Insurance

The Hague — AEGON N.V. announced that Johan van der Werf has stepped down as CEO of AEGON The Netherlands, as of Jan. 21, 2008. van der Werf, who also serves on the Management Board of AEGON N.V., has led the Dutch organization since 2002, and has worked for AEGON and its predecessors since 1982. He will serve as an advisor to the executive board for the remainder of the year.

New York — Haier New York Life, the joint venture between New York Life Insurance Co. and China's Haier Group, opened a branch in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China. Haier New York Life, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, is the first Sino-U.S. life insurance joint venture with a license for the economically important city of Wuhan. The operation received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish its Wuhan branch in November 2007.

Chester, Pa. — AdminServer Inc. added two industry veterans, Roger Soppe and John Connell, to the AdminServer sales team. Both will report directly to Jim Rourke, AdminServer's chief marketing officer, and will be instrumental in AdminServer's continued focus on sales and aggressive expansion in all insurance markets: life, annuity, property/casualty, health and reinsurance.

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.

Jersey City, N.J. — ISO Senior VP Richard Boehning will retire on Jan. 31, 2008, concluding a 20-year career supporting the insurance industry.

Schaumburg, Ill. — Zurich recently named Domenick DiCicco as chief claim counsel for its North America Commercial division. DiCicco will be responsible for managing claims’ legal operations in Zurich’s Schaumburg, Ill., and Baltimore offices.

New York — James Schiro, CEO of Zurich Financial Services, was honored as the 2007 Insurance Leader of the Year at St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Sciences. The award, which was presented at the school’s 13th Annual Insurance Leader of the Year Award Dinner at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, raised more than $2.4 million for students and programs at the School of Risk Management

Brookfield, Wisc. — Fiserv Inc., a provider of information management systems and services, announced that Richard Jones will join the company as executive VP and CIO. The new position, which will report to the CEO, will have oversight responsibility for global infrastructure, technology governance, and spearheading programs to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s dispersed technology resources.

New York — Two New York-based companies are partnering in their support of FUTURITY FIRST, a life insurance distribution organization that will be headquartered in Hartford, Conn.

Paris — Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), a Columbia, S.C., provider of insurance technology solutions, will work in collaboration with SUADEO, a French company that provides business intelligence (BI) solutions for health, and risk and protection insurance businesses, to integrate CSC’s health, risk and protection software, GraphTalk A.I.A., with SUADEO’s BI solution, SUADEO Plateforme.

Columbia, S.C. — In business less than one year, EagleEye Analytics, an insurance technology company that concentrates on predictive analytics and data information services, has chosen Columbia, S.C. for its new corporate headquarters.

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.

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.

Charlotte, N.C. — Patrick Vaughn recently joined LMC Capital LLC, an investment banking firm focused exclusively on the insurance industry, as managing director, and will lead LMC’s M&A practice for insurance technology and services companies.

Pearl River, N.Y. — John Leonard, The MEMIC Group's president and CEO, has been designated the 2008 chairman of ACORD's Board of Directors. This is Leonard's second time chairing the ACORD Board, having previously served in 2001. The announcement was made by ACORD's President and CEO Gregory Maciag.

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.

New York — MetLife announced the appointments of Ruth Fattori as executive VP and chief administrative officer, and Maria Morris as executive VP and head of technology and operations. Both Fattori and Morris will join MetLife’s executive group, and report directly to C. Robert Henrikson, chairman of the board, president and CEO. The appointments are effective January 14, 2008.