fast-fingered motorists demonstrate devilish dexterity while driving, but what happens when they check their spelling?

Rating agency issues optimistic note on the sector, stating that the industry is set to weather further economic storms.

Global insurers facing financial hardships may adopt cautious optimism, says the German insurer.

The technology solution market will experience expansion as the health insurance industry considers claims processing as yet another value proposition.