Chicago - InsuranceNoodle Inc. has received U.S. Patent Office notification that the patent application claims relating to innovations for its "Methods and Apparatus for Selecting an Insurance Carrier for an Online Insurance Policy Purchase" have been allowed for issuance within the next few months."We are extremely excited the Patent Office has made this decision after four years of extensive application review," says InsuranceNoodle CEO Kathryn Emmerson. "This approval--as well as the fact that more than 2,500 agencies across the country are active NoodleNetwork partners--supports and validates our proprietary, Web-based technology platform and its capability to provide fast, efficient online quoting from multiple carriers for a variety of commercial products."

Washington, D.C. - The Federal Emergency Management Association's National Flood Insurance Program has launched a Web site to provide educational materials and other new content to insurance agents.

London -- Companies that outsource their IT systems are increasing their potential vulnerability to security breaches causing possible long term damage to their business, according to London-based insurer ACE European Group Ltd. (ACE).ACE has uncovered a lack of awareness among many European businesses of the increasing risks that outsourcing poses to their networks. ACE is also aware that there is a degree of uncertainty among many businesses, both as to the level of protection given to their computer systems and the cover provided by their existing insurance policies.

Cupertino, Calif. - Software security provider Symantec announced today that it completed its acquisition of Houston-based BindView Development Corp., a provider of agent-less IT security compliance software.

Hartford, Conn. - The dominant position of large market leaders, the effects of burgeoning technology and a robust, competitive pricing environment will cause dozens of insurers to exit the personal P & C industry over the next few years, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting Inc., a Hartford, Conn. provider of public and proprietary research as well as consulting services to the financial services industry.

New York -- Guy Carpenter & Company Inc., a global risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Cos., has published U.S. Reinsurance Renewals at January 1, 2006.This annual review of pricing, retentions and limits, capacity and terms and conditions covers the property, casualty, marine and offshore energy, accident and health and life and annuity lines of business.

Stamford, Conn.- Following a period of cost cutting and reactive spending, insurance organizations with more than $1 billion in revenue will be even more cautious when making their IT spending decisions in 2006, according to Gartner Consulting's Worldwide IT Benchmark Service.

Boston - A winter storm model for the U.S. that captures the effects of wind, precipitation, and freezing temperatures on insured properties should help insurance companies assess winter storm risk, according to AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR), a Boston-based member of the ISO family of companies.

Newark, Calif. -- Risk Management Solutions (RMS) recently performed a number of analyses for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to assess the absolute risk of terrorism and quantify how the terms of the December 2005 renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) would shift the relative share of the risk from the government to the insurance industry.RMS analysis shows that while TRIA provides solvency protection in extreme events, it is not an insurance industry subsidy. Based on the new TRIA terms, over 90% of the RMS modeled average annual loss would be retained by the industry. If an attack occurred, there is also less than a 10% chance that it would cause the industry deductible to be reached, since only the most extreme, low-probability attacks will cause losses in excess of $30 billion. For example, the 2001 World Trade Center attacks resulted in approximately $32.5 billion of insured losses. Were an event of this magnitude to occur today, it would thus produce only a minimal TRIA recovery for the insurance industry.

Indianapolis - At least six states are likely to advance rate modernization initiatives this year, a legislative preview prepared by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) reveals.

Los Angeles - A testament to its commitment to successful client relationships, Transamerica Retirement Services has received six "Best in Class" ratings from the Chatham Partners' 2005 Client Satisfaction Analysis.Transamerica received "Best in Class" ratings in the following areas: timeliness of contributions, distributions and loans, accuracy of contributions, overall satisfaction with processing of employee transactions, accuracy of participant statements, clarity of participant statements, and courtesy and professionalism of SponsorConnect personnel.

Listening to an insurance executive talk about replacing an old mainframe-based administration system is a lot like listening to a farmer talk about getting rid of an old tractor.It still pulls a heavy load, but competing farms-especially the larger ones-are bringing in faster models with advanced features that enable them to produce higher yields more efficiently. But these new tractors cost a lot of money and change the way work is done on the farm. How can a farmer afford the new equipment, learn how to use it, modify the work processes, and get all the crops sown and harvested on nature's strict schedule?

Five years ago, when Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Group introduced its first agent portal, the carrier believed it was on to something. As a communication vehicle, the portal pushed one-way information in "wallpaper" fashion to its captive and independent agents in 41 states.By 2003, the nation's third-largest provider of personal lines property and casualty insurance provided its agents with simple transactional capabilities by hooking its mainframe to IBM Websphere's "e-agent platform" front end.

LOMA, the Atlanta-based trade association to the insurance and financial services industry, has launched LOMALearn Online, an e-learning portal for individual and corporate training. Powered by Dublin, Ireland-based WBT System's TopClass e-Learning Suite, the site has been redesigned to manage and deliver content, training, and certification to LOMA's 1,200 member companies and other customers in more than 80 countries. The system will also enable LOMA to provide its members and customers with privately branded online learning sites through an application service provider model.

After an agency selection process that spanned several months, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., has selected New York-based CooperKatz & Co. to promote a national public education program focused on teaching consumers how to select the right type of insurance coverage to fit their needs and how to protect themselves from buying worthless policies from fake insurance companies. In September, the NAIC launched an online fraud reporting system, where insurance companies and consumers can report suspected insurance fraud.

Brainshark, A Waltham, Mass.-based provider of on-demand content solutions, has integrated its software with Agility, a relationship management application from G2X Inc., New York. The integration is designed to help insurance carriers communicate with their sales channels and contacts, all from within the same customer relationship management (CRM) system. By integrating G2X Agility with on-demand content created using Brainshark, insurance wholesalers, retailers and clients already using G2X are now able to, from within a contact record, select, personalize, and send a rich-media presentation created by their marketing group. When a client views the presentation, the right person will immediately receive an Alert in the Agility dashboard, informing them that the client or partner has viewed the presentation, enabling prompt followup.

AIM Technology, a San Francisco-based provider of operational performance management software, has become a member of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program, offered by Avaya Inc., Basking Ridge, N.J. AIM Technology develops AIMCall, an application suite designed to optimize the operational performance of call centers. AIMCall's data analytics tool and workflow and notification capabilities augment Avaya's Call Management System, an application that enables companies to monitor and analyze the performance of contact centers.

Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc. has acquired Xcipio Inc., an East Windsor, Conn.-based Web-based insurance rating and automation solution provider. The acquisition is part of Fiserv's plan to expand its technological footprint in the insurance industry.

LAW FIRM LAUNCHES HURRICANE WEBLOGMcGlinchey Stafford PLLC, a law firm based New Orleans, has launched an online resource for companies with business interests in hurricane-affected areas. The blog, found at www.hurricanelawblog.com, features up-to-date information about post-hurricane legal issues, including insurance, real estate, healthcare, environmental, finance and litigation. The Hurricane Law Blog also offers insurance brokers, finance and real estate professionals and attorneys a recovery resource center and legal articles.

The challenges inherent in big corporate changes can be a losing proposition, but they can open doors to great opportunities.When Merastar Insurance Co. of Chattanooga, Tenn. became an independent property and casualty firm in 2004, CIO Ken Lytle grabbed the chance to update the company's aging systems, and devised a five-year plan that will replace its technologically grizzled V4 legacy system, which runs on an AS/400, with all-new applications.