Digital distribution

GMC Software and IVANS are now part of Guidewire Connect.

The telematics-only insurer has added former Dish Network exec James Moorhead.

Aflac CIO Julia Davis adeptly adopts solutions for the insurer to meet customer demands.

Aetna president Karen S. Lynch's passion for better outcomes powers a desire to help simplify the complex healthcare system.

The company has implemented software from Silanis.

The investment comes at a time when insurers are increasingly interested in venture capital, the aggregation channel, and selling commercial insurance online.

A new government audit reveals widespread failures by the federal agency charged with managing the private contractors who built healthcare.gov.

Insurers have strived to keep pace with consumer technologies and ever more-sophisticated expectations around the customer experience, and now carriers like USAA are banding together with Google Compare and other insurance aggregation sites to offer consumers a new way to shop for and purchase auto insurance.

Professional services company Towers Watson has agreed to acquire Brovada, a Canadian insurance technology business best known for the BrovadaOne platform, an application for integrating and automating interactions between insurers, and their agents and brokers.

Assurant turns its focus to property-casualty coverage, including policies that protect consumer electronics and homes.

Businesses have traditionally delivered complex documents to their customers using print delivery or electronics of the same printed output. This approach is not ideal for the mobile world where this highly regulated content must be viewable, actionable, and compliant across all of the devices that consumers use today.

The UK-based Insurance aggregator has launched a point-of-quote fraud detection and prevention service that combines its customer and quote database with Iovation’s Risk Solution, which assesses the likelihood of based on the current and past behavior of a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

The company’s new Prime initiative releases unbound web quotes to independent agents.

Curt Kibler will oversee the e-Business department, including development, systems operations, business intelligence and reporting, carrier profitability, project management and quality assurance. Dan Bryce, who has been CIO since 2000, will be retiring later this year.

By asking the right questions, and offering the time to understand and explain coverages to consumers, independent agents are creating value to consumers, says Bill Wilson, CPCU and associate VP of education and research for Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. In the second part of this exclusive interview, Wilson discusses Google Compare, the differences in policies, and how insurers can differentiate themselves in a crowded field.

Clements Worldwide, provider of international car, property, term life, health, specialty and high-risk coverages for expatriates and international organizations, has deployed a direct-to-consumer portal using ISCS’ SurePower Innovation. The insurer completed the implementation of the policy, billing, claims and underwriting components of SurePower Innovation last year.

As direct sales, online comparative raters and insurance aggregators gain visibility in the U.S. market, independent agents continue to offer value to both consumers and insurers, says Bill Wilson, CPCU and associate VP of education and research for Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. In the first part of this exclusive interview, Wilson discusses trends in insurance distribution, the differences in claims experiences and the fact that not all policies are created equally.

Answering these questions can help carriers determine their paths given changing customer needs and a more competitive landscape, according to “Capturing the insurance customer of tomorrow,” a white paper from Accenture.

ADP is introducing an online service known as a private exchange that will let workers shop for insurance coverage among multiple health plans, much the same way consumers can select policies on a government-run exchange under Obamacare.

Latest version of insurers' EACCESS portal features policyholder capabilities in addition to agents.