Purchasing new technology is like buying a new car. In both cases, you first have to assess your immediate and long-term needs, and then shop around for the product that best fits those needs.That's why it's hard to figure out why sports utility vehicles remain the vehicle of choice for many consumers at a time when gas prices have shot past $2 a gallon. Why would anyone spend more than $30,000 for a vehicle that's primarily used to shop for groceries at the local store or haul kids to soccer games?
Insurance companies, on the other hand, need to be more responsible with their capital investments in technology. Now that carriers are purchasing more "out of the box" technologies, they need to be smart technology shoppers and fight the urge to purchase every new-fangled product on the market.
In some cases, insurers may need to purchase SUV-like systems to better manage their information. However, after talking to many carrier executives at the recent IASA Educational Conference and Business Show, it appears that they're leaning toward a more subtle approach to IT investments. Our cover story, which begins on page 40, examines the range of technologies that insurance companies are purchasing to support their traditional delivery channels and their expansion into the e-business economy.
As Insurance Networking is preparing to embark on its fourth year of publication this fall, we too are expanding. In May, Insurance Networking became part of Thomson Financial Media (TFM), a division of Thomson Financial. TFM is the publisher of magazines such as Bank Technology News, U.S. Banker and American Banker, a daily newspaper covering financial services. Sheshunoff Information Services, a leading source of insurance financial data, also is a business unit within TFM. By joining this group, Insurance Networking will be a part of an extremely strong financial services information team. We plan on taking advantage of this strength and providing our readers with as much added value from this merger as we can.
We're also excited about the new leadership that has been brought to the magazine. Janice Stober recently was promoted to be the publisher of Insurance Networking. Janice has been with the publication from its inception in 1997. Many of you may know her personally or from meeting her at industry trade shows. She's looking forward to helping our team make Insurance Networking your top source for insurance technology information. Feel free to call, or e-mail her, your comments and suggestions on how we can improve the magazine. Janice's phone number is 312-983-6212, and her e-mail is Janice.Stober@tfn.com. In the meantime, don't go car shopping until you know what you really need.
Frank Cerne
