Compliance

Uniondale, NY--OnlineBenefits Inc., provider of Internet-based HR solutions, announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Captiva Systems, a producer of agency management software for group insurance brokers.

NEWARK, Calif.-- Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world's leading provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, today announced that it has released a new data formatting tool called the RMS Data Wizard. The tool is designed to help clean up and convert data about insured locations into a common format for use by insurance buyers, agents, brokers, insurers, and reinsurers.

NEW YORK--AIG Technologies, Inc. (AIGT), a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), today announced the launch of WINS Now, a Web-based insurance processing system designed to streamline policy administration and increase speed to market for Managing General Agents (MGA) and small property-casualty companies, including start-up and virtual insurers.

COLUMBIA, S.C.-- Following health insurance scams that have hit South Carolina recently, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has added new tools for consumers to use to report fraud.

Data standards are critical to streamlining the financial reporting process, according to industry sources. And a new add-in to Microsoft Office 2003--to be released this summer by the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant--may be the missing link in the concept of "straight-through reporting."The Microsoft add-in will provide XBRL support within Word and Excel, and it will enable companies to automate manual tasks associated with using Word and Excel for financial reporting, says Mike Willis, founding chairman of XBRL International and partner at New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rating agency demands (71%), financial reporting issues (55%), shifting product preferences (55%) and changes in regulatory requirements (48%) are driving the industry's need for improved risk and capital management practices, according to life insurance company CFOs surveyed by the Tillinghast business of New York-based Towers Perrin in its latest CFO survey.As a result of such pressures, 86% of the CFOs surveyed say they are paying more attention to risk and capital management practices. Four out of five (81%) of the executives polled are going one step further; they are proactively implementing them.

It's no secret that for insurers, aligning technology staffs and business units into a full partnership has been challenging. Frederick Matteson, the newly appointed chief information officer for Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., isn't able to fully grasp the automation-related woes that have bedeviled insurers. That's because Matteson has deftly been able to avoid them himself.Having spent a number of years as an executive in the brokerage industry, Matteson championed the concept of total alignment between IT and business long before it became commonplace. A proponent of disciplined strategic scenario planning, Matteson has a keen sense of determining early on whether to expand or reduce a corporatewide initiative, including those centered on information technology.

When it comes to inefficiencies surrounding information technology security practices, global corporations are discovering that to err is human.A survey conducted by Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based global trade association Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) discovered that human error-defined mainly as a lack of adequate certification and training-is the root cause of lax IT security at most corporations.

Many corporations are catching flak these days for various operational inconsistencies.For instance, a recent survey indicates that companies, including insurers, have implemented seemingly effective, written IT security policies, but have not optimized these efforts by providing proper training and certification to its people.

Compromise legislation establishing a federal role in insurance regulation is likely to emerge from the House Financial Services Committee early in May. A hearing in late March yielded strong support for the measure from an industry divided on the issue.At the same time, the principles involved constitute the strongest support yet for greater uniformity in insurance regulation.

The majority of insurance companies already maintain a rigorous corporate governance model to protect the financial interests of their policyholders and shareholders. So why does the Sarbanes-Oxley act have the industry aflutter? New research from TowerGroup, a Needham, Mass.-based research and consulting firm, finds insurers are realizing that the law can serve as a catalyst for long- term financial systems architecture strategy and process improvements."The globalization of insurance and the current complex regulatory environment necessitate a systematic, integrated approach to risk management," says Cindy Saccocia, senior analyst in the Insurance practice at TowerGroup and author of the report, titled "Sarbanes-Oxley and Insurance: Requirements, Hype, and Opportunity."

Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J., has introduced an automatic, online licensing application for brokers seeking appointment to sell the company’s insurance and annuity products. The electronic data collection tool, called Online Confidential Data Sheet (CDS), was developed by BISYS Education and Licensing Services for Prudential.The Online CDS streamlines the traditional, paper-based appointment process and greatly improves brokers’ speed to market.

Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), a Newark, Calif.-based provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management, has released the findings of an in-depth study that provides workers compensation, life, and health insurers with key benchmarks for the potential risk of human casualties from catastrophic events.Among other findings, the study demonstrates that while many in the insurance industry view the World Trade Center attack as a worst-case event, there are numerous natural and man-made events that could cause significantly higher casualties and associated insured losses.

In recognition of the HIPAA security rule pre-anniversary deadline that passed this month, Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit URAC released a report examining the state of preparedness in the health care industry in complying with the security rule.

Homeowners rates that include a severe thunderstorm component based on sophisticated catastrophe modeling have been included as part of a rating plan subject to approval by state regulators in Florida.Florida Farm Bureau's 2003 Homeowners rate filing included a ground-breaking actuarial approach, which develops a distinct base rate for both hurricane and severe thunderstorm perils using hurricane and severe thunderstorm models from AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR), a subsidiary of Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO. The models were also used extensively in the redefinition of territory lines and development of territory rating factors separately for each catastrophic peril.

Los Angeles-based Marshall & Swift / Boeckh (MS/B) will be acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., Richmond, B.C., Canada.MDA is a global information company providing property-specific information to businesses and governments. Operating through two groups Information Products and Information Systems, MDA is active in data collection, information extraction, and information distribution.

Denver, CO--Valen Technologies, a provider of intelligent predictive analysis and decision enabling software, announced the availability of a premium modification module for its predictive underwriting software, Risk Manager. The new module develops a sophisticated, multivariate pure premium model that underwriters use on a daily basis to surcharge and discount policies more effectively.

San Diego, CA--WorldGroup has introduced InsureWorx First Report of Injury (FROI), the latest InsureWorx On Demand Solution (ODS). The new FROI capabilities offer exceptional efficiency and customer service to the First Report of Injury process, enabling efficient and timely intervention - critically important to controlling overall costs of workplace injury claims. The company launched the solution at RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition.

SAN DIEGO, CA---Assurex Global, the world's largest privately held risk management, commercial insurance and employee benefits broker group, is launching new software to enhance communication and information-sharing among its independent broker partners and commercial clients around the world. The software was introduced here at the Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference.

Data standardization within the reinsurance industry comes a step closer as London-based ri3k announces a special release of its reinsurance hub. Called InSynch, it enables users to create LMP-compliant slips, and has ACORD certification for contract placement messages covering all treaty types and classes.The LMP Office has approved the ri3k contract structure, which will be used for June renewals onward for tradable electronic slips on ri3k’s system. In accordance with the LMP slip requirements, ri3k has introduced mandatory field names, separated into the correct LMP categories. These categories are risk details, subscription agreement, information and fiscal/regulatory.