Data and information management

Rock Hill, N.Y. - Irwin Siegel Agency Inc. (ISA), a Rock Hill, N.Y.-based specialty program underwriter for the social services field received the Daniel P. McMahon, CPCU Award for underwriting excellence.

Fort Myers, Fla. and Milwaukee — Sitkins Group Inc., a Fort Myers, Fla.-based consulting firm providing services relating to sales, management and operations for independent insurance agencies and Sitkins 100 has partnered with Zywave Inc., a Milwaukee-based provider of insurance technology services for insurance brokers, to allow for the marketing and promotion of Zywave tools to Sitkins 100 members.

San Angelo, Texas - Fletch Data LLC, a San Angelo, Texas-based electronic directory assistance and telephone appending provider signed an agreement to partner with Simi Valley, Calif.-based CDS Software to offer CollectOne customers access to Fletch Data's batch processing telephone database. Customers will be able to access Fletch's database through CDS' CollectOne software suite.

Bermuda and Bahrain — Scottish Re Group Ltd., a global life reinsurance specialist based in Bermuda, announced the sale of its Middle East Life portfolio to Arab Insurance Group (Arig), Bahrain-based reinsurance companies in the Middle East and North Africa.

New York – Deloitte & Touche USA LLP’s insurance sector has added industry veterans Rick Berry, Ann Connolly and Don McNees to the organization, further strengthening Deloitte’s capabilities in distribution and channel management.

Fairfield, Ohio — Ohio Casualty Group, now operating as Ohio Casualty, a Fairfield, Ohio-based regional company within Liberty Mutual Agency Markets, has been honored with the 2007 National Company Award of Excellence by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA).

Hamilton, Bermuda – Ironshore Inc. announced that three industry leaders have joined IronPro, its professional liability facility. Tom Leahy joins as senior VP of underwriting, managing the New York-based underwriting teams. Jeremy Frumkin and David Rogers are charged with managing regional distribution and business development for the Western and Central regions, respectively.

Armonk, N.Y. and Ottawa - IBM and Cognos have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Cognos, a publicly held company based in Ottawa, in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $5 billion or $58 per share, with a net transaction value of $4.9 billion. The acquisition is subject to Cognos shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.The acquisition of Cognos supports IBM's Information on Demand strategy, a cross-company initiative announced on Feb. 16, 2006 that combines IBM's strength in information integration, content and data management and business consulting services to unlock the business value of information, according to IBM. Integrating Cognos, the 23rd IBM acquisition in support of its Information on Demand strategy, will enable new business insights to be delivered to a broader set of people across an organization, beyond the traditional users of business intelligence.

Schaumburg, Ill. – News reports of poison toothpaste and lead-laced toys have not just caught the attention of consumers. The nation’s importers, and the commercial lines writers who serve them, are keenly aware of the dire implications of unsafe products.

Baltimore — Former Maryland Insurance Commissioner R. Steven Orr was named president of Life Settlement Providers LLC, a Maryland-licensed life settlement provider and leader in the secondary market for life insurance policies. Orr will be responsible for overseeing Life Settlement Providers' marketing, regulatory and legislative activities beginning Dec. 1, 2007.

New York — New York Life Insurance Co. announced that Sheila Davidson has been named chief legal officer and general counsel. Her new responsibilities include the Corporate Compliance, the Office of Business Conduct, the Corporate Ombudsperson and the Chief Tax Counsel. She also will continue to have responsibility for the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of the Secretary and the Office of Governmental Affairs.

Toronto — Zurich Insurance Co., a commercial property/casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, small business, specialties and programs sectors, announced that Robert Landry will retire as head of its Toronto, Ont.-based Canadian operations at the end of the year. Alister Campbell, previously senior vice president at ING, will be appointed chief agent and chief executive officer for Zurich in Canada, subject to board and regulatory approval.

Des Plaines, Ill. — The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training and public awareness, is launching a free service to help protect the nation's consumers.

Seattle – N2uitive, a recorded statement management solution provider, announced a strategic alliance with East Hartford, Conn.-based Full Capture Solutions Inc., a provider of predictive analytic technologies to the insurance industry.

Novato, Calif. - AT&T Inc. reports that Allianz of America (AZOA), parent company of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. and Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, has signed a new four-year managed network services agreement with AT&T.

Naperville, Ill. - INSTEC, a Naperville, Ill. , provider of rating and policy administration software for the insurance industry, struck a deal with Conshohocken, Pa.-based NSM insurance Group for implementation of INSTEC’s QuickSolver Workers Compensation rating and policy administration solution.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Commercial P&C carrier Zurich is targeting the needs of technology customers by providing a range of coverages designed specifically for mid-sized businesses. Zurich 's focus is on the creators and builders of technology products rather than end-users.

Westlake, Ohio - UK-based Wilton Re signed a multi-million dollar administrative services agreement recently with Westlake, Ohio-based BPO provider Antares Management Solutions and GeniSys.

New York - With location-specific terrorism risk exposure data, TerrorRisk is a unique risk assessment model that provides the insurance industry with targeted and actionable terrorism risk forecasts to help maximize opportunities and mitigate risk. Developed by New York-based Pitney Bowes MapInfo and Exclusive Analysis, TerrorRisk utilizes fact-based, location-specific metrics to score the propensity and likely severity of violent and political risks on more than 3,700 global points of interest to help insurers and risk managers make more insightful underwriting, rating, coverage and risk selection decisions.

Bolivar, Mo. - Surrey, England-based Duck Creek Technologies Europe, backed by New York-based Pequot Ventures and Duck Creek Technologies Inc., Bolivar, Mo.,announced its intention to bring to market software applications that enable insurers to rapidly define, develop, deploy and manage their insurance products and services.