Core systems

21st Century, Argo, Infinity, EMC, Manulife, Tower and XL Group all released their second-quarter results.

Multiple billing systems to be consolidated to cloud-delivered STG Billing solution.

The specialty insurer looks to the claims management software to support its goal of increasing effectiveness and efficiency of payments.

The showdown came at a hearing held by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the controversial product, which is a kind of property insurance policy that banks purchase when mortgage borrowers stop paying for homeowners insurance. Banks receive a portion of the premiums through commissions, reinsurance deals and other payments from the specialty carriers that offer it.

New survey hints that organizational understanding may be more important than appropriate technology products when it comes to gleaning social insights.

International regulatory measures, including Solvency equivalency, highlight the AIA’s talking points heading into the weekend.

After purchasing ClaimCenter from the provider five years ago, the insurer is also implementing Guidewire's billing, client data management and policy administration systems.

Coverage Counselor is designed to help consumers understand how their personal circumstances impact their insurance premium and enable them to compare different levels of coverage.

In July, severe drought and heat waves effected great swaths of the United States, causing billions in insurance losses, according to Aon Benefield’s “July 2012 Global Catastrophe Recap.” Up to 64 percent of the continental United States is experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the National Climatic Data Center, and half of all U.S. counties have been declared disaster areas.

Spreadsheet Workbench purchased by insurer in an effort to meet Solvency II requirements.

The number of insurers looking to increase staff is now at the highest level since July 2009, according to “The Mid-Year Insurance Labor Market Study,” produced by Jacobson Group, an insurance staffing company, and Ward Group, an insurance consultancy. The majority of insurers, 54.5 percent, intend to increase staff this year, compared to 51 percent in January; and the number expecting to increase revenue is 78.4 percent, up from 69 percent for the same period.

Insurance is among the industries found to have significant scanning requirements due to a continued reliance on paper, according to a recent survey.

Announcement of another state review comes days before NAIC's hearing on force-placed insurance slated for Thursday.

Many insurers currently don’t offer self-service Websites to support customers, but that will change by the end of 2013, according to the phase 1 results of iPipline’s “Surveying Customer Servicing in Life Insurance: Insights into carriers’ operational tasks, priorities and technologies.”

Nina, the new customer service virtual assistant from Nuance, is designed to understand what is said and who is saying it.

This month’s MarketScout report cites a stable personal lines market with a composite rate growth of 2 percent for August, while composite commercial P&C rates were also noted as steady at four percent.

Upgrading claims systems is a high priority, ranking among the top three projects for 41 percent of large property/casualty carriers and 23 percent of midsize carriers, according to “Novarica Market Navigator: US Property/Casualty Claims Solutions 2012.” This year, insurers will select between 65 and 75 new systems, compared with 50 to 60 claims systems last year.

Insurers’ recent SEC filings indicate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is continuing its investigation into whether mortgage insurers are complying with federal real-estate law.

The technology challenges business models by potentially eroding premiums and profits, but also offers an opportunity for differentiation in a market historically driven by price.

Job numbers in all IT sectors grow as CIOs look to turn temporary positions into openings for full-time IT professionals.