Insurance Networking News recently interviewed Joe Clabby, vice president, server and storage systems strategies, at Summit Strategies Inc., a marketing strategy and consulting firm based in Boston. Clabby has a strong background in networking, systems platforms, operating environments and business application reengineering. He has been in the computing industry for more than 25 years, and has written numerous reports, including "Staring Down the Storage Sinkhole."INN: You describe the current state of storage as a "fragmented morass of data management, storage management, back-up and recovery, as well as related technologies, management tools and manual processes." How did we get in this mess?

The insurance industry has faced fundamental and permanent changes in the last few years. The introduction of e-business to the industry, increased adoption of single-entry, multiple-carrier interfaces (SEMCI) and interactive systems, the educational needs of agents who must adapt to new technologies, along with post-Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act integration pressures, have challenged traditional models and the IT strategies that sustained them.Add to that the increasing financial and performance pressures, and the industry faces a problem common to other financial services segments: how to make the most of existing investments in legacy and other systems, while being nimble in developing new lines of business, partnerships and products.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Expanding on its seminal 2002 study report, "A Comparative Analysis of Claims-based Methods of Health Risk Assessment for Commercial Populations," the Society of Actuaries (SOA) has appointed Milliman USA to produce an updated version of the study.The 2002 report, which evaluated the state of the art in predictive modeling software for health care claims at that time, provided an unbiased forum for comparing the technology and methodologies then available in the market. With the passage of three years and the continuous refinement of these methodologies and software, the SOA strongly felt a fresh look at the tools would provide immediate practical benefits to the health care community.

Dallas - Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a provider of business process outsourcing and information technology solutions, has been awarded an information technology outsourcing (ITO) contract with UnumProvident, a disability income insurer. The five-year agreement is valued at $84 million.Under the terms of the contract, ACS will provide a full range of operational support services for UnumProvident's mainframe and help desk operations, and will assist in the management of the mid-range and end-user environments.

Novato, Calif. - Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. has named Oliver Bussman as its chief information officer, according to Charles (Chuck) Kavitsky, chief executive officer.Bussman has many years of IT leadership experience in the banking, insurance and asset management industries. He will lead the implementation and delivery of the significant IT investment Fireman's Fund has made to improve its customer and employee experience and to its operational effectiveness.

Cleveland - Axentis, a provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management solutions that is included in a Gartner research report titled, "Adoption of Software-as-a-Service Is Happening Outside of CRM," has made the report available on its Web site at www.axentis.com.The resport analyzes the emergence of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and its widespread adoption in new industries including compliance management, which Gartner states is currently the second largest market for SaaS solutions.

Los Angeles - Farmers Insurance Exchange has begun serving civil summons and complaints upon Redding, Calif. auto glass company Onsight Auto Glass and its owner, accusing them of taking part in a scheme designed to defraud Farmers and its policyholders. The civil complaint, which is similar to prior successful lawsuits against auto glass businesses and body shops who submitted false insurance claims, seeks not only damages for the fraud allegedly committed, but seeks injunctive relief, where the courts are asked to order a halt to these deceptive practices.Outlining a highly unusual and aggressive billing scam, the lawsuit details how the alleged perpetrator deliberately over-billed Farmers for services on 455 occasions. As alleged in the civil complaint, the defendant created a sham office in a remote area, so it could manipulate its billing. In fact, the only things located where the shop is claimed to exist were abandoned mines and a shack. There was no electricity, no running water and certainly no auto glass business. Under national guidelines, automobile glass claims are paid at a premium if the shop is located in less densely populated areas. As explained in the complaint, defendant created documentation that the shop was located in a remote area, so it could charge Farmers significantly more.

Chicago - Danish insurance company ALKA is fighting customer fraud and enhancing customer services with PredictiveClaims, an application developed by SPSS Inc. ALKA recently purchased and implemented the software in an effort to improve claims handling efficiency while reducing the cost of fraudulent claims.ALKA is one of the five leading insurance companies in Denmark. To differentiate itself in a highly competitive market, the company aimed to optimize its expensive claims handling processes and offer better service to customers. ALKA sought to enable "fast-track claim handling" while still sifting out the fraudulent cases from its high claim volumes. Industry experts estimate that on average 10% of all claims are fraudulent, whereas usually only 0.5% to 1% of fraud is actually being detected.

Seattle - Many companies advertise great service, but how many have been recognized for this by a non-partial third party such as J.D. Power and Associates? To receive recognition, companies must score higher than 730 out of a possible 1000 points. PEMCO received 911 points, a score that was noted as unusually high by J.D. Power and Associates."We come to work every day committed to giving our customers the absolute highest level of service and value," says Jon Osterberg, spokesperson for PEMCO, a provider of auto, home, boat, life, and umbrella insurance to Washington state residents. "This certification demonstrates that. Service is the bedrock of PEMCO's culture, and it's extremely gratifying to see our customers recognize that."

Oconomowoc, Wis. - Trends indicate that the role of the IT manager requires more focus on business strategy and less time spent on end-user service in today's age of widespread technology, according to Paragon Development Systems (PDS), a provider of IT services and products."Companies are beginning to realize that their IT professionals can be indispensable in identifying and pursuing competitive advantages if given the freedom and time to do so," said Austin Park, vice president of infrastructure services for PDS. "More and more, successes or failures in business hinge on technology, so why shouldn't IT managers spend their time focusing on business rather than putting out fires."

Chicago - The company stockholoders of CCC Information Services Group Inc., a supplier of software, communications systems, Internet and wireless-enabled technology solutions to the automotive claims and collision repair industries, voted to adopt a merger agreement with entities affiliated with Investcorp, a global investment group.

Needham, Mass. - In the next five years, analysts predict more than 77 million individuals in the U.S. will be of traditional retirement age, and this segment of the population is predicted to be the dominant demographic for a period of 20 years or more. TowerGroup, a Needham, Mass., research firm, expects that this explosion in the retired market will ultimately redefine the U.S. financial services industry, accelerating industry consolidation across banking, securities and investments, and insurance.

Dublin, Ireland - Insurers will benefit from a trend in wide-spread adoption of electronic capture of patient data, according to Research and Markets, Dublin, Ireland. In a newly released report, Research and Markets says many businesses already routinely capture documents and data for both regulatory and business intelligence purposes. But health care in the clinical setting has resisted this industry-transforming technology for nearly 20 years, citing the lack of user-friendly interfaces for busy health care providers, lack of workflow understanding on the part of vendors, the expense and complexity of implementation and maintenance solutions, and, simply, the lack of a transparent return on investment for providers. Research and Markets addresses this in "How Electronic Data Capture Will Change Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Marketing," an addition to its offerings of market research reports and industry newsletters.

Much is written about the wonders of technology. Often overlooked, is how companies become the best at attracting and keeping the people who make technology work for them-their IT employees. Many companies readily spout the corporate dictum about how people are their most important asset; far fewer actually "walk the talk."Now, with IT hiring on the rise again-especially in the financial services sector where it's projected to increase 28% in the first quarter of this year-industry observers are warning: It may be time to pay closer attention to the human factor in IT.

Depending on whom you listen to, offshore outsourcing is the best - or the worst option available to insurance companies.The downbeat discussion typically follows the "hidden costs have pushed the business cycle full circle" path, while proponents focus on the logistical effort and patience required for an improved-if not elusive-bottom line.

One of the most frustrating aspects of life for American consumers in the 21st Century is trying to complete a transaction or obtain information from a company over the telephone.Whether it's ordering a new pair of shoes, checking the status of a utility bill, or seeking help with a computer problem, the experience can be both exasperating and mind numbing.

TRANSAMERICA RECEIVES SIX 'BEST IN CLASS' RANKINGSAs a testament to its relationship with its clients, Los Angeles-based Transamerica Retirement Services received six "Best in Class" ratings from the Chatham Partners' 2005 Client Satisfaction Analysis. Transamerica received "Best in Class" ratings: 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 personnel.

Several years ago, a rising deluge of spam, much of it offensive to the firm's largely female workforce, prompted Tollman & Wiker InWest (TWIW) Insurance Services, LLC, to seek better ways of protecting its incoming e-mail."We felt as employers we should protect our staff from this stuff," recalls Kevin Dickmann, who, as technology manager, ran IT single-handedly for the 85-person insurance agency based in Ventura, Calif. "Every morning, our employees were finding 30 to 40 messages they had to review and delete." What's more, e-mail's importance to daily operations was growing by leaps and bounds, so keeping it safe and sound was critical.

In early 2005, after being pounded by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jean, Glen Distefano pondered the technology model for the soon to be established St. Petersburg, Fla., insurance company.SUNZ Insurance Co. set up shop this year to provide workers compensation and related liability coverage through a direct sales force to a select clientele-a controlled group of Florida-based professional employer organizations (PEOs), staffing companies and other preferred large risks. After agreeing to take the helm as chief information officer at the company, Distefano thought about the 8,000 businesses and 100,000 jobs lost from 1992's Hurricane Andrew.

Insurance firms that lack a cohesive vision and strategy across their entire enterprise are failing to take advantage of the bounty of newfound technological options available to them and are limiting their capacity for differentiation and growth.This message, highlighted in the report "Business Architecture: Aligning Process, Content and Data to Enhance Profitability" by TowerGroup, a Needham, Mass.-based research and consulting firm, serves as a clarion call for insurers to embrace enterprisewide initiatives now or else cede an important competitive advantage.