Digital Platforms

Bill intends to protect elderly consumers from fraud.

Insurer will shed 10% of workforce and consolidate offices worldwide.

Insurers say an Optional Federal Charter (OFC) will streamline distribution channels, lower administrative costs and provide more product choices and pricing options for policyholders.

Commissioners’ Mandate Rests on Unfounded Fears

Among other findings in a Willis Re report, the reinsurance market stands out as the only capital market operating smoothly, with buyers able to access large quantities of contingent capital.

WEB-BASED BILLING SYSTEM

IMAGERIGHT AND READSOFT PARTNER ON OFFERINGS

Reinsurers used to operate on experience, intuition and a handshake.

LIMRA/LOMA CEO predicts a vastly different life insurance industry after the financial crisis and economic downturn comes to an end.

Exclusive to INN: Ara Trembly, among industry thought leader contributors.

The Operational Riskdata eXchange Association is one of the loudest voices calling for the creation of a global standard for reporting loss events to regulators.

Aflac and State Farm were the only two companies in the top 25 to buck the trend and record positive year-over-year gains.

A new report from Celent sees double-digit growth ahead for business process outsourcing.

Celent believes that if insurers invest in technology, improve their infrastructure and don’t get too caught up in the prognostication, they'll be able to successfully endure the economic crisis.

Mike Wells, Jackson National's CFO, believes companies will regroup in 2009, as consumers figure out what their risk appetite will be going forward.

Rating agencies review, process 2008 Q4 earnings reports and investment losses, with mixed results.

Financial services organizations may regret taking a reactive stance to the down economy, since holding back on IT spend restricts improving the very systems that create a competitive edge.

Catastrophes, mortgage/financial guaranties are cited as primary cause, as American Family, State Farm CNA Insurance Cos., lead the industry with the highest ratios.

One of the biggest challenges facing insurers today is updating or migrating their legacy systems to better align themselves with the rapidly changing business landscape.

Elimination of contentious group support clause paves way for enactment of regulations.

A new document shows that a strong balance sheet and operational support are the keys to strong rating.

PCI prefers regulators avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and instead take one that recognizes that few P&C carriers pose a system risk.

As the importance of the Web as a service channel grows, carriers need to recognize the importance of mashups as a business tool.

Deloitte identifies attributes of Gen Y that will help insurers create a customer service model geared toward the growing consumer group.

Treasury secretary gives tacit support of federal charter in congressional testimony, reigniting a contentious debate.

Health insurer is the latest target in dispute over compensation database.

The Treasury Secretary says large insurers should come under federal regulation, as he details Obama administration’s plan to re-write oversight of financial services industry.

Bank hires new president tasked with expanding distribution channel.

It isn’t compensation that drives insurance agent satisfaction with their P&C insurers; it’s the insurers’ primary contact and breadth of product availability, according to J.D. Power and Assoc.

As offerings widen, carriers are continuing to find places throughout the enterprise to employ data-driven technologies.

The push includes giving the agency the authority to provide financial help or even place a company into conservatorship and receivership.

Although the rating itself was left unchanged, citing the drop in insurance operations capital caused by stock market declines, S&P’s Ratings Services downgraded the insurer’s outlook from stable to negative.

A new Gartner study says that, despite the fact that fewer than 10% of surveyed organizations currently run the latest version of their CRM suite, business execs are overwhelmingly eying upgrades.

As AIG recipients agree to return bonuses, attention is shifted to increasing federal governance and regulation.

Results of a RIMS survey highlight the immature nature of the ERM technology market.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners announces it adopted a proposal to review the use of credit-based insurance scoring, and advocates and critics speak up.

A.M. Best announces ratings adjustments for American Family Insurance Group, Delta Dental, Homesteaders Life Co, among others.

The yearly performance evaluation for Fitch's rated P&C universe showed, in many cases, flat or reduced premiums, poorer underwriting results and significantly higher catastrophe-related losses.

Shaun Kelly will take over for current president Bob Deutsch, effective March 31, 2009.

Therese Vaughn says as U.S. legislators consider how to regulate insurance, they well may follow Europe’s lead.

A new bill seeks to amend the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

Using disputed AIG bonuses as the rationale, two House Democrats introduced another bill this week seeking repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act insurance industry antitrust exemption.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) released an update of its 2008 assessment of state producer-licensing laws, practices and processes.The 2008 report — which provided a comprehensive national assessment of state producer-licensing regulation — identified areas where the states’ reciprocity and uniformity initiatives need improvement, along with areas where such efforts have been successful.“The updates demonstrate that the NAIC’s producer-licensing reform strategy is working, showing significant progress in the past year,” said Alaska Insurance Director Linda Hall, who is chair of the NAIC Producer Licensing Task Force. “The 2008 assessment report outlined where we stood last year in terms of compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s reciprocity requirements and uniform resident-licensing standards. It also provided an independent legal review and on-site peer assessment of our licensing laws, regulations, practices and processes.”Outreach efforts were conducted in teams consisting of volunteer regulators and industry members of the NAIC/Industry Producer Licensing Coalition. These teams held meetings with state commissioners, directors, superintendents, senior regulatory staff and licensing directors who were actively engaged in the 2008 assessment process. The teams then provided updates on each state’s compliance with NAIC reciprocity and uniform resident-licensing standards.The outreach effort afforded industry members with the opportunity to engage in the assessment and discussions of key reforms. It was also an opportunity for the regulators to hear directly from the national and local trade associations regarding issues that matter most to insurance producers.“This process continues to arm us with a wealth of valuable and comprehensive information,” said Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Leslie Newman, who is chair of the NAIC/Industry Producer Licensing Coalition. “I am most pleased with the 98 instances of states achieving compliance with NAIC uniform resident licensing standards since February 2008 — reaching 84% compliance overall — which means the process is working as designed.”

The congressional backlash against American International Group Inc. continued to affect the banking industry Thursday, as the House passed a bill only hours after it had been introduced to constrain executive compensation at firms receiving government assistance.

Workforce reduction is part of data center deal with IBM.

Citing financial crisis, NAVA reports a slide in variable annuities compared to previous year.

A new study reveals that insurers paid out $52.5 billion in global property claims.

In testimony before Senate, Illinois insurance director says state regulators are capable of addressing systemic risk.

NAIC reports 84% overall compliance with resident licensing standards since February 2008.

Spurred by the President's pledge of reform, the House Judiciary Committee wasted no time in passing a bill to give the government resolution power over systemically important financial firms.

The deal may create a powerhouse of open-source Linux and Java software, just in time for Cisco to enter the server market.

Federal Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra returned to his job today, White House officials report.