For years, administration of workers' compensation insurance at Boston-based OneBeacon Insurance Group was viewed as an occupational hazard-a bona fide accident waiting to happen.With antiquated operating systems trying to support the effort, OneBeacon, which sells $40 million in workers' compensation coverage a year, had a difficult time furnishing transactional data for workers' comp insurance to the state rating bureaus and statistical agents in the states that it wrote workers' comp insurance.

Two General Motors Corp. subsidiaries are partnering to create new products for their joint customers.

Although nearly half of the states have passed laws allowing insurance companies to use credit-based insurance scores to assess and price risk-albeit with some restrictions-a new study reveals that the practice disproportionately harms low-income and minority policyholders."There was a tremendous demand to know what happened to low-income folks and protected classes like minorities when you use credit scoring," says Randy McConnell, communications director for the Missouri Department of Insurance (MDI), which conducted the study. "It struck people as disingenuous whenever the credit-scoring vendors were saying, 'There's no relationship between credit scoring and income.'"

As insurers hatch strategies to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), a new report suggest that they should view the law "as a catalyst for much-needed and long-delayed business transformation objectives," triggering "long-overdue investments in technology they have been putting off for years."The report, by Needham, Mass.-based TowerGroup, says that Sarbanes-Oxley should not be viewed as a burden but as an opportunity. In the report, "Technology Considerations for Sarbanes-Oxley: A Catalyst for Long Overdue IT Upgrades," Virginia Garcia, TowerGroup analyst, writes that the act "blows the cover off inherent weaknesses in hodgepodge IT architecture typically found in U.S. financial institutions today.

Although lobbyists on Capitol Hill remain optimistic that the asbestos liability malignancy can be resolved through legislation, it appears unlikely that the gaps in current talks toward an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for asbestos claims can be bridged this year.Indeed, even if the considerable differences between the private parties can be resolved, two key barriers remain toward a resolution: There's no sense that asbestos liability is a crisis, and, given the optimism Democrats have for winning the White House this fall, they appear unlikely to allow Republicans to take credit for major legislation that the Senate Republican legislation leadership is already dubbing a "jobs creation" bill.

There's no way around it: It takes a long, long time to develop the software programs for a new underwriting and billing system. Then throw into the mix the risk of the internally built system not working properly, taking longer to implement, and perhaps even draining cash flow."I've been in the business for about 30 years," says Mark Gire, vice president of information services for Norcal Mutual Insurance Co. "I've never seen it take less than four to five years" to develop a solution internally.

The Consumer Federation of California (CFC), a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, has awarded Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. an A- for its privacy policy, the highest grade assigned to any property and casualty insurer doing business in California.Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund, a provider of homeowner's insurance in the state and commercial insurance to middle market businesses, was among only eight companies to receive an A- or better. Following a survey of 55 financial institutions, the CFC gave two thirds of the companies low or failing grades, including many major property and casualty companies.

Newark, Calif.--Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world's leading provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, has announced that it is providing funding for the first visiting research fellowship to be established at the new International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. The Centre is based at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and was officially inaugurated on February 20 by Wong Kan Seng, Minister of Home Affairs in Singapore.

Conshohocken, PA--eMoney Advisor, a leading provider of holistic wealth planning solutions, today announced the availability of AdvisorPlatform Version 3.5. The new version offers significant upgrades to Version 3.0, which was released in January 2003, including streamlined data entry through the Fact Finder, simulated sales of an asset, "what if" scenarios versus base facts, and additions to the Client Financial Home Page. In addition, the new version includes an updated user interface for greater ease of use.

Nearly 2,700 American technology workers in 12 states will receive advanced information technology job training in the coming months in programs administered by CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.CompTIA has received two grants totaling $6 million from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration. The H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants are intended to train U.S. workers in specialty occupations such as computer science, information technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing technology.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A report issued by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) on the use of credit-based insurance scoring found no basis for any conclusion that credit history is skewed toward ethnic minorities or low-income individuals.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa--Fiserv, Inc. has introduced eFreedom Investment Management powered by BasisPoint, a fully integrated portfolio management and investment accounting solution that supports each step of the trading process--from order processing through trade execution, accounting, international settlement support and regulatory reporting. As trading practices become increasingly complex and global, more and more organizations need the comprehensive multi-currency, multi-basis, investment accounting capabilities found in eFreedom Investment Management to track business activity and report to regulators.

Uniondale, NY--OnlineBenefits, Inc., provider of Internet-based HR solutions, announced today that it has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Digital Insurance to distribute Benergy as an employee communication solution for its clients.

BELLEVUE, WA - SAFLINK Corporation, a leading developer, marketer and integrator of biometric security solutions, announced today that North Carolina-based A4 Health Systems has used SAFLINK's Software Development Kit (SDK) to design and deploy a solution in its efforts to meet new security requirements in Ohio that call for dual authentication of pharmaceutical orders within the hospital setting. The first phase of the solution is scheduled for deployment to more than 500 users at Mount Carmel East, West, and St. Ann's of Columbus, Ohio.

PHILADELPHIA-- CIGNA Corporation today reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 of $290 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with net income of $47 million, or $0.33 per share, for the same period last year.

WARREN, N.J.-- The Chubb Corporation today reported that net income in the fourth quarter of 2003 was $72.3 million or $0.38 per share, compared to net income of $56.6 million or $0.33 per share in the fourth quarter of 2002. Operating income, which the company defines as net income excluding after-tax realized investment gains and losses, was $73.1 million or $0.38 per share in the fourth quarter of 2003, compared to operating income of $83.7 million or $0.48 per share in the fourth quarter of 2002.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- InsWeb Corp. today announced results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003. Revenues for the fourth quarter totaled $4.1 million, compared to $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. During the quarter, InsWeb recognized a gain of $6 million relating to the sale of its remaining investment in Finance All K.K., a Japanese corporation."

DxCG Inc., a provider of predictive modeling software for health care organizations, today announced a national agreement with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) to provide RiskSmart to independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Jefferson Pilot Corporation, parent of the Jefferson Pilot Financial companies and one of the nation's leading providers of universal and variable universal life insurance and annuities, today reported results for the fourth quarter of 2003. Jefferson Pilot earned $1.01 per share before realized investment losses in the quarter, up 35 percent from fourth-quarter 2002 earnings of $0.75 before realized investment losses. Net income per share for the fourth quarter of 2003 increased 78 percent to $0.82, including net realized investment losses of $0.19 per share, versus net income per share of $0.46 in the fourth quarter of 2002, which included net realized investment losses of $0.29.

The life insurance industry plans a high profile on Capitol Hill this year in an effort to focus policymakers on its agenda, which includes an optional federal charter and a broader array of retirement products.The lobbying effort will include "fly-ins" by company CEOs and other high-level executives to speak to administration officials and key members, briefings and interview opportunities, and introduction of legislation supportive of industry interests. Also to be disclosed shortly is establishment of an "insurance caucus" by members of Congress with great interest in insurance issues.