Security risk

The fourth annual INNovators Awards has been enhanced this year to include additional awards in three specific categories that recognize the full complement of insurance technology excellence across all aspects of the business.

Some see too many agencies, each with its own agenda.

Insurers looking to create smartphone applications may want to first examine findings from a study of mobile apps and security threats on both iPhone and Android devices.

Many insurers are now securing their databases by "data masking," which removes confidential data elements and replaces them with usable, fictitious data.

An ex-employee and a co-conspirator are charged with stealing close to $1 million from the supplemental insurer over a year and a half.

Regulators at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have directed The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., to provide additional details on $2.1 billion of securities that have traded at less than half of what the company says they're worth for more than a year, Bloomberg reports.

Fitch downgrades AEGON N.V. and AEGON Americas, affirms Pacific Life; S&P reacts to AIG’s board chairman change.

Board is seeking nominations for appointments to its consumer advisory council.

Hard drives were stolen from a facility the health insurer had leased from a call center, impacting almost 1 million members.

The government released interim final regs aimed at creating a system of checks and balances for internal and external appeals processes of health claims.

Feinberg says compensation committees should be able to cancel payments to executives in extreme circumstances.

The commercial satellite risk protection covers satellite replacement, and protects against operational risk.

The first ripples from regulatory reform are already being felt.

Insurers’ position strong in spite of some valuations being reviewed for credit quality, Fitch Ratings reports.

The latest version, which includes 4-D structural knowledge of hurricanes, is designed to consider building characteristics such as roof age and type, window protection and glass percentage.

Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development center, released the first functional typhoon model to assess all of Asia.

Creating a council to detect systemic risks and building a consumer financial protection bureau are just two of the major challenges now facing regulators, says a panel of experts.

Conning Research says premium rebound will lag economic recovery.

Federal Insurance Office and rule-making phase are front-of-mind as Obama signs landmark legislation.

"All told, these reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history," the President said.