Content posted in February 2009
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Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Feb 22-28)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 22-28, 2009):
Friday Humor: When "Free" Isn't
As the national debt self-indulgence hangover throbs on, any remaining voices crying, "No Money Down!", "Buy Now Pay Later" or "First Six Months Free!" are increasingly greeted with scorn and resentment. Those whom consumers might have seen before as allies towards common gain are now viewed as charlatans and crooks. Special venom is reserved for those whose resort to false promises when pretending to address the snares of consumer credit, as the following video shows:
Pioneer State Mutual Chooses Guidewire for Billing
Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company has selected Guidewire BillingCenter as its new billing system.
Vertafore Announces Reorganization
The insurance software and services company will reorganize around market segments rather than products.
U.S. Bancorp Deploys Sircon’s Online Agent Licencing Solution
Sircon's Web-based Compliance Express system streamlines U.S. Bancorp Investments' producer licencing process, leaving agents with more time for revenue generating activities.
Green Issues: An Obituary
I'm not sure how many people are familiar with Esquire magazine's occasional mock obituaries feature, but I came across one from last March that I thought was particularly funny and -- in a time when companies and their marketing departments often declare themselves to be "green," without the policies and practices in place to back it up -- particularly poignant.
DFA Partners With Milliman
DFA Capital Management has joined forces with Milliman to offer a joint economic capital modeling solution to property and casualty insurers.
CATEX Releases Pivot Point 2.0 Reinsurance and Insurance Transaction System Platform
CATEX releases Pivot Point 2.0 Reinsurance and Insurance Transaction System Platform redesign, which features .NET upgrade and client/market extranet.
MajescoMastek Elixir Distribution Management Makes North American Debut
Standalone distribution system within MajescoMastek's flagship Elixir Suite of product allows a carrier to manage the entire distribution landscape, according to the Vendor.
Grange Unveils New Brand Identity, Web Site
Grange Insurance has launched a new brand identity and public Web site, both focused on ease of doing business.
Gary Plotkin Named OneBeacon CIO
Former Hartftord P&C CIO Plotkin succeeds Mike Natan, who retires from OneBeacon this month.
Rob Klapper Succeeds Dave Roush as Insurance.com CEO
Klapper has held senior executive positions at 21st Century and Charles Schwab, in addition to his recent CEO role at lifelong learning firm One Day University.
AEGON Selects Towers Perrin’s MoSes Actuarial Modeling Platform
Contract extends existing relationship for use of the MoSes actuarial analysis and reporting platform across the global AEGON enterprise.
USAble Life Chooses SunGard iWorks
USAble Life has selected SunGard's iWorks product suite for group benefit administration.
2009 Will Be a Good Year for Technology Vendors
The notion that carriers will be spending liberally in 2009 is borne out by carriers' late 2008 budget projections, and subsequent research on their current activity. My own conversations with industry contacts have provided abundant corroboration. To give one example among many, a senior technology officer at a large P&C carrier recently said to me that whatever his company's troubles, with regard to technology spending, "our appetite is no less than it was last year."
New York Life International Appoints New CIO
New York Life International (NYLI) has named Thomas Burke as senior vice president and chief information officer.
Swedish Insurer SalusAnsvar Selects FINEOS Claims Solution
Leading Swedish group life assurance company cites FINEOS solution's ease of configurability for IT and business users in support of greater business agility and customer service.
Honor Roll: Top Insurance Blogs for the Week of February 15
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 15-21, 2009):
FirstBest Adds Automated Property Lookups
FirstBest Systems has partnered with RiskMeter Online to add natural hazard risk reports to its FirstBest Underwriting Management System.
MassMutual’s Casale Transitions Into CIO Role
MassMutual's Bob Casale details his transition into the carrier's CIO role, coinciding with the retirement of his predecessor, Mike Foley.
Nationwide Names Steve Rasumussen CEO
Nationwide president and chief operating officer Steve Rasmussen replaces Jerry Jurgensen in the mutual company's CEO role.
ACORD Names Juergen Heck Program Director for Europe
ACORD names Juergen Heck Program Director for Europe; former head of Swiss Re Global IT Operations will focus on engaging European partners.
Ted Mathas to Succeed Sy Sternberg as Chairman of New York Life
Mathas will retain his titles as president, which he assumed in July 2007, and CEO, which he assumed in July 2008.
Travelers Relaunches Risk Control Site
TravSources microsites give customers and agents access to industry-specific capabilities.
Federal Insurance Regulatory Proposal Draws Fire, Support
Opponents of the National Insurance Consumer Protection and Regulatory Modernization Act (NICPRMA) call the bill an attempt to shoehorn optional federal charter into government regulatory activity meant to address systemic risk within financial services, while other observers offer qualified support.
ImageRight Partners With ReadSoft
ImageRight partners with ReadSoft in an alliance that aims to help insurers automate paper-based processes.
United Concordia Deploys Real-Time Claims with Tesia-PCI
Tesia-PCI's Real Time Claims dental clearing house solution enabled a two-month ramp-up time.
TWIA Chooses Guidewire
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has selected Guidewire Software's Billing Center solution.
Anselmo Takes CIO Job at Narragansett Bay Insurance
Former QBE Specialty Insurance CIO brings start-up savvy to regional P&C carrier.
Address Verification Solution Helps Consumers Insurance Cut Costs
Consumers Insurance cuts premium leakage, reduces operating costs and improves customer satisfaction with Experian QAS' address verification solution.
Baseline Introduces CAT Models
Baseline Management Company has introduced a new set of catasrophe models for hurricanes and earthquakes.
Vincent Cohan Named AXA Tech SVP, CTO
One of three new senior vice president appointments by AXA, Vincent Cohan will be responsible for defining and implementing AXA Tech's information systems.
Honor Roll: Top Insurance Blogs for the Week of February 8
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 8-14, 2009):
ACLI Statement: Federal Insurance Regulation "Vital"
American Council of Life Insurers president and CEO Frank Keating argued that optional federal regulation will address risks to consumers, the insurance industry and the financial system as a whole.
All Aboard the Hype Machine
How should insurers approach (potentially over-hyped) social media like Second Life and Twitter.
AXA Equitable Launches Beneficiary Resource Site
Online resources support beneficiaries and financial professionals following a life insurance or annuity claim.
BCBSMN SVP and CIO Jay Levine Thrives on Change
Levine will shepherd claims modernization, user-friendly portals and improvements across the health insurer's technology infrastructure and application portfolio.
Medical Mutual of Ohio's EmployerLink Redesign
Take an inside look at Medical Mutual of Ohio's redesigned EmployerLink group insurance Web site, winner of a 2008 Web Marketing Association Outstanding Web Site Award.
MetLife Redesigns Web Site
New site features simpler navigation, better search capabilities and new account management tools, among other features, according to the insurer.
Kurt Seelbach Named President of Armed Forces Insurance
Kurt Seelbach named president of Armed Forces Insurance (AFI); retains COO role, while former president Dials remains chairman/CEO.
Best of Times: Agent Real-Time Functionality
This represents success on the part of carrier IT organizations from a technical standpoint, and on the part of the carriers generally in terms of their relationships with their independent distributors. It also represents a threat to carriers who are yet to provide real-time functionality to their agents, but that will push further penetration of the related technologies through the carrier community.
Karen Clark & Company Introduce RiskRover
Karen Clark & Company has released RiskRover, a mobile property inspection software.
Research Reveals Most Agents Are Using Real Time Functionality
Research Reveals Most agents and growing number of carriers are using Real Time functionality, according to new research. Popular uses include inquiries, endorsement processing, rating, agency management.
BCBS of Tennessee Licenses Nexidia Enterprise Voice Analytics Software
Nexidia professional services worked with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to implement call driver and average handle time analysis for reprocessed claims, plan to plan unit calls, medical records calls, duplicate claims calls, and other areas.
Island Insurance Selects INX Disaster Recovery Solution
Lower-cost solution effectively addresses special challenges of Hawaiian power and telecommunications infrastructure.
Business Intelligence Makes Insurers More-Competitive Risk Managers
For most insurers, business intelligence means point solutions at best. But those carriers that weave analytics into the fabric of their organizations are equipped to drive more precision in pricing and greater profitability to the bottom line.
Insurance CIOs Say Growth Is Still on the Industry’s Business Agenda
The four insurance company CIOs who spoke at Celent's 2009 CIO Roundtable rated facilitating distribution and leveraging customer information among their top priorities.
Zurich, Farmers Warn Customers of Possible Volcanic Eruption
Insurance carriers urge Alaskan customers to implement business continuity plans to prepare for the possible eruption of Mount Redoubt.
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index Continues to Decline
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) is declining at a rate that is faster than at any time since 1974 recession.
Honor Roll: Top Insurance Blogs for the Week of February 1
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts** from around the Web (February 1-7, 2009):
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