Digital Platforms

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.

WOLTERS KLUWER INTRODUCES NILS INCOMPASS

HARLEYSVILLE ROLLS OUT POLICY ADMIN PLATFORM

AIG AWARDS SPECIALTY PROGRAM UNDERWRITER

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.

New York - XL Insurance, the global insurance operation of XL Capital Ltd., has completed the purchase of Global Asset Protection Services LLC (GAPS) from Swiss Re. GAPS is a provider of unbundled loss prevention consulting services, offering individually tailored risk management solutions to risk managers, insurance brokers and insurance company clients operating on a global basis.

Frisco, Texas - Mark Depker, president of Hall Financial Group's management division, announced Skywire Software signed a new 49,500-square-foot lease for its new worldwide corporate headquarters at 3000 Internet Blvd. in the Hall Office Park development in Frisco, Texas.

Portland, Ore. - Kryptiq Corp., a provider of healthcare connectivity solutions, was recently acknowledged at the annual Portland Business Journal banquet honoring the most-admired companies in Oregon. The company received recognition as the fifth most-admired technology company, as determined by a survey of more than 2,000 Oregon CEOs.

Washington – The House passed a seven-year extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) by a margin of 360-53. The passage of bill, which mirrors a version passed by the Senate, paves for the way for a signature by President Bush, who had threatened to veto a more ambitious TRIA extension passed by the House in September.

There is overwhelming evidence that spending on servers is slowing down significantly across a number of market sectors, in some cases by up to a factor of five, according to research conducted by TechNavio from Infiniti Research.

Cary, N. C. - Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is bolstering its enterprise risk management (ERM) program with the implementation of business intelligence from SAS, the companies report.

On the heels of its merger with LIMRA, LOMA is offering conferences at the beginning of the new year designed to help insurers capitalize on the technologies that will enable them to do more business, and do it better.

Windsor, Conn., and Atlanta - Member companies of LIMRA International and LOMA voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposal to unite two of the world's largest insurance and financial services trade organizations. The merger will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2008.

Washington – A bill that would provide $100 million in grants to help local officials enforce building codes has been introduced into the House. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., sponsored the legislation, which is dubbed The Community Building Code Administration Grant Act of 2007.

Atlanta - Connecture Inc., provider of Web-based sales, service and process automation solutions to the health insurance industry, has been awarded the Robinson College of Business (RCB) Eagle Award. The business school selected Connecture as a high achiever among fastest growing private companies in the Southeast.

Approaches to policy administration systems may differ from region to region, but the factors driving replacement are similar.

Customer service, risk management and demographics will mark 2008.

New York — Execution is taking precedence over profit and top-line growth as a focus for CEOs around the world, according to a survey of 769 global CEOs from 40 countries from The Conference Board report, CEO Challenge 2007: Top 10 Challenges. The annual report, conducted during the first quarter of 2007, details specific challenges that CEOs face across regions, as well as by the company’s size, industry, and level of success—all factors affecting the concerns of CEOs.

Regulators advise the public to become aware of ID theft vulnerabilities, while carriers are using technology and third-party help to thwart the bad guys and bolster customer services levels.

Trenton, N.J.– A bill that will eliminate the requirements for auto insurance agents to provide quotes for all their companies and to provide three insurance scenarios to applicants has passed the New Jersey Legislature.

As mortgage lenders struggle to contend with the double-barreled threat of rising defaults and lower origination volume, a third, less discussed source of risk is now starting to emerge.

Arson Registry Act Passes House