Digital Platforms

Zurich, Switzerland — Acknowledging the need to improve its capital position, insurance giant Swiss Re has secured $1.5 billion in loans from New York-based JP Morgan. The insurer says the loan will guarantee it access to financing at competitive rates for years to come.

Honolulu – Decision Research Corp. (DRC), a rating and policy processing software solution provider to the property & casualty insurance industry, announced today that Chicago-based Unitrin Direct has expanded its production use of DRC’s DecisionMaker Policy Administration Suite to include its homeowners line of business. The company, which went live with its implementation within seven months from contract signing in three states, currently supports homeowners business in 10 states.

Region’s first paperless system is designed to save small businesses and brokers significant time, and eliminate up to one million pieces of paper annually.

Currently, Rob Howard is Farmers’ AVP, national auto physical damage operations.

The head of the House Financial Services Committee says that such an important decision should have been handled by the incoming administration.

The association is condemning a vote to bring indexed annuities under federal regulation.

Consumers should continue to seek side air bags and anti-rollover technology as standard, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

According to the SEC, the move to use XBRL to find and sort information makes it easier to compare financial results, and has the potential to increase the speed, accuracy and usability of financial disclosure while eventually reduce costs for investors.

MGAs and wholesale brokers see opportunities to apply more of the technologies that the standard market is implementing, such as the ACORD XML electronic standards, Real Time workflows and the use of ACORD forms.

Karen Clark tells INN that insurers should not rely solely on near-term catastrophe modeling in light of overestimating the previous three hurricane seasons.

Real Time users report using the technology with at least half of their companies for the following functions: policy view, claims status, billing inquiry, endorsements and single-company quote.

Retiring Sen. Hagel sat down with an INN sister publication, to discuss his tenure and the future of financial services, of which includes the possible federal charter.

A new study finds that price is a key driver among both defecting and loyal customers, but insurers may be surprised by the other priorities swaying loyalty.

Charter members BlueCross, IBM and the University of South Carolina are collaborating to merge business, academia and economic development to grow IT talent, nurture management expertise and cultivate harmonious business and organizational relationships.

A survey from Application Security Inc. finds that nearly 60% of organizations keep the majority of confidential data in databases, with 56% having had a data breach in the past year.

The controversial rule, which has a two-year grace period before taking effect, will consider indexed annuities as securities.

The rate-making amendments are conceptually flawed and discriminatory, say NAMIC representatives and advocacy partners.

Feds say scheme included falsely inflating AIG’s reported loss reserves, a key indicator of financial health to insurance industry analysts and investors.

The New York State Insurance Commissioner believes several agencies could each oversee a portion of the derivatives market.

The insurer’s liability for asbestos-related claims gets a hearing at the highest level.

Munich Re and Risk Management Solutions (RMS) seek to identify and pursue shared research priorities for new and emerging sources of risk, as well as risk areas that continue to present challenges in modeling.

Shares of the U.S. health insurer rose 7.2% after it affirmed its 2008 forecast.

A recent story from DM Review highlights the myriad uses of predictive analytics for businesses, paying special attention to the needs of the insurance industry.

Retailers and hotels ended in the top spots of Forrester’s Customer Experience Index for all categories, while medical insurers and TV service providers ended up at the bottom.

AEGON also has withdrawn its application to the Office of Thrift Supervision to gain a thrift charter, a prerequisite for participation in TARP.

New York — Massachusetts Financial Services Co. (MFS) says that, so far this year, gross sales in its bank trust channel have increased 30% from a year earlier. A company executive says he thinks the Boston investment management company will be able to match that performance in the channel next year, even while it struggles with overall losses.

The carrier hopes to achieve speed-to-market gains by being able to implement rule changes that govern certain underwriting processes in days or real time.

The goal of the partnerships is to enhance its business intelligence and integration solutions and increase its breadth of expertise and specialized knowledge, says the company.

Implementation will start with workers’ comp lines, followed by commercial property lines.

As documented in a recent report, more than half of states score seven or lower out of 10 on key indicators that assess health emergency preparedness.

The open meeting will enable comment on proposed plan to regulate annuities as securities.

Senate Finance Committee releases draft of proposed changes to the tax code.

According to an Exigen Insurance Solutions survey, insurers cite systems technology as the biggest barrier to implementing pay-as-you-drive insurance.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) is allowing investment managers who oversee separately managed account (SMA) programs to access its Fund-Serv mutual fund processing platform.

How can an insurer keep up when it’s creating 989 new bureau-based administrative forms, yet retiring only 249 forms annually?

The company will pay a $25 million fine to atone for improper accounting practices at former reinsurance unit.

AssureNET GL 4.1 is designed to provide increased management oversight and reduced costs through higher levels of automation.

A new study finds that financial difficulties are causing customers to economize on policies.

As its stock price tumbles, the Bermuda-based reinsurer acknowledges investment losses and “efforts to maximize shareholder value.”

Figure less than the 2008 season, but higher than previously predicted.

Study reveals that adult Americans of all ages are showing greater awareness of and interest in online accessibility to their medical information.

Insurer says key programs such as its “green” data center help reduce its environmental footprint.

The financial services meltdown may pressure a new congress and new administration to revamp how the insurance industry is regulated.

Association says current reserving system is too conservative.

The annuities association is starting a campaign to stop a proposal to classify annuities as securities.

The long-gestating proposal lessens collateral requirements for foreign reinsurers.

The GMS Group believes its new platform will improve relations with its existing fixed-income clients, and deliver many managed account solutions to its high-net-worth clients.

AIR’s new model includes three views of seismic risk in Japan.

IASA’s Executive Edge speakers offer divergent views on the state of the economy, its affect on insurance and what insurers can do about it.

After Standard & Poor's placed its ratings on five major U.S. mortgage insurers and their core and dependent foreign subsidiaries on CreditWatch with negative implications, it expects most mortgage insurers will ultimately be downgraded, and some of the downgrades will be more than one notch.

Credit card bills are the most popular bill paid online, followed by utilities, telephone, cable/satellite television, wireless and insurance, according to research from Billeo Inc.

The U.S. wealth management business now has four business units: retirement services, annuities, insurance and investments.