Insurance

The showdown came at a hearing held by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the controversial product, which is a kind of property insurance policy that banks purchase when mortgage borrowers stop paying for homeowners insurance. Banks receive a portion of the premiums through commissions, reinsurance deals and other payments from the specialty carriers that offer it.

Michiel van Katwijk will be CFO for the Americas, and Darryl Button will become EVP, head of the corporate financial center.

IT projects tend to become riskier as the size of the project increases, to combat this, insurers should consider "chunking."

After purchasing ClaimCenter from the provider five years ago, the insurer is also implementing Guidewire's billing, client data management and policy administration systems.

Coverage Counselor is designed to help consumers understand how their personal circumstances impact their insurance premium and enable them to compare different levels of coverage.

In July, severe drought and heat waves effected great swaths of the United States, causing billions in insurance losses, according to Aon Benefield’s “July 2012 Global Catastrophe Recap.” Up to 64 percent of the continental United States is experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the National Climatic Data Center, and half of all U.S. counties have been declared disaster areas.

The Innovation Group plc released a new version of Insurer Analytics, which includes new functionality for policy analysis, insurance analytics, usability and extract/transform/load (ETL) process. The new version is designed to enable users to measure, monitor and manage and uncover insights and opportunities.

Company expands executive risk claims team in Atlanta office.

The number of insurers looking to increase staff is now at the highest level since July 2009, according to “The Mid-Year Insurance Labor Market Study,” produced by Jacobson Group, an insurance staffing company, and Ward Group, an insurance consultancy. The majority of insurers, 54.5 percent, intend to increase staff this year, compared to 51 percent in January; and the number expecting to increase revenue is 78.4 percent, up from 69 percent for the same period.

Insurance is among the industries found to have significant scanning requirements due to a continued reliance on paper, according to a recent survey.

Barbara Luck will report to Ken Riegler, president of XL Group’s North American Casualty unit.

This month’s MarketScout report cites a stable personal lines market with a composite rate growth of 2 percent for August, while composite commercial P&C rates were also noted as steady at four percent.

Upgrading claims systems is a high priority, ranking among the top three projects for 41 percent of large property/casualty carriers and 23 percent of midsize carriers, according to “Novarica Market Navigator: US Property/Casualty Claims Solutions 2012.” This year, insurers will select between 65 and 75 new systems, compared with 50 to 60 claims systems last year.

Insurers’ recent SEC filings indicate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is continuing its investigation into whether mortgage insurers are complying with federal real-estate law.

A new survey from CompTIA finds more than three out of five companies are adding new types of skillsets to their IT departments to keep up with growing cloud requirements.

The technology challenges business models by potentially eroding premiums and profits, but also offers an opportunity for differentiation in a market historically driven by price.

A bus tour brings agents and insurers together to discuss what each side can do to further the ambitions of the other.

Net income at Allianz rises 23 percent in the second quarter.

American Safety, CNA, Hartford, MetLife, Prudential and Willis announce second-quarter results.

Solution is designed to enable automated regression testing for policy administration and product changes.