Data security

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn - UnumProvident Corporation announced today that its insurance subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Unum Limited, has reached a new arrangement with the Swiss

HARTFORD, Conn.--Three years of rising property- casualty rates have finally had a favorable impact on loss reserves, substantially reducing estimated deficiency, according to the latest annual study on the subject by Conning Research & Consulting.

HARTFORD, Conn.--Insurity Inc., a ChoicePoint company, today announced that Insurance Company of the West (ICW), a business unit of The ICW Group, has selected Insurity's Commercial Intellisys property/casualty policy processing services to support its nationwide commercial P&C business. ICW's primary decision drivers were Insurity's large existing client base, and a track record of similar applications already in production servicing the wider industry.

PARSIPPANY, NJ--MFXchange Holdings, Inc. (MFX) announced the launch of its end-to-end application service provider (ASP) commercial lines solution. The comprehensive processing system is Web-based and features the many benefits of ASP-based products. MFX's Ray Roy, Chairman, explains, "MFX's founding mission is to build technology solutions specifically to meet insurance carriers' needs for increased productivity, shorter processing timeframes and lower costs. We provide this, in part, through ASP processing that does not require large capital outlays for hardware and software and is highly cost effective."

POOLESVILLE, Md., Dec. 12-- The insurance Fraud DetectionSystem (FDS), developed using Visual Analytics, Inc.'s award winning product, VisuaLinks, was successfully launched this past week by the Korean Financial Supervisory Services, FSS. The FSS announced that they have implemented and will be using this system to detect fraud through the integrated analysis of insurance-related data including accidents, contracts and claims.

HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 11-- Aetna InteliHealth, Aetna's online consumer health information resource, and Aetna Navigator, the company's self-service website for members, have received 2003 eHealthcare Leadership Awards for Health/Healthcare Content and Interactive Site, respectively.

Most consumers admit that purchasing life insurance is not something they relish-mainly because of the issue of their mortality. For life insurers, selling their various products has been difficult as well, but this shortcoming has little to do with consumer resistance.

The insurance industry appears poised to remove the "technology laggard" label. Despite a back-to-basics management philosophy brought on by the two-year economic slump, insurance companies continue to move forward with their Internet strategies.For the third consecutive year, Internet-related categories ranked at the top of Insurance Networking News' "Best of the Newest" survey, a poll of 17 technologies rated by insurance company executives and industry experts. The panel rated each technology based on its impact on carriers' operations and its level of innovation.

The old adage of "What, me worry?" isn't part of the lexicon of CIOs, CTOs and other senior level executives in charge of IT functions at life/health and property/casualty firms, according to a survey completed by Celent Communications Inc. in partnership with Insurance Networking News.Twenty executives from small, medium and large carriers paint a picture of insurance IT organizations in a double bind of diminished resources and increased demand this year and anticipated again in 2004.

As insurance companies develop a blueprint for compliance to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, an alarming number of U.S. corporations admit they are still uncertain about how they plan to adhere to the mandate.Moreover, industry experts believe that insurers who disregard the role of technology to comply with the Act might be in for a rude awakening.

In the past, insurers could write off fraud expenses with investment income and capital reserves. But those days are over. Reduced investment income and reserves have forced insurers to face such operational bugaboos as fraud and subrogation head on. Fortunately, insurers ahead of the curve have identified technology-based strategies to get to the heart of the matter.

The term "Web service" was coined only three years ago, according to Celent Communications Inc. And, already, U.S. insurers are spending roughly $78 million--or 5% of their integration dollars--on Web services-related initiatives (see "Web Services Spending By Insurers," page 14).What's more, by 2006, more than 40% of insurers' new systems integration spending will involve Web services, the Boston-based research and advisory firm predicts.

Rising somewhat like the Phoenix, an alternative bill that would provide compensation for workers injured by exposure to asbestos clawed its way through Congress in mid-October.Accepting a proposal drafted by Senate Majority Leader William Frist, R-Tenn., and his aides, insurers and defendants accepted a proposal on Oct. 16 to seed a trust fund projected to have enough capacity to settle $115 billion in claims over 27 years.

Forty years ago, mischievous adolescents got their kicks by calling people on the phone and asking them, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Today, they concoct computer viruses and worms designed to knock out the networks of global corporations.

One of the core activities regularly performed by insurers-its telemarketing efforts is about to undergo modifications now that the federal Do Not Call (DNC) list has been given the green light for national enforcement.In October, a federal appeals court ruled that the Do Not Call registry-a list that currently includes about 50 million phone numbers-was within the legal boundaries of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Information technology strategy plays a critical role in the success of American Modern Insurance Group Inc. (AMIG), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Midland Co., Amelia, Ohio.The provider of specialty personal lines insurance products has an average annual premium of just $450 across its book of business. So having information technology in place "so that the business can flow relatively untouched by human hands is critically important to us. There's not enough money in a $450 premium for us to have to fondle each file," says John Hayden, CEO and president of The Midland Co., and president, CEO and chairman of AMIG.

In a California intellectual property lawsuit that could have sweeping implications over the way insurers and vendors approach software licensing agreements, a federal judge in late August granted a preliminary injunction barring San Diego-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency from using insurance pricing software developed by a La Jolla, Calif.-based software solutions provider.In ruling against Arrowhead, a privately-held managing general agency, Chief Judge Marilyn Huff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California prohibited Arrowhead's unlicensed use of the software in online insurance applications, including its Web-based distribution platforms, Arrowhead Exchange and YouZoom.com.

Privacy advocates will have to pin their hopes on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., if they want to see national privacy standards enhanced through legislation extending provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that expire at the end of this year.The House in September passed its version of FCRA legislation, via the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, using the measure more as a vehicle to provide citizens with increased protection from, and remediation for, identity theft.

Advocates of the use of credit scores in personal lines underwriting and rating could be excused if they are feeling a bit under siege lately.The industry has been generally pleased with the actions of state legislatures that have supported carriers' use of consumers' credit information for approving policies and setting policy rates.

Insurers long ago developed tools to perform risk modeling for natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. But Aon Corp. has launched a different kind of venture to help its clients reduce workplace violence.Realizing the great amount of pressure on its corporate clients to understand the dynamics that contribute to workplace aggression, Aon in July aligned itself with the Center for Aggression Management (CAM), a Winter Park, Fla.-based organization dedicated to identifying, measuring and preventing risks related to workplace aggression and violence.