Digital Platforms

A new era of social commerce is knocking at the door, promising CRM on steroids—and State Farm is one of the first insurers to stand in line for it.

With the increasing prevalence of standards such as XML Web services, carriers can more easily move parts of their operations onto other applications and platforms.

Health and life insurers are the most likely to experience repercussions of a possible epidemic.

Insurers have an opportunity to present and discuss experiences, recommendations and visions on the ways a business can most effectively plan and deliver on the benefits of business process management (BPM). Business Process Management Consortium (BPM-C) issued a Call for Participation for the BPM Information Days, to be held in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 15-16, 2009. BPM-C is an OMG managed group.

Based on its research, WANTED Technologies predicts The Bureau of Labor Statistics will announce a loss of 752,000 jobs in March.

A great CEO should be a great visionary, demonstrating outstanding skills at finding the best people and appointing them where they can bring the highest value for the organization.

CAMICO Mutual Insurance, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co., SureTec Insurance Co., Pacific International Insurance Ltd., AEGON USA and The Penn Mutual Life Insurance

Many Americans think it’s likely that electronic health records would improve the overall quality of U.S. medical care.

Redemtech’s “Sustainable Computing Assessment” finds most companies lack holistic policies for promoting sustainable computing.

Getting a framework in place is the first step to a successful enterprise risk management strategy.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan launched a program advocating extensive use of information technology to document and coordinate care across all providers and settings.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has rated Genworth Financial’s main lifestyle protection insurance entities A-.

Much like the insurance industry, bank CIOs are gaining more authority when it comes to managing and enhancing their company's technology.

Insurance advisors, agents, brokers and benefit specialists unify voices to caution against bypassing proper deliberation and debate.

News of the approval was met with mixed results from the insurer community.

The company says by transferring its AUI Holdings company into a special-purpose vehicle, it will be able to sell a minority stake.

Insurance IT vendors should readjust their approach to selling solutions in a way that better meets the needs of their customers.

In a recession, many will see outsourcing of functions as exporting of jobs.

Two weeks after Genworth was denied the ability to participate in the Tarp program, The Phoenix Cos. was thwarted in its attempt to receive bailout funds.

A new report from Hiscox finds that 38% of Fortune 500 companies fail to acknowledge data breaches as a risk, and 49% disregard the impact it can have on their reputation.

Economic slowdown and regulatory changes ranked as the leading challenges facing insurers.

A report by Lockton says premiums should rise in the coming months due to underwriting performance deterioration.

A survey by Aberdeen Group finds that 93% of companies queried have consistent policies in place for supported application software/licenses at the endpoints.

Despite being hailed by many as a cure-all solution for insurers, cloud computing needs to be carefully examined before implementation.

Citing discussions regarding “several issues,” AIG reports that it is rescheduling its annual meeting and release of its annual proxy statement.

Calling it a “global phenomenon,” Conning points to life industry, non-U.S. markets as those most affected by the decline in transaction value.

In its $7.4B bid for Sun Microsystems, Oracle plans to “redefine the industry.”

Industry veteran Gregory Raines will be responsible the firm's securities operations, including practice management, recruiting, rep relations and risk management.

Insurance technology vendors should heed these tips when working with the analyst community.

Former AIG Insurance Services Inc. president Anthony Galioto will become president, CEO and director of York Insurance Services Group, effective April 20, 2009.

New integrated product offering underwritten by Zurich North America takes features historically found only in large corporate programs and brings them to the middle market.

Fitch assigns Lincoln National Corp. a negative outlook, and Moody’s warns of further possible downgrades.

While Europe's Basel II regulations are still just for banks, insurers should take note and begin to prepare, as many of the changes may likely come to affect them in the near future.

Prudential Retirement is the first insurer to offer a product that combines target-date funds with annuities.

The Los Angeles-based multiple line insurer will broaden its personal lines, geographic scope with the $1.9B deal.

In a Benchmark Survey conducted by the Professional Insurance Agents Association, agency principals rated “adjust claims fairly” and “pays claims promptly” as the two top factors when evaluating an insurer.

The technology du jour may run into problems as insurers try to figure out just what it is.

Tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety dictate that very small cars generally can't protect people in crashes as well as bigger, heavier models.

Banking Committee likely to move left to bolster voter support.

Net income of $232.5 million in Q109 compares with $239.4 million in the same period in 2008.

When developing a multichannel distribution strategy, focusing on agent commission, lead generation distribution and communication can help prevent an agent revolt.

American Freedom, MEMIC Indemnity, American Independent Network Insurance of New York, Central States Indemnity of Omaha, West Bend Mutual, Lyndon Property Insurance and Columbia Insurance Group see ratings changes from A.M. Best.

Ernst & Young estimates the global Takaful market could expand to $7.7 billion by the end of 2012.

The CORE initiative seeks to build industry consensus on the tightening of the HIPAA standards to streamline health care financial/administrative transactions.

The life insurer’s chairman, president and CEO says the company is confident that its has the financial strength to continue to succeed now, and over the long-term.

A new report from Guy Carpenter & Co. finds the consensus estimate for total cat bond issuance activity in 2009 stands at $3 billion, dependent on market conditions.

Service-oriented architectures, much like the setup of a mutual insurance company, should be owned by the entire organization, with every department playing its part.

Vulnerability of U.S. infrastructure could mean disaster.

The insurer's shares dropped in trading Monday following last week's announcement that it won't be allowed to receive Tarp funds after failing to meet a deadline to become a bank holding company.

Despite economic turmoil, rating agencies issue stable outlook for insurers, citing an expectation of good earnings this year.

Company says legislation an improvement on past optional federal charter proposals.

With Satyam, Tech Mahindra will become the fourth-largest IT firm in India.