Insurance

Despite witnessing firsthand the anxiety and apprehension that many of their Baby Boomer parents are now enduring as they close in on retirement, the overwhelming majority of Gen-Xers are still not adequately preparing themselves for their own eventual retirement.

By comparison, insurers must decide which initiative(s) to fund out of many worthwhile projects; developing an objective decision-making model can both help you choose the best projects and build corporate buy-in.

New research is advancing the notion of remote healthcare monitoring, an obvious plus for health insurers, but social factors may inhibit adoption.

Designed for insurance carriers and broker/dealers selling annuity products, the service features analysis by product, carrier, distributor, agent and investor.

Health insurers overall received a low grade on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) / most recent “National Health Insurer Report Card” (NHIRC). Commercial health insurers have an average claims-processing error rate of 19.3 percent, an increase of two percent compared last year, according to the findings. The increase in overall inaccuracy represents an extra 3.6 million in erroneous claims payments compared to last year, and added an estimated $1.5 billion in unnecessary administrative costs to the health system, AMA says. The AMA estimates that eliminating health insurer claim payment errors would save $17 billion.

The number of lightning claims is down, but the average cost per claim rose 13% from 2009; expensive electronics may be culprit.

The insurer reports "mailing error" sent member name, insurance number, diagnoses codes and descriptions, procedure code and description, prescription name and provider names to wrong addresses.

Survey reveals that U.S. insurers have more confidence than their non-insurance counterparts when strengthening competitive position through mergers and acquisitions.

State Farm sends mobile units to meet with evacuees.

USAA, Securian Financial highlight annual ranking.

New offerings provide principal and income guarantees to help consumers protect and grow retirement income.

Insurer expects to streamline policy administration, enhance underwriting accuracy and efficiency, and provide automated, real-time billing.

Business process management (BPM) system designed to enable carriers to streamline and automate end-to-end business processes.

Program to give rural telecommunications providers alternative to self-insured plans, club programs.

The Principal's third-party administrator expense allowance program extended six more months.

Planning and IT business alignment central to success, survey results suggest.

Aon study reveals 4% increase in the average long-term liability claim size.

Munich Re expects to reduce nearly $500,000 in annual electricity costs with new solar power system; Harleysville already realizing energy cost reductions of 25% since 2008.

While traditional channels are still heavily used for communications, communicating electronically is now critical for insurers.

Premium sales of individual life combination products jumped 62% in 2010, reaching $1.2 billion.