Core systems

A recently published study from Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Inc. finds that roughly 33% of organizations prematurely terminated at least one business process outsourcing relationship during the past year.

Stamford, Conn. — Towers Perrin is expanding its reinsurance intermediary business to serve the French domestic market.

New York — Fifty-five percent of well-insured adults go online six or more times a week, according to Experian Research Services. As the insurance industry has the highest customer acquisition cost in business today, an online strategy is necessary to attracting these well-insured prospects.

Washington – The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3959, which would gradually phase out some of the subsidies in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Kansas City, Mo. — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) named its 2008 committee chairs and vice chairs.

Presenters at Insurance Networking News’ 1st annual Web Services and SOA summit stressed an incremental approach, and an emphasis on communication when undertaking SOA initiatives.

Wellesley, Mass. — The digital world is transforming the way information is organized and stored, and companies across all lines of business are being charged with using emerging technology solutions to support the customer experience in new and innovative ways, according to experts at an e-business thought leadership conference held January 16 and 17 in Wellesley, Mass.

Margin compression and continued pricing erosion is pressuring the insurance industry to achieve top-line objectives in 2008, according to Ernst & Young's Global Insurance Center.

Alexandria, Va. — When 10 Generation X independent agents attending the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big I) Young Agents Leadership Conference in San Diego this past September discussed their future, technology was at the forefront of their success strategies.

A new Web site marketplace offers insurers and brokers a chance to market their voluntary benefits packages to employers and their employees.

Cambridge, Mass. — Is business rules technology finally hitting its stride? That's the question posed by Forrester Research Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm, which says business rules are now a key enabling technology for dynamic business applications.

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education captured, on a single Web site database, government-sponsored programs to help consumers in need of health coverage. This may be just in time, as California is set to vote on a mandatory health insurance bill.

Despite barriers such as cost, electronic health records are slowly but surely becoming a technological cornerstone of the health insurance

Redwood Shores, Calif. — Oracle Corp. and San Jose, Calif.-based BEA Systems Inc. entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire all outstanding shares of BEA for $19.375 per share in cash. The offer is valued at approximately $8.5 billion, or $7.2 billion net of BEA's cash on hand of $1.3 billion. "We expect this deal to be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 1-2 cents on a non-GAAP basis in its first full year after closing," says Oracle president and CFO Safra Catz.

Meeting business demands with technology requires knowledge from both sides of the house, a clear understanding of how to execute on well-developed strategies, and a certain amount of finesse. Such was the overarching theme communicated by three distinct-yet-seasoned technology executives at the Celent U.S. CIO/CTO Roundtable, held January 10 in New York.

New York — AIG Executive Liability, a division of the property/casualty insurance subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. (AIG), announced AIG e-Discovery Solutions, a program of e-discovery-related products and services to help all of AIG Executive Liability’s clients, including the division’s directors and officers and errors and omissions insureds, more effectively manage the e-discovery process. AIG e-Discovery Solutions is a claims service offered by AIG Executive Liability to their clients.

Blythewood, S.C. — CSC plans to add 300 jobs in Blythewood, S.C. The Columbia area was selected from more than 225 cities to be the first CSC World Sourcing Service Center in North America due to the prestigious Blythewood facility, an attractive business environment, and the availability of well-trained IT resources in the community, according to the company.

Waltham, Mass. — Ipanema Technologies, a France-based provider of application traffic management systems for wide area networks, was recognized in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for France and the Fast 500 for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Edison, N.J. - Sudhakar Ram, the chairman, managing director and group CEO of Mumbai-based Mastek, the parent company of Edison, N.J.-based MajescoMastek, has been honored as the 2007 CNBC Asia "India Business Leader of the Year."

Washington – A new study claims that the property/casualty insurance industry continued in 2007 to systematically overcharge consumers and reduce the value of home and automobile insurance policies, leading to profits, reserves and surplus that are at or near record levels. Not surprisingly, the study drew a sharp rebuke from members of the insurance industry.