Policy adminstration

Craig Weber will take the helm as CEO of research and advisory services firm Celent, a division of Oliver Wyman Inc.

Insurance CIOs view many of their contributions to the organizations they serve as one of supporting new strategic initiatives, while the most important factor in CIOs’ ability to deliver on this value proposition is their relationship with business leaders. Such are the results of a new report, “Creating Enterprise Value as CIO,” issued today by New York-based research and consulting firm Novarica. The report targeted 111 members of its more than 300-member Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council, a moderated membership group of senior insurance IT executives from both the property/casualty and life/annuity sectors.

What would it look like for an insurer to do everything right with today’s technology?

Are the majority of insurance commercials trying too hard, and missing the point of marketing as a result?

Chartis has named Murli Buluswar its new Chief Science Officer, a newly created position responsible for establishing research and development operations that enhance the insurer’s global commercial and consumer business strategies.

Forrester's Global Tech Market Outlook for 2012 and 2013 finds the next 24 months marked by a pair of transitions: a temporary spending slowdown following a post-recession bounce; and an accelerating shift of spending from old to newer technologies.

A survey at the Insurance Information Institute’s (I.I.I.) annual Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum finds respondents somewhat sanguine about the industry’s financial prospects.

Although China's total insurance premiums in 2011 rose 10 percent to 1.43 trillion yuan ($226.64 billion) from a year earlier, many insurance companies have not kept up with "the profound changes in the external environment," according to the country’s regulatory body.

Oracle released the latest version of Oracle Insurance Revenue Management and Billing 2.2.4, a rules-based system that enables insurers to manage billing, payments and collections using a single solution. This updated version enables insurers to automate group and list bill reconciliation to help cut processing costs, improve productivity, and reduce revenue leakage with improved reconciliation accuracy.

As the industry faces shrinking distribution, profitable growth is a top priority for life insurance executives in 2012. This is the essence of LOMA's annual industry forecast, which includes the results of executive interviews conducted on topics such as sales, distribution, use of technology and social media, as well as the effects of regulation during the next 12 months. LOMA is an industry group comprising life insurance professionals.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness, is celebrating 100 years in 2012.

Progressive announced it received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its Pay As You Drive, Snapshot usage-based insurance program.

Propertycasulaty insurers got some more bad news this morning, this time from Ernst & Young, which predicted their ongoing struggle to succeed against a tide of further economic ills.

Small business owners prefer to speak to financial advisors of the same sex, with men exhibiting a stronger gender bias than their female counterparts, notes study results released today by The American College, a non-profit educational institution devoted to financial services.

Ryan Specialty Group LLC (RSG) has acquired Global Special Risks LLC (GSR), a specialty underwriting manager from Willis North America Inc., a subsidiary of Willis Group Holdings. GSR specializes in providing innovative solutions for energy, marine and specialty product offerings with the London and North American markets. GSR will become part of RSG Underwriting Managers LLC. Willis Capital Markets & Advisory acted as a financial advisor to Willis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Control over end user devices, once a given at so many companies, is loosening. Employees insist on being able to use their Apple, Android and BlackBerry devices for work and being able to access all their apps and files however they want to. Along with smartphones, consumers are adopting tablets such as Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nook, Apple Inc.'s iPad, and Amazon Inc.'s Kindle.

OpenSpan Inc., a provider of business process analytics, optimization and automation solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Triangle BPA LLC. The acquisition follows a year-long partnership between the two companies. OpenSpan has secured rights to intellectual property for Triangle BPA’s health insurance payer claim automation tools and techniques and is adding key senior staff to the OpenSpan executive team.

The XL Group has received final approval from the Brazilian insurance and reinsurance regulator, Superintendencia de Seguros Privados (SUSEP), to establish an insurance operation in the country. XL Seguros Brasil S.A. in Sao Paulo will offer a range of casualty, property, professional and specialty insurance products. The insurance offerings will expand XL’s capabilities in Brazil and complement its existing reinsurance operations. Expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2012, the insurance office will be led by Juan Bragadin, country manager.

Consumers want more technology in their vehicles, both for safety and infotainment purposes, and they expect it to appear in all vehicles, not just luxury lines, according to a new study from Accenture.

This morning, A.M. Best made a number of announcements regarding the outlooks of many segments of the insurance industry.