Subject Root Tag

John Hancock Financial, a unit of Manulife Financial Corp., has entered the travel insurance marketplace, distributing products through a new website, www.johnhancocktravel.com, and through travel insurance comparison sites, such as InsureMyTrip.com.

The top marketing executive at a sizable US retailer recently found herself perplexed by the sales reports she was getting. A major competitor was steadily gaining market share across a range of profitable segments. Despite a counterpunch that combined online promotions with merchandizing improvements, her company kept losing ground.

A new report that provides an analysis of residential building codes in the 18 hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast was released today by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). The IBHS is an independent, nonprofit, scientific research and communications organization supported by the property insurance industry. Intended to increase the safety and integrity of structures, thereby reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from hurricanes and a wide range of other hazards, building codes are relied upon by property/casualty insurers as one of several pieces of data used to qualify risk.

The U.S. insurance industry saw a 3.3 percent increase over November’s jobs figures, adding 3,300 jobs in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Insurers are warming to the notion of standardized product approval according to a report from consulting and actuarial firm Milliman Inc.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued an interim final rule to require adoption of standards and operating rules for electronic funds transfer and remittance advice HIPAA transactions.

As the New Year unfolds the insurance industry will double down on data, according to a new report from enterprise and application architecture consultancy X by 2.

Insurance companies are now competing with start-ups and tech-savvy companies for a shrinking pool of IT talent.

The use of telematics by personal lines insurers may have reached a tipping point, according to a new report from Celent.

In its report, “Forecast: Master Data Management, Worldwide, 2010-2015," the research and advisory firm predicts a 21 percent increase in MDM revenue from 2011. By 2015, MDM revenue is anticipated to swell another 40 percent to $3.2 billion. Regionally, the U.S. and Europe will lead the MDM market, though the fastest rate of MDM software revenue growth will be in Asia by 2013.

The always-on, always-up digital culture that has been so readily adopted by younger Americans is having an impact on direct mail, according Mintel Comperemedia, a firm that provides competitive intelligence services. The firm reports that direct mail volume to consumers from life, health and property/casualty insurers is down 11 percent in Q3 2011 compared to Q3 2010.

The next major development in IIABNY’s legal effort to overturn a New York regulation mandating producer compensation disclosure will occur Jan. 10, 2012, reports the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York.

While the Affordable Care Act remains a source of controversy one of its primary tenets, the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges enjoys considerable support, according to a new survey from the AARP.

A survey by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) finds health insurer Cigna’s health plans in healthy shape.

Financial consulting firm Deloitte has acquired mobile agency Übermind Inc., expanding Deloitte’s business, systems integration and enterprise technology capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Conning, provider of asset management solutions, services and research to the insurance industry, made a one-year commitment to be as a strategic partner to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).

Frank Cowan Co. has selected the RC Inspection software solution from Risk Control Technologies Inc., a provider of loss-control software solutions for insurers, to streamline its loss-control operations. Frank Cowan will equip its team of risk-management inspectors with tablets complete with the RC Inspection application for loss-control management.

Securian Financial Group, a provider of insurance, debt protection, loan documents and marketing services, has purchased American Modern Life Insurance Co. (AMLIC) and its subsidiary, Southern Pioneer Life Insurance Co. (SPLIC), from American Modern Insurance Group.

Internal use and consumer outreach using social media will undoubtedly persist, but it may take marketers to push the format to flourishing heights.

The largest insurance company in the Czech Republic, Ceska pojistovna, is using IBM technology to help prevent IT issues and support core business functions, such as claims processing and customer management.