As Costa Rica sends rescue teams to an area hit yesterday by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, risk modelers have more natural catastrophe data to contend with: flood loss. Flood losses are on a rapid upswing, according to a report issued today by Swiss Re. Affecting an estimated 500 million people worldwide annually, the increase in flood-related claims has been significant, notes Swiss Re’s new report, “Flood - an Underestimated Risk: Inspect, Inform, Insure.”

Data and cloud continue to pave the way to profitable initiatives such as telematics and customer management.

American International Group Inc., the bailed-out U.S. insurer, is raising as much as $2 billion selling a stake in AIA Group Ltd. as Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche accumulates funds to repurchase his company’s stock from the Treasury Department. AIG is offering about 600 million AIA shares at HK$25.75 to HK$26.75, according to a term sheet obtained by Bloomberg News. AIG plans to spend as much $5 billion buying back its shares, it said in a statement released via Business Wire.

CNA Financial Corp. has named Cheryl Paton as the assistant VP for umbrella teams, and Andy Cohen as the VP of field operations.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. will use Guidewire PolicyCenter as its underwriting and policy administration system and Guidewire BillingCenter for its P&C insurance lines. Nationwide Mutual already is in the process of deploying Guidewire ClaimCenter for claims handling for all P&C lines of business.

SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc., a software and services provider, has launched CAMRA I-Risk for insurance companies to address emerging solvency standards by combining CAMRA’s financial reporting capabilities with a position-based stochastic simulation model.

WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, is planning a four-part debt offering to help fund its $4.9 billion acquisition of Amerigroup Corp. The operator of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans may sell three-, five-, 10- and 30- year notes as soon as today, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Long-term care insurance decisions are not being made only by the elderly, according to a new report. A study conducted by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance notes that the youngest claimant was 24 years old when he began receiving benefit payments from his long-term care insurance policy. Now in his seventh year of receiving payments, the coverage was purchased when the claimant was 21 years old.

IT managers and data architects can take steps to make sure data applications get same level of testing as software.

Results of a Towers Watson survey of risk calibrations being used for specific market and non-market risks, revealed that the largest challenges still include interest rates, credit spreads and mortality and lapse assumptions, with up to two-thirds of firms still looking to make considerable progress in these areas.

Munich Re, Swiss Re and Allianz among A.M. Best’s review and ranking of the top 50 reinsurers based on gross premiums written.

Mobile usage-based solutions offer choices designed to provide customer-centric data, feedback.

As businesses in the Gulf Coast are finding out again, having a disaster recovery plan is critical to a business’ survival. According to the “Gulf Coast Back to Business Act (2007),” 43 percent of businesses that close after a natural disaster never reopen, and an additional 29 percent permanently close within two years. However, in the wake of the ongoing financial crisis, many disaster recovery plans are now out of date, says Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates.

IT contractor hiring is on the rise; researchers say forecasting the hiring of experts is a “net positive."

Poll results reveal that majority of Americans connect life insurance to feelings of security, yet don’t fully understand how such a vehicle can help meet long-term financial goals.

“Frankenstein”—a proposed self-camouflaging malware propagation system—represents a challenge and an opportunity for insurance IT and risk management professionals.

Bidders including Manulife Financial Corp. have expressed willingness to buy the Japanese operations as part of a deal for ING units in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private.

Zurich Insurance Group AG, the biggest Swiss insurer, is seeking more licenses to expand in Chinese cities as part of a strategy to grow in emerging markets, chief executive officer Martin Senn said.

SMA Partner Karen Furtado is given one minute to explain why configuration tools are important to insurers. SMA Partner Karen Furtado explains why configuration tools are important to insurers. Sponsored by ISCS.SMA Partner Karen Furtado explains why configuration tools are important to insurers. Sponsored by ISCS.   

Ahmed Yaknour will be responsible for the architecture of C&F’s infrastructure.