Digital Platforms

Mobile units enable insurers to provide immediate lines of aid to those affected by recent tornadoes.

A pair of reports detail what the year ahead has in store for the insurance industry.

Competitors from unlikely verticals, a reduction in IT staff, and the ability to clean up data stores and use them to garner business intelligence are but some of the challenges insurers will face through the year 2012.

Alpharetta, Ga. – ChoicePoint has resumed its acquiring ways by snapping up Optimal Decisions Group (ODG), an Australian firm that develops analytics and software for the insurance industry.

Washington – A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests that insurers should make a broader swath of claims data available to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulators. The suggestion arises in the wake of questions prompted by Hurricane Katrina concerning the responsibility for damages and later allegations that insurers misrepresented wind damage in claims to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in order to limit their financial losses after the storm.

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Peoria Heights, Ill. — Pearl Dental Insurance recently launched a new Web site that provides an immediate, online quote rating engine for insurance brokers and dental plan prospects living in most states.

Hillsdale, N.J. — Despite the ongoing crisis in the real estate industry, MyClosingSPACE.com is making its debut in New York, offering residents across the state the ability to purchase title insurance and mortgage closing services directly online.

Researchers say India is only just beginning to tap its enormous potential, and stands poised to become a giant in the world economy, with its insurance industry playing a part.

Denver – The Colorado House of Representatives defeated H.B. 1143, a proposal to ban the use of credit-based insurance scores. The bill was narrowly voted out of the House Business and Labor Affairs Committee last week by a vote of 6-5.

Hardware-centric HP buys enterprise software provider Exstream in order to push into the variable data publishing arena.

A recently published study from Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Inc. finds that roughly 33% of organizations prematurely terminated at least one business process outsourcing relationship during the past year.

Stamford, Conn. — Towers Perrin is expanding its reinsurance intermediary business to serve the French domestic market.

New York — Fifty-five percent of well-insured adults go online six or more times a week, according to Experian Research Services. As the insurance industry has the highest customer acquisition cost in business today, an online strategy is necessary to attracting these well-insured prospects.

Washington – The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3959, which would gradually phase out some of the subsidies in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Kansas City, Mo. — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) named its 2008 committee chairs and vice chairs.

Presenters at Insurance Networking News’ 1st annual Web Services and SOA summit stressed an incremental approach, and an emphasis on communication when undertaking SOA initiatives.

Wellesley, Mass. — The digital world is transforming the way information is organized and stored, and companies across all lines of business are being charged with using emerging technology solutions to support the customer experience in new and innovative ways, according to experts at an e-business thought leadership conference held January 16 and 17 in Wellesley, Mass.

Margin compression and continued pricing erosion is pressuring the insurance industry to achieve top-line objectives in 2008, according to Ernst & Young's Global Insurance Center.

Alexandria, Va. — When 10 Generation X independent agents attending the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big I) Young Agents Leadership Conference in San Diego this past September discussed their future, technology was at the forefront of their success strategies.

A new Web site marketplace offers insurers and brokers a chance to market their voluntary benefits packages to employers and their employees.

Cambridge, Mass. — Is business rules technology finally hitting its stride? That's the question posed by Forrester Research Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm, which says business rules are now a key enabling technology for dynamic business applications.

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education captured, on a single Web site database, government-sponsored programs to help consumers in need of health coverage. This may be just in time, as California is set to vote on a mandatory health insurance bill.

Despite barriers such as cost, electronic health records are slowly but surely becoming a technological cornerstone of the health insurance

Redwood Shores, Calif. — Oracle Corp. and San Jose, Calif.-based BEA Systems Inc. entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire all outstanding shares of BEA for $19.375 per share in cash. The offer is valued at approximately $8.5 billion, or $7.2 billion net of BEA's cash on hand of $1.3 billion. "We expect this deal to be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 1-2 cents on a non-GAAP basis in its first full year after closing," says Oracle president and CFO Safra Catz.

Meeting business demands with technology requires knowledge from both sides of the house, a clear understanding of how to execute on well-developed strategies, and a certain amount of finesse. Such was the overarching theme communicated by three distinct-yet-seasoned technology executives at the Celent U.S. CIO/CTO Roundtable, held January 10 in New York.

New York — AIG Executive Liability, a division of the property/casualty insurance subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. (AIG), announced AIG e-Discovery Solutions, a program of e-discovery-related products and services to help all of AIG Executive Liability’s clients, including the division’s directors and officers and errors and omissions insureds, more effectively manage the e-discovery process. AIG e-Discovery Solutions is a claims service offered by AIG Executive Liability to their clients.

Blythewood, S.C. — CSC plans to add 300 jobs in Blythewood, S.C. The Columbia area was selected from more than 225 cities to be the first CSC World Sourcing Service Center in North America due to the prestigious Blythewood facility, an attractive business environment, and the availability of well-trained IT resources in the community, according to the company.

Waltham, Mass. — Ipanema Technologies, a France-based provider of application traffic management systems for wide area networks, was recognized in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for France and the Fast 500 for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Edison, N.J. - Sudhakar Ram, the chairman, managing director and group CEO of Mumbai-based Mastek, the parent company of Edison, N.J.-based MajescoMastek, has been honored as the 2007 CNBC Asia "India Business Leader of the Year."

Washington – A new study claims that the property/casualty insurance industry continued in 2007 to systematically overcharge consumers and reduce the value of home and automobile insurance policies, leading to profits, reserves and surplus that are at or near record levels. Not surprisingly, the study drew a sharp rebuke from members of the insurance industry.

Core systems, front office and data mastery top the list of IT initiatives for 2008.

A new study from Gartner and ACORD finds that while insurers continue to adopt XML initiatives, they're not following the best practices in XML governance, funding and oversight.

Lexington, Mass. – A recent survey finds that carriers are seeking underwriting automation and to ease their interactions with agents.

Boston - AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR), a provider of risk management data and services, announced results of the latest research by its team of scientists into the link between the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and landfall activity. The latest findings provide a context for better understanding the 2004-2007 hurricane seasons and demonstrate that using Atlantic basin activity as a proxy for landfall activity can lead to erroneous estimates of both landfall risk and potential insured losses, says the company.

New York – Deloitte Consulting LLP has unveiled the results of its 12th annual life and annuity back-office operations benchmarking studies, LIONS 2007 and ACES 2007, which provide comparative analysis to benchmark expenses for operations and information technology among insurance companies. The analysis covers a variety of topics including efficiency, effectiveness, key trends, use of technology and business performance.

In the latest in a series of research and advisory personnel moves, Matt Josefowicz, former managing director of the insurance practice at Celent, will head up a new research and advisory services company called Novarica.

Tallahassee, Fla. - The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) has approved an overall rate reduction of 18.4%, effective Jan. 1, 2008, marking the fifth consecutive year of workers' compensation rate decreases. The newest rate reductions will give Florida businesses a cumulative decrease of 51.4% since legislative reforms were enacted in 2003.

Chicago – With the extension of TRIA at the close of 2007, one legislative issue that had divided the insurance industry was put to rest. Yet, another equally divisive legislative issue remains unsettled and may well come to the fore this year. While the National Insurance Act of 2007 was, like its predecessor in 2006, unable to make it out of committee, the issue of an optional federal charter for insurers appears to be as alive as ever.

Despite taking much longer than initially expected, e-signature adoption is picking up steam, but is it worth it?

A MetLife survey reveals that incoming Baby Boomers are an affluent, conservative bunch that still feel young, and acknowledge being a bit lax when it comes to obtaining adequate coverage for their own long-term care needs.

ERM platforms help gather data across siloed risk management domains, presenting an enterprisewide view of risk.

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Chicago - While winter storms do not attract the attention of mega-catastrophes such as hurricanes and earthquakes, these smaller events can add up to impact insurers' bottom lines say experts. However, insurers can now avail themselves of such risks by using new technology to better assess the risks from winter storms and fires, risk modeling experts report.

Sircon Corp. an Okemos, Mich., provider of comprehensive producer lifecycle services for the insurance industry, announced a partnership with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - Pennsylvania (NAIFA-PA), a statewide trade association representing approximately 2,300 licensed professionals who provide life, health and multiline insurance and related financial services in Pennsylvania.

Washington – President Bush gave his imprimatur to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2007.

St. Paul, Minn. - IT executives overwhelmingly identify user interface as a key criteria when considering an upgrade or replacement purchase, according to a survey conducted on behalf of St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson Software.

Insurance companies—including actuaries and IT executives—will be under growing pressure to enhance their financial management system capabilities as they face changing financial reporting requirements, and more extensive risk management challenges in 2008.