Customer experience

The finalists were analyzed and winners named in the areas of underwriting, distribution and technology.

Thanks to new distribution channels and self-service options, insurer IT spend drivers shifting from cost control to growth-enabling.

The NexJ solution is designed to integrate lead and contact info from multiple systems to provide a single view of the customer across the enterprise.

To say that small insurers have been hard hit by the recession is an understatement. Representing approximately $71B in direct premiums, the sector faces constraints affecting long-term growth. As most analysts will agree, the small insurance business market has been squeezed in a contraction not seen in decades, and in spite of expectations to the contrary, the market has not regrouped in 2010.

App turns iPhone or iPod touch to fully integrated extension of office connection.

Insurers may be interested to see how the bank is leveraging new technology to converse with customers online.

How can insurers protect privacy when insureds place so little value on it?

Based on input from employees, Northwestern, Travelers among top 50.

National Insurance Producer Registry add states reaches 100-million transaction milestone.

Truck insurer to feature chairman in satellite radio ad campaign.

European insurers need to be become more cost-efficient to counter stagnating premiums.

We know mainframes can take a pounding, but they also need to be responsive and Web-aware.

State Auto Insurance Cos. and Guidewire Software today announced that State Auto selected Guidewire ClaimCenter as its claims management system. State Auto will deploy ClaimCenter for all of its lines of business.

In the year to come, popular sentiment will push wireless device growth in insurance/financial services, but increasing security problems will push back.

Despite the prevalence of the trusted adviser model, relationships are expensive and at low premium levels, not worth the investment.

Chad Hersh to keynote the Insurance Core Systems Summit in April 2011.

National health insurer Aetna this week announced its formal acquisition of Medicity, a health information exchange technology company from Salt Lake City. The move is seen by many as a proactive approach to meeting health care reform requirements.

Of particular interest for many in 2011 will be mobile, social media and PFM that make for more efficient customer service.

The auto insurer adds new apps and enhances its mobile quoting.

Insurance companies worldwide have suffered less than banks since the collapse of the subprime market in the United States in late 2007, Celent says. However, they have been impacted by the volatility of international markets and the uncertainty linked to the slow recovery of economies in industrialized countries. European insurers, in particular, have reacted to the changing environment successfully, implementing actions to adapt to the current changes and gain operational efficiency, according to the analyst/consulting firm.