Digital distribution

Insurer reaffirms its 2014 forecast citing better-than-expected Medicare membership growth.

Health plans offered through government-run insurance exchanges may be required to cover 30 percent of "essential community providers" in each county in 2015, an increase from 20 percent this year.

A slew of new products and data sources emphasize the speed with which the insurance industry is changing, which could threaten “fast followers,” according to Strategy Meets Action.

Portal available to risk managers who support specialty and large general contractors.

Strategy Meets Action Founder Deb Smallwood discusses the current landscape of collaboration, opportunities and challenges that come with it and action items for insurers.Throughout January, Smallwood details each of SMAs five next-generation technologies — analytics and big data, mobile technologies, collaboration technologies, cloud computing and telematics.To find out how the research and consulting firm came to these five, click here. No. 1: Analytics and Big DataNo. 2: Mobile TechnologiesCheck back next week for next-gen technology No. 4: Cloud Computing.

Carriers and agents have made significant progress in improving the sales process, but there’s still a long way to go.

Bolt Platform is expected to enable 8,000 Citizens agents to provide multiple private market quotes.

Insurer uses text messaging, a new app featuring social capabilities and good-natured competition to attract new customers.

WellPoint added 500,000 new members since Obamacare enrollment began and while they are older and sicker than current members, CEO isn’t worried about the risk pool.

Fewer people are shopping for auto insurance, declining 4 percent in the 12 months ended June 2013, compared to all of 2012, according to TransUnion’s "Auto Insurance Shopping Index."

Ninety-five percent of payers say publicly funded HIEs are struggling with flawed business models and are not providing meaningful connectivity.

Customer service rises in importance as a business driver and cost containment declines, according to Strategy Meets Action.

Higher enrollment should benefit WellPoint Inc., Humana Inc. and other managed-care insurers that rely on a large and diverse patient-mix to balance out the costs of coverage.

New business unit consolidates recently acquired Extend Health, Liazon and others to help employers deliver health benefits to employees, company says.

The sale, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter, includes six locations in West Virginia and offices in Ohio, Idaho and Alaska.

Uncertainty over the enrollees in individual products through the exchanges and the unclear impact of the industry assessment tax are key factors in the change.

Shifting mobile strategies and two other trends will change the industry in 2014 and beyond, according to an Aite Group report.

Insurer is looking at new distribution deals, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.

CEO says there’s less business going into the reinsurance market, and there’s more appetite from both traditional players and newcomers.

Obamacare has always depended, both operationally and politically, on an alliance between the administration and insurance companies. But that alliance is vulnerable.