Insure Think

IT personnel budgets for 2010 are slightly higher, but who will actually benefit from the increase?

The green concept is catching on with insurers as well, as Allstate opened a data center last year based upon best practices and technology aimed at saving energy and employing renewable resources.

Just a few pieces of information may be all that is needed to identify you—yet new methods make breaching your privacy even easier.

Wouldn't you love to have even a piece of that magic when you're pitching ideas for a new underwriting system or agency portal? Learn how.

Platform and infrastructure, software development customization and application maintenance are expected to garner the biggest spending increases.

A Texas bank is suing a business customer that was victimized by cyber-theft; what will insurers do in similar circumstances?

The focus of lean IT is to put forth “a set of principles that says you are going to slow down in order to speed up.”

The tech icon says it will cost fewer dollars, but it can also subvert key relationships that make for success.

Actions by French insurers could trigger new rounds of discussions and delay the effective implementation of the Solvency II directive.

Using technology, insurers can anchor claims at the first notice of loss to improve the fairness, accuracy, speed and consistency of claims.

MetLife's new teleconferencing setup may have cost about $1 million, but it expects a double-digit ROI in travel savings.

Everyday users worry about their privacy, so how much more should business users be concerned?

Several high-profile insurers incorporated elegant designs into service processes, and the impact on their market presence has been phenomenal.

For an industry built on trust and relationships, technology is beneficial, but there are still times when face-to-face contact is still important.

The industry considers salivating over the huge China market, but it does so at the expense of our security.

Internet marketing will be regulated by 2015, controlling more than $250 billion in Internet marketing spending worldwide. Outlandish? Maybe not.

A LinkedIn discussion chain yielded a surprising array of responses from IT folks on this question.

Instead of focusing on product features, insurers are focused on growing customer wallet share and capturing emerging customer segments, such as Gen Y. Tech vendors need to pay attention.

Insurers that tie themselves to major sporting events build brand by capturing eyeballs in an innovative way, not by trying to be "cute" with their sponsorships.

Two insurers prove that SOA has finally reached a stage of maturity that allows it to address real business problems.

The amount of data we have is growing faster than our ability to store it, and that spells trouble for enterprises.

While still seen by many as a double-edged sword, social media helps insurers bring bring about new innovation.

“Faster” and “easier” are very appealing buzzwords, but “safer” is even better in the current security climate

IT departments sometimes fall into the trap of gauging success solely on project-management parameters or technological criteria, which isn't always the best measure.

Going forward, insurers will be employing their existing Web application platforms for all manner of devices.

As usual, the federal government chooses a sledge hammer to swat a fly, which means we all get squashed.

It seems like a Millennium ago: it's been 10 years since the rollover to the new century, a time when many expected the greatest computer crash in history.

Many of us are trying hard to see positive trends for the coming year, but employment remains the only meaningful bellwether of change.

What to their wondering eyes did appear? Probably not what they were hoping for.

Many times, insurers don’t look closely enough at all available data and information to see clearly, and lose out on opportunities as a result.

Search is now generating thousands of new policies for agents and carriers, making it an indispensable part of their marketing strategy.

A McKinsey & Co. study finds 55% of execs say current performance in providing basic IT services is very or extremely effective, but only 21% are happy with IT's ability to add value to the business.

OK, so some prominent global warming acolytes have been rigging the numbers; let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.

Survey results show younger generation more open to being approached via non-traditional channels.

Sources say PC sales will increase in the commercial sector, but where will the money come from, and who will use them?

Businesses need working solutions to their problems, and spending capital on all the latest bells and whistles is not the answer.

Despite research indicating that 41% of online insurance consumers are interested in PAYD policies, why hasn't this seemingly innovative and intuitive program been adopted by more states, or backed by regulatory groups?

The few insurers that have released mobile apps have but, eventually, every insurer that has invested in a Web-based channel will be taking full advantage of every mobile device.

Fresh thinking and innovation is needed in the health care sector, and only then will IT improvements begin to have their desired impact.

Joblessness has hit most sectors of the U.S. economy, including technology, but companies are still begging for low-cost labor from overseas.

Celent says customer portals should behave in the manner customers expect, which requires continued investments to reflect changing customer behavior, and the leveraging of new technologies.

With the proliferation of security devices and software, you would think that virus infections are decreasing, but exactly the opposite is true. The question is—why?

A new Celent report concludes that the greatest challenge facing insurers is their siloed environments. Improving info sharing would help eliminate this problem.

Fundamental to every insurer's improvement initiative is the need for managers to provide personal-written or verbal permission to make improvements.

While the law may eventually get watered down, the transparency and accountability of information will live on as perhaps insurers' most important corporate value.

No one wants to spend more money these days, but cuts can bleed in ways we never would have imagined.

Move over James Bond, new “gadget-friendly clothing” redefines “cool” for the technophile.

U.S. life carriers need to understand consumer behavior in order to help agents close new business.

Social media is invaluable in helping people find each other, share information, communicate and learn, but it's not without its pitfalls.

Repealing McCarran Ferguson could have serious implications for insurance companies and, ultimately, would burden consumers.

While Web apps are a critical part of many insurers’ business strategies, there needs to be better, more systematic approaches to addressing potential performance issues.

Internet-related crime is a fact of life, but can we afford to simply write it off and forget about it?