Distribution

Chartis has named Murli Buluswar its new Chief Science Officer, a newly created position responsible for establishing research and development operations that enhance the insurer’s global commercial and consumer business strategies.

Oracle released the latest version of Oracle Insurance Revenue Management and Billing 2.2.4, a rules-based system that enables insurers to manage billing, payments and collections using a single solution. This updated version enables insurers to automate group and list bill reconciliation to help cut processing costs, improve productivity, and reduce revenue leakage with improved reconciliation accuracy.

As the industry faces shrinking distribution, profitable growth is a top priority for life insurance executives in 2012. This is the essence of LOMA's annual industry forecast, which includes the results of executive interviews conducted on topics such as sales, distribution, use of technology and social media, as well as the effects of regulation during the next 12 months. LOMA is an industry group comprising life insurance professionals.

The potential commoditization of insurance products means companies need to focus on self-service Web presences.

Crump Insurance Services Inc. (Crump P&C) the property/casualty division of Crump Group Inc. has joined the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange.

John Hancock Financial, a unit of Manulife Financial Corp., has entered the travel insurance marketplace, distributing products through a new website, www.johnhancocktravel.com, and through travel insurance comparison sites, such as InsureMyTrip.com.

The always-on, always-up digital culture that has been so readily adopted by younger Americans is having an impact on direct mail, according Mintel Comperemedia, a firm that provides competitive intelligence services. The firm reports that direct mail volume to consumers from life, health and property/casualty insurers is down 11 percent in Q3 2011 compared to Q3 2010.

Financial consulting firm Deloitte has acquired mobile agency Übermind Inc., expanding Deloitte’s business, systems integration and enterprise technology capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Spurred by its $16.2 billion acquisition of American Life Insurance Co., MetLife Inc. moved into the top five while American International Group Inc. (AIG) slid from third to fifth in A.M. Best’s rankings of the top 25 global insurers based on nonbanking assets. UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint Inc., at third and eighth, respectively, were the only U.S.-based insurers to rank in the top ten based on net premiums written.

One week after new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the number of children with insurance increased by 1.2 million since President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act in 2009, more than $296 million was awarded to states for ensuring more children have health coverage.