Core systems

Analysts rank “pricing strategy” and “quality of service” as the industry’s top value drivers over the next three years, named by 95 percent and 94 percent of the respondents, respectively, ahead of “data analysis capabilities” (86 percent).

CEO Liam McGee is working to free up capital and reduce risk as stock market volatility remains a threat.

The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) released new research indicating that during the past year, nearly 30 percent of baby boomers stopped contributing to a retirement plan, and 16 percent prematurely withdrew funds from a retirement plan. The recession and slow recovery are pointed to as the primary barrier preventing baby boomers from adequately saving for retirement.

The governors of the three states hit hardest by Sandy have declared that homeowners in their states will not have to pay hurricane deductibles on insurance claims stemming from damage caused by the storm.

The clock is ticking, and insured losses are rising, as crews take to the most heavily hit regions to assess infrastructure damage and reconnect power to millions.

Attendees were immediately challenged at LIMRA's annual conference with a question: Is the industry headed toward the abyss?

Funding for IT projects to help insurers become more customer-centric is largely unavailable.

AIR Worldwide, catastrophe modeling firm, estimates that insured losses from Sandy to onshore U.S. properties will be between $7 billion and $15 billion.

Software to boost multichannel marketing and spur customer segmentation.

It’s no surprise that insurers are using social media to help define, build and integrate their brands against the myriad platforms available to them, and some are clearly farther along the path than others. This was made evident yesterday at LIMRA’s 2012 annual conference in Chicago, where MassMutual shared with attendees nuances of its sophisticated and successful social media plan.

Initial economic damage estimated at $10 billion, or comparable to Hurricane Irene.

INN will continually update this page with coverage of Superstorm Sandy and its impact on the insurance industry.

Auto-Owners, Amica and Erie Insurance lead the pack in overall satisfaction, according to J.D. Power study. Fairness, ability to manage expectations and communicating the progress of a claim most important.

Analysts speculate the storm’s lasting impact on the industry, national economy.

Novarica Research Council Impact Award Nominee of the Day: Allstate Financial enabled producers and customers to legally bind an electronic signature to a life insurance application via the internet.

National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory indicates Hurricane Sandy will strike close to midnight; CoreLogic lists the 25 NYC area zip codes at risk of the most property damage.

CNA, Everest RE and others released their third-quarter results.

Insurance proves to be the worst-performing industry in several markets today as Hurricane Sandy damages loom.

Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, is seeking a buyer for a U.S. annuities business that may fetch more than $1 billion, said people with knowledge of the matter.

While still waiting for the storm's highest point of impact, insurers announce assistance information.