One problem facing insurers who write commercial automobile coverage is that in states with mandatory auto liability reporting, also known as ALIR, carriers must report policy changes and cancellations electronically to state Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Exstream Software Inc., Lexington, Ky., announced today an agreement with Kanematsu Electronics Ltd. (KEL) in Tokyo to market the company's products in Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, KEL will offer Dialogue, WebVerse, AFP Studio and future Exstream products as part of its solution set for managing document information infrastructures. Exstream chose Kanematsu for its strong customer relationships in the Japanese market, specifically in the mail order, insurance, security, credit card and utility industries, the company stated.

New York, NY--MetLife announced that it's online employee benefits management portal, MetLink, received the 2004 E-Fusion award for Customer Service and Benefits Management. This prominent industry award, presented at the AM Best Insurance and Technology Conference, is awarded to insurance companies and their affiliates for outstanding, resourceful uses of technology in the insurance industry.

The incentive of insurers to explore online learning, beside the low travel costs and reduction of lost agent and employee productivity, is the fact that carriers can turn around training relatively quickly. This is essential with so many new products, regulatory compliance requirements and other liability issues nipping at their heels.

Nothing tests the resolve of an insurance company's claims processing division more dramatically than a natural catastrophe.Typically, one natural disaster is enough to test the capabilities of the most competent claims units, but when four hurricanes struck the Southeast during a six-week period between August 13 and late September, it proved to be an unprecedented succession of disasters, insurers concur.

Y2K brought the issue of IT assets to the executive table. To prevent the collapse of their operations when the clocks struck midnight on December 31, 1999, companies worked furiously to find out what computer hardware and software they were using, whether or not their systems were Y2K-compliant, and if they weren't, how to fix them.Five years later, companies are still struggling to get their arms around their infrastructures. Now, the Internet is ubiquitous and real-time system availability is expected. Multi-tired platforms with highly distributed IT assets are the norm-especially in larger companies. And, regulations-such as SOX, HIPAA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley-are forcing executives to take personal responsibility for financial statements and customer privacy-information housed in their IT systems.

As it pertains to information technology strategies, life insurers are regarded by many industry experts as trailing their counterparts in the property/casualty and even health insurance sector.But when Waterloo, Ont.-based Manulife Financial of Canada in September announced plans to partner with CGI Group on a $100 million IT application outsourcing initiative, it presented further evidence that life insurance companies might be collectively poised to make a bolder commitment to IT strategy.

Reducing costs and stimulating corporate growth can be a tough proposition for insurance companies. Often, reducing costs only serves to inhibit growth as a reduction in spending undermines targeted growth areas.A new study released by three insurance industry technology providers delves into the challenge life and annuity insurers are facing as they strive to remove costs from the equation while ensuring corporate prosperity, as defined by profitability.

Insurance companies that have learned to use technology to become information users rather than information gatherers have a decisive competitive advantage over their peers. But few insurance companies have "turned that corner."This is the assessment of John Bareiss, senior director at Fitch Ratings, New York. Fitch and Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD recently released a strategic briefing to provide insight into how the rating agency evaluates the technological capabilities of insurance companies, reinsurers and intermediaries.

With the stakes--and their IT investments--high, many insurers have made it clear they aren't ready, willing or able to discard their legacy systems and migrate their applications completely to newer platforms.

When you're running an insurance company with a business model based on Internet distribution, you need to develop a top-notch Web site. That was management's goal when online insurer Esurance Inc. was launched in 2001 at the height of the dot-com bubble, and that's still the company's intention today.Esurance has implemented two new Web technologies over the past year to keep its Web site running smoothly and enable customers to effortlessly contact a service representative when they encounter a problem.

NEW YORK, NY--The Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin today announced that the EPIC Consulting staff has joined its property/casualty insurance practice. Consulting actuaries Michael Miller, Klayton Southwood, Richard Smith and Kenneth Leonard are among the new hires.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--Workscape, Inc., a proven provider of outsourced benefits and workforce management solutions, today announced the introduction of its new nationwide partner program. Known as the Workscape Broker Alliance Program, it is available to insurance brokers and consultants that service employers with greater than 2,500 benefits-eligible employees and wish to supplement their offering with Workscape's benefits administration solution, OneForce/Benefits.

HARTFORD, Conn.-- MassMutual Financial Group today introduced Web-based enrollment for its Strategic Edge group universal and group variable universal life insurance products, making participant enrollment fast, easy and accurate.

Newark, Calif.-- Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world's leading provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, is now offering software developer tools for its RiskLink and RiskBrowser systems. The RiskTools software development kit allows companies to efficiently integrate key components of RMS products into their internal underwriting and portfolio management systems, allowing users to access RMS decision support tools via internal system interfaces.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Jefferson Pilot Financial, one of the nation's leading providers of universal and variable universal life insurance and fixed annuities, recently expanded its continuing education program for insurance agents with five new courses of study.

LONDON and PRINCETON--Aon Re International has today announced that it has licensed the Pivot Point insurance transaction system from CATEX Inc. Pivot Point is a web-based system handling the full reinsurance process from business production and quoting through to IBA ledger.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) announced today that the Web site of its Technology Evaluation Center has been awarded Health Web Site Accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based healthcare accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the healthcare industry. The accreditation applies to the Technology Evaluation Center Web site at bcbs.com/tec

PEARL RIVER, NY--ACORD, the global leader in standards for the insurance and financial services industries, is launching an advocacy campaign that features original print and web advertising that takes a humorous look at a world without standards.

BOSTON, Oct. 14--OneBeacon Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., today announced that Matt Mueller has joined the company to lead its high-tech commercial insurance business.