Policy adminstration

Charlottesville, Va. — SNL Financial, a sector-focused provider of business intelligence to financial institutions, released to its clients 2007 annual statutory insurance data for early-filing companies. Included with the release is detailed financial data on each filer, data by state and line of business, Schedule P loss triangle data and summary investment data, with hundreds of ratios, snapshots and analytics to facilitate analysis of this robust dataset. SNL also intends to make consolidated insurance group data available in the coming weeks.

Wausau, Wis. — Michael Parker has been appointed EVP — Field Operations for Wausau Insurance Cos., a national property/casualty company, providing commercial auto, general liability, property, umbrella, workers' compensation and other coverage.

New York — Gov. Eliot Spitzer, known throughout the insurance industry for his tireless and tough ethics reform, made a formal statement that clarifies his involvement with a prostitution ring, reported The New York Times today.

Milwaukee — In its 2008 annual survey, FORTUNE magazine ranked Northwestern Mutual as "America's Most Admired" in the life/health insurance industry. This marks the 25th striaght year Northwestern Mutual has led its industry in the survey of industry professionals and analysts.

Washington – The House of Representatives passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007.

Toronto — The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial launched Sun Protector Variable Universal Life (VUL), a new life insurance product that offers clients a combination of protection, growth potential and guarantees.

Saint Paul, Minn. – The aviation unit of Travelers Cos. Inc. is using a technology-based approach to introduce a new workers’ compensation insurance program for corporate flight departments.

Insurers competing for boomer business will need business and technology platforms flexible enough to accommodate different boomer market segments, new types of transactions, new federal and state regulations and competition from multiple fronts.

Altamonte Springs, Fla. — Rebecca Ritchey was recently announced as director of communications for The Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), Altamonte Springs, Fla., an international association representing more than 80,000 insurance professionals in 11 countries and territories.

Novato, Calif. – Michael LaRocco was recently named president and CEO of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., a $6 billion property/casualty insurance firm based in Novato, Calif.

Bryn Mawr, Pa. — The American College, an 80-year-old non-profit educational institution, announced the election of nine new senior financial industry leaders to its Board of Trustees. They are:

Norwalk, Conn. – Xerox Corp.’s Production Systems Group named Solimar Systems Inc. Service/Support 2007 Business Partner of the Year, the company reports. The award was presented at Xerox’s annual partner conference in California on February 13th. Xerox’s Production Systems Group, which operates the company’s high-end production publishing and printing business, recognized 17 partner firms for superior digital workflow software and finishing solutions.

Because the invoice is an opportunity to renew contact with a policyholder and demonstrate excellence in customer service, new attention is being paid to the technology behind the opportunity.

Orlando, Fla. – Guinness Book of World Records this week recorded a document scan that measured just less than three quarters of a mile long at the 2008 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, the healthcare IT industry’s largest annual event. The record-setting uninterrupted scan, of a fetal monitor event, measured 3,875 feet and lasted one hour, 17 minutes and 22 seconds. Bowe Bell + Howell (BBH), Durham, N.C., employees used the Trūper 3600 low-volume production scanner to process the extra-long document.

New York — Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. (MMC) announced a change in leadership at its Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC reinsurance services subsidiary.

Armonk, N.Y. – Touting its energy efficiency, IBM Corp. has unveiled its System z10 mainframe. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company says the z10 was designed to increase data center efficiency by significantly improving performance and reducing power consumption, cooling costs and floor space requirements.

St. Louis — Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc., a Chicago-based, bank-owned insurance brokerage, and a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., acquired St. Louis-based Insurance Brokers of America (IBA).

Replacing manual processes with network technology, carriers grow producer channels and accelerate time to revenue.

Carriers are taking steps to modernize their claims processing systems and better integrate technologies with existing systems.

Technology pioneer Bill Lowe says insurers can reap many benefits by opting for a hosted infrastructure.