Digital Platforms

This acquisition is the latest of many investments The Hanover has made in the past five years.

Providers are adopting electronic health records and one has earned a 2% cut in its malpractice insurance premiums.

TowerGroup says tumultuous past year will color the insurance industry going forward.

The number of insurance businesses for sale far exceeds demand in the current market, Travelers Cos. CEO Jay Fishman said yesterday.

AIG will start calling its aigdirect.com business 21st Century Insurance in January, reverting to the brand of a California-based car insurer acquired last year.

The Insurance Research Council (IRC) study is based on data from more than 42,000 auto injury claims closed with payment under the five principal private passenger coverages.

Nationwide Funds’ president sees “light at the end of the tunnel” with new products and distribution initiatives.

Deal is an acknowledgement by risk management solutions provider of critical emergent risk factor: climate change.

Wakefield, Mass. — Panviva, a provider of Business Process Guidance (BPG) systems for the health insurance industry, announced the opening of a U.S. office in Wakefield, Mass., just outside of Boston. There, the company will offer support for its health insurance customer base.

Stamford, Conn. – IVANS, a provider of corporate connectivity solutions and services, worked with personal lines P&C giant Progressive Insurance to implement agent-enabled single sign-on technology through IVANS Transformation Station that makes it easier for agents to quote and service their policies, and streamline their workflow. Once Progressive’s agents update their real-time account via their agency management system, and register at Progressive’s Web site, ForAgentsOnly.com (FAO), they will no longer have to enter their user ID and password when bridging over to the FAO website. By utilizing this technology, Progressive now updates the agents’ credentials within Transformation Station on the agent’s behalf. As a result, any time the agent changes his password on Progressive’s FAO website, Transformation Station is automatically updated, thereby enabling a secure, single sign-on to both Transformation Station and the FAO website, and faster access to their policy data.

New York – MajescoMastek, the subsidiary of global technology solutions provider Mastek, reports that the STG Insurance Suite, in its ready-to-deploy application service provider (ASP) model, has gone live for The Responsive Auto Insurance Co., Fort Lauderdale, and will facilitate processing of the carrier’s personal auto business in the state of Florida.

Minneapolis – Under a new presidential administration, successful financial services and insurance organizations will be those that are not only able to adjust to a changing regulatory landscape, but ones that can also demonstrate they are embracing the letter and the spirit of the law. So say experts at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, a provider of compliance and operational risk management solutions to financial organizations.

New York — The environment is an ever growing topic of public discussion and businesses are increasingly influenced by potential threats to climate change. However, the potential and sustainability of Green Insurance products and services has not yet been fully examined or determined.

Philadelphia –The legislation and regulations governing the insurance and reinsurance industries that appear directly tied to the financial crisis are causing discussion both in the mainstream press and in smaller markets hoping to involve themselves to a positive end.A story in this morning’s Washington Post described moves by insurance companies to buy savings and loans to get a piece of the $700 bailout pie. Lincoln Financial Group, Genworth Financial and The Hartford Financial Services Group are among several carriers that have recently announced plans to qualify for the government’s $700 rescue funds by purchasing a thrift.

New York - The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and LogicManager today released RIMS State of ERM Report 2008. The report substantiates the value of ERM for organizations of all types. It also indicates that companies that have greater risk management and ERM maturity levels enjoy higher credit ratings.

Chicago – The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) joined insurance and salvage industry representatives at a meeting last week with the Department of Justice and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to discuss proposals regarding insurer and salvage yard reporting of total loss data to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS).

Scrutinizing complex claims that carry liability for the physician, health insurers are halting reimbursement for clinical fixes to medical mistakes, says Insure.com.

Washington — In Congressional testimony today, New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo edged away from plans to regulate part of the credit default swap market.

In a third annual survey, policy administration projects remain the top insurer priority.

Indianapolis - The Indiana Health Information Exchange has launched its Quality Health First disease management and preventive health services notification program.

Washington - A request to establish a process that might reject certain disclosures in mutual insurers’ financial statements was in effect denied Tuesday afternoon by the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles and NAIC/AICPA Working Groups, reports the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC).

Chicago — In testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, Cameron Findlay, executive VP and general counsel of Aon Corp., urged the U.S. Department of Treasury to acquire the hundreds of billions of dollars of illiquid assets that reside on the ledgers of 's financial institutions.

Albany , N.Y. — The New York State Insurance Department is readying a review of financial stress testing and scenario analyses of insurers in the state.

Glenmont, N.Y. – The nearly 100 independent insurance agents and company representatives who attended last week’s 2008 CEO Conference, “Challenges for our future: New Talent and New Technology” in Albany last week did so with hope and opportunity in mind.

EbixExchange and SIGNiX, both Web-based technology providers, have partnered to enable brokerage firms to fully automate processing of annuities.

Privy to a variety of educational sessions, technology showcases and business analytics, rating and underwriting product launches, attendees at ISO’s annual conference were told that “winners will have ERM in all parts of their business.”

Hartford Financial Services, Genworth Financial, Lincoln National and Aegon NV are acquiring banks or thrifts to be eligible to receive capital injections under the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program.

Lockton Cos.' Fall 2008 Market Update reports that insurance carriers face an ominous set of facts entering the final weeks of 2008.

The financial security company intends to use the borrowings, along with other sources of liquidity, for the repayment of outstanding holding company debt.

Former Montana Governor will step down as association head in February.

Senator proposes mandatory coverage for individuals.

International Data Corp. says the worldwide business rule management systems (BRMS) market enjoyed healthy growth, with revenues increasing 11.4% from 2006 to 2007.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Genworth Financial Inc., Lincoln National Corp. and Aegon NV asked the Office of Thrift Supervision for permission to acquire an existing savings and loan, according to reports.

Approximately $500 million in earned but deferred pay will be distributed in the first quarter of 2009.

The results reveal stark differences in how men and women regard traffic laws.

At a hearing with four execs representing major financial companies yesterday, lawmakers offered little protest when they received only general answers about how the recent injection federal capital was to be used.

A panel discussion at Innovation World 2008 reveals that establishing a common language and metrics is key to the alignment of business and technology.

American Banker and Financial Insights announced this year's list, highlighting a change in the No. 1 position, and a decided international presence being among the noteworthy differences from last year.

Treasury Secretary Paulson's announcement brought criticism from several quarters, including lawmakers who saw it as a missed opportunity, and bankers who said they have whiplash from the Treasury's about-face.

The dramatic changes that have been occurring in recent months are the beginning of a permanent restructuring of financial institutions and insurance entities, according to a story in American Banker.

New research urges organizations lacking formal policies governing how business information is controlled to remedy the situation immediately.

Product aims to meet the needs of technology providers.

Henry Paulson says Treasury is focused on "further strategies for building capital in financial institutions."

The CEO of Medical Records Institute has sent a letter to President-elect Obama suggesting new national strategies to promote health information technology.

Tightening budgets may slow the trend from system replacement to legacy modernization.

Edward Liddy has issued a statement claiming recent media reports have grossly mischaracterized an AIG seminar for independent financial planners that was held in Phoenix last week.

A new study ranks cities most prone to damage from hail storms.

For the first time, the Bush administration took advantage of power it won from Congress last month and bought more than $40 billion of stock in AIG.

In his new position, Gaétan Veilleux will lead the company’s predictive modeling efforts.

A Towers Perrin study found that many executives believe a significant reduction in head count at their organization is somewhat or very unlikely, while some think a more targeted head count reduction is probable.

The latest version of Guidewire’s underwriting and policy administration system is designed to provide P&C carriers leverage in improving core operations.

The research and advisory firm's rankings document the average customer experience of insurers with various technology solutions.