Core systems

The Xerox name is generally well known. And now, Xerox Corp. may become even more well known in the insurance industry, as it signed a definitive agreement with Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) to acquire the business process outsourcing (BPO) firm.

A decline in investment gains seems to be the driver of private U.S. P&C insurers’ poor first-half net income numbers. Net income after taxes fell 59.3% to $5.8 billion in first-half 2009 from $14.1 billion in first-half 2008. P&C insurers’ net investment gains—the sum of net investment income and realized capital gains (or losses) on investments—fell 50.2% to $12.4 billion in first-half 2009 from $24.9 billion in first-half 2008, according to ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

Association cheers legal ruling in Michigan.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is denouncing marketing efforts by insurance companies aimed at shifting the debate over Medicare Advantage.

Discoverture Solutions (Discoverture), .a Phoenix-based insurance industry-focused IT solution and service provider, is pleased to announce the company's software development center achieved a CMMI Maturity Level 3 rating during a recent appraisal.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America of New Jersey is recognized for its contributions to education.

One of the most contentious subjects broached at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Fall 2009 meeting was the issue of a public catastrophe model.

Testifying before the House Small Business Committee, J. Douglas Robinson, chairman and CEO of Utica, N.Y.-based Utica National Insurance Group, said efforts to rein in the excesses of Wall Street firms might adversely impact smaller insurance companies.

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) is expressing gratitude for an amendment that counters efforts to exclude independent agents from the health care exchanges envisioned in America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

While endorsements of an optional federal charter for insurers were easy to come by during the previous administration, the Obama administration has largely avoided offering an opinion on the controversial issue.

Photos from INN’s Women in Insurance Leadership Forum.

Now’s the time for life insurers to target consumers, as Americans show increased interest in financial protection, according to surveys.

Association says their proposal offers a more comprehensive solution to cross-border reinsurance transactions.

While the universe of financial services regulation is in flux, one key component, a proposed consumer financial protection agency (CFPA), is taking shape. The CFPA will have a mandate to set rules governing all financial institutions,

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) (www.naic.org) passed legislation today that adds changes to the Standard Valuation Model Law. When enacted by state legislatures, the changes, addressed at the Executive/Plenary session of NAIC’s Fall national meeting in National Harbor, Md., are designed to improve the way life insurers calculate the reserves held to protect consumer’s financial interests in insurance products, says the organization.

The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York State are offering access to the PIA Technology Hotline, a new member-exclusive resource to help agents navigate the myriad technology options available for their businesses.

Productivity and cost control lead the list of key challenges; business intelligence, meanwhile, tops the list of application and technology priorities.

Vice President Joe Biden faced a standing-room-only audience yesterday at a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), where he discussed the Administration’s health care proposal and the need to create a level playing field in the insurance industry. Biden was invited to speak at the NAIC Fall meeting in National Harbor, Md., where he told members that the reform health care would not impact health insurers’ competitive set. “I want insurance companies to make money,” he said.

Federal and state authorities have a bone to pick with rating agencies, and insurers could feel the effect.

Public option out of the mix as Senate Finance Committee considers America’s Healthy Future Act.