Core systems

San Diego, Calif. - Mitchell International Inc., a provider of information and workflow solutions to the automotive insurance and collision repair industries, has acquired ClaimIQ, a leading San Francisco-based provider of claims decision optimization applications for insurance carriers.ClaimIQ will join the Mitchell organization as a business unit of Mitchell's medical division. All products of both Mitchell and ClaimIQ will continue to be supported and expanded, and a new set of integrated products that combine the strengths of decision support, bill review, and collision estimating will be introduced.

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has redesigned its Web site to be more user friendly to both NAIC members and first-time visitors. Work on the new site began in May after an internal audit was conducted to focus on potential areas of improvement and enhancement, with the goal in mind to create an easier, more accessible online resource for all audiences."Improvements made to our Web site should make finding information much easier for anyone who is seeking insurance information," says Catherine J. Weatherford, NAIC executive vice president and CEO. "We've grouped information into categories that should simplify searches for specific topics."

Redwood Shores, Calif. - Verbalizing its intent to become the number-one CRM applications company, Oracle, announced that it agreed to buy Siebel Systems Inc., San Mateo, Calif., for $10.66 per share. The offer is valued at approximately $5.85 billion, or $3.61 billion net of Siebel's cash on hand of $2.24 billion.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual piloted its e4 Wireless Enrollment System with several plan sponsors and participant focus groups early this year, and so far, the results have been significant.In an effort to make retirement planning less overwhelming for participants and more action-oriented, MassMutual engaged Ameranth Wireless Inc., San Diego, to develop e4, MassMutual's custom Electronic Enhanced Enrollment Experience.

Newark, Calif. - Risk Management Solutions reports that insured losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated to be $40-$60 billion, of which $15-$25 billion are related to the Great New Orleans Flood. This estimate does not include NFIP coverage.

Malvern, Pa. - The CPCU Society has established an emergency relief fund to provide assistance to people living in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Society's Board of Governors voted unanimously to create the fund after receiving numerous phone calls and e-mails from members asking how they can help hurricane victims. The Board also agreed to match contributions from its members and chapters up to $25,000. The CPCU Society will give all donations collected to the American Red Cross on behalf of its chapters in the affected areas.

Acton, Mass. - CCH Insurance Services, a part of Wolters Kluwer Corporate & Financial Services division, has launched a new micro site summarizing regulatory compliance information for insurers responding to catastrophe in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The web site, located at www.insurance.cch.com/katrina is free of charge as a public service to insurers."Affected states are now issuing requirements and other directives specifically related to this catastrophe," says Joe Bieniek, compliance manager for CCH Insurance Services. "We want to provide insurers with a resource that will help them easily determine what is required in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi so they can respond to claims quickly, avoid confusion, and maintain compliance."

Pearl River, N. Y. - IBM is contributing more than 100 business-process models, model definitions and other industry content to the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD), reports the non-profit standards organization. The models come from IBM's Insurance Application Architecture (IAA), the company's insurance business and IT architecture framework. The donation will accelerate the development and adoption of business-process standards that will help address some of the global insurance industry's greatest challenges.

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says that while the damages from Hurricane Katrina may set record losses, the property and casualty industry maintains the adequate capital and liquidity required to withstand claims arising from one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history.

The terrorist attacks that ripped through the heart of London last month provided a jarring wake-up call to American insurers.Even though the attacks, which killed 55 people and injured hundreds more, are expected to result in relatively modest liability exposure according to early estimates, insurers are taking notice.

The London bombings may have provided a wake-up call, but insurers could also be experiencing restless nights fretting over the fate of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 1992.The future of TRIA, a safety net that has provided some protection against the financial fallout from a terrorist event, is uncertain. The law, which was enacted in November of 2002 and is in effect until December 31, 2005, provides a federal financial backstop for the insurance industry for claims from certain terrorist attacks.

Insurers are better prepared to face the hurricane season this year, after the harsh 2004 season forced them to learn how to more effectively interpret the information they get from catastrophe (CAT) modeling systems, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a Newark, Calif., provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk. At press time, RMS estimated that losses from Hurricane Dennis were likely to be between $1 and $3 billion.The two million claims produced from the 2004 season were a catalyst that encouraged companies to improve their understanding of the models, much like Hurricane Andrew in 1992 pushed catastrophe modeling into the mainstream, says Kyle Beatty, meteorologist with RMS.

Kansas City, Mo - The officers and members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have decided to cancel the Fall National Meeting, which was scheduled for September 10-13 in New Orleans. Approximately 1,500 insurance regulators, industry representatives and interested parties had registered to attend the conference.

Dublin, Ireland - The U.S. insurance industry has fully emerged from a rough patch at the early part of the decade, according to Research and Markets, a Dublin research firm. Both life and non-life carriers are currently experiencing a period of relative stability, and have reassessed their technology opportunities. In its report, which examines how U.S. insurance technology strategies have evolved over the past 18-24 months, Research and Markets asserts that claims processing will continue to be the focal point of IT spending for non-life insurers through 2008. Overall spending growth will moderate around 2007 as the bulk of costly system rationalization and standardization efforts will be either underway by then, says the firm.

New York - Hurricane Katrina is expected to be one of the costliest U.S. storms for insurers in history, but risk forecasters are not in total agreement about the extent of the damage.Insured losses from Katrina may total as much as $25 billion, say analysts. This tops the $20.9 billion bill from 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which set a record as the costliest U.S. storm.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - Progressive Direct is taking what it believes to be the next big step in the evolution of auto insurance pricing. The Mayfield Village, Ohio company is inviting its customers throughout the country to participate in a voluntary research program that will gather driving habit information.

Springfield, Mass. - In its latest effort to provide women with comprehensive financial education, MassMutual Financial Group is targeting females with an online financial seminar designed to help them assess their personal finances and develop a long-term financial strategy.

New York - U.S. insurers will turn more and more to professional services providers and consultants in developing, implementing and managing complex technology projects. That's according to a report by U.K.-based independent market analyst Datamonitor.According to the report, titled "U.S. Insurance Technology Strategies," for the first time (year end 2005), spending on external solutions will outpace that of internal IT spending.

Stamford, Conn. - Dennis Callahan, CIO, Guardian Life Insurance of America, has joined The BTM Institute's Global Leadership Council as the organization amends its name to The Michael Nobel Harriet Fulbright Institute of Business Technology Management.

Hartford, Conn. - Specialty Risk Services LLC (SRS), a property-casualty third party administrator for workers' compensation and general liability claims, is offering its clients access to a suite of tools to monitor their program's performance on its newly redesigned Web site.In SRS' password-protected Employer's Toolbox, clients have secure access to resources, including industry statistics, employee training materials, libraries of legislative and industry updates, loss control and safety tips, and links to national and industry Web sites.