Policy adminstration

EagleEye Analytics Inc., a provider of predictive analytics solutions to the insurance industry, has appointed Roger Burkhardt as president and CEO. EagleEye says that, after successfully establishing itself in the market, the company now is launching into the next phase of growth and bringing in a proven CEO to lead this effort.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) responded to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) call for a national ban on the use of cell phones while driving by commending the attention being given to the issue of distracted driving. The association also asserts the fact that cell phones are only one source of distraction for American drivers.

Swiss Re predicts that 2011 will rank as the most expensive year ever for the insurance industry. The insurer's sigma team estimates total insured losses for the global industry from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will reach $108 billion. This is more than double 2010’s losses, which were $48 billion.

After its first public event, the magnitude of the task facing the Federal Insurance Office becomes apparent.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may be heading for another lapse, subsumed in high-stakes political brinkmanship.

A report issued by the consumer group Center for Justice and Democracy at New York Law School claims that carriers are planning to price-gouge buyers of insurance, particularly commercial lines insureds. The report, “Repeat Offenders: How the Insurance Industry Manufactures Crises and Harms America,” asserts that insurers are in collusion to create a hard market in which commercial lines insurers can target their customers with large rate increases.

Helga Jung, head of Allianz SE’s Group Mergers & Acquisitions has been appointed to the Board of Management. Taking on the role as of Jan. 1, 2012, Jung will be responsible for the insurance business in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, for Strategic Participations, Mergers and Acquisitions, plus Legal and Compliance. And, she is the first woman to be appointed to the boardroom of the group holding company in its 121-year history.

Torus, a specialty insurer, has acquired First Sealord Surety Inc. to augment the development of a new platform, Torus Surety. The transaction is expected to be finalized in January 2012, pending regulatory approval.

Emergency Physicians Insurance Company RRG (EPIC) and Echo Ridge Partners have implemented iCatalyst, a policy and claims management system designed to streamline processes and improve customer service throughout an entire policy lifecycle.

Amica Mutual received the top honor for overall excellence from InsuranceQuotes.com’s inaugural Insurance Quality Awards.

Potentially simpler interconnectivity and cheaper information dissemination processes could make insurers, and insureds' wallets, very happy.

FINEOS Corp., a provider of claims management software, is including the IBM Insurance Framework in its product. FINEOS says insurance solutions offered by IBM are built on the IBM Framework and aim to create more flexible, responsive insurance companies through the progressive transformation of operational processes. FINEOS, a partner of IBM, offers FINEOS Claims, a solution to manage claims for life and disability, P&C, London market and government insurance.

On the heels of reports coming out of Washington on the government’s scramble to protect the country’s power grid from cybercriminals, CSC reports the launch of an Insurance Cybersecurity Advisory Council for life insurance and annuity providers and property/casualty insurers. The goal of the council is to facilitate the development of best practices and technology strategies that effectively mitigate the risk of cyber attacks on the insurance industry.

More evidence of a hardening market has arrived via the most recent Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS) from Towers Watson.

For the second straight year, MetLife leads life insurers in annuity considerations through the first three quarters, ended Sept. 30, 2011. Prudential Financial and Jackson National Life Group round out the top three in the rankings released by SNL.

National Western Life Insurance and Celent analysts discuss the intersection of business infrastructure and technology implementation, and how the path to speed and agility begins there.INN is pleased to present, with permission, occasional videos from Celent, a research and consulting firm and a member of the Oliver Wyman Group. These videos originally appeared on Celent's website as part of the firm's educational offerings.

Swiss Re CEO Stefan Lippe will retire sometime next year after approximately 30 years with the company, the reinsurer said today.

While the insurance industry was an early adopter of mobile technology for basic communication functions, it has lagged in developing and implementing internal and customer-facing applications.

Rising rates in some market segments is attributing to a newly bullish outlook on the financial prospects of insurers.

DST Systems Inc., a provider of information processing solutions and services to the asset management, insurance, retirement, brokerage and healthcare industries, has released DST Insurance Solutions’ InPayce payout solution.