 CEOs Get Smart The ability to use information technology competitively has become more important to insurance companies. CEOs know this, and so do the equity analysts and boards of directors who track their performance. INSURANCE & TECHNOLOGY'S 2008 TECH-SAVVY CEOs
FEATURESOA Can Deliver on Promise With Right Strategies in PlaceInsurers are discovering that a service-oriented architecture — guided by the right governance and cultural change management strategies — can deliver on SOA's promise of a more agile IT organization. UPDATEManaged Competition in Massachusetts Leads to Technology ChallengesFor the first time in decades, Massachusetts regulations allow for competitive auto pricing. But the changes will require domiciled carriers to improve their technology to compete with national players. MassMutual Launches New Recruitment Web Site MassMutual has launched a new video-intensive Web site aimed to recruit potential employees and agents, especially those currently based outside the financial services industry. ClaimCenter Gives FCCI Simplicity and Vendor Independence Guidewire's 30th customer replaces three legacy claims systems and begins a line-of-business rollout scheduled for completion in 2009. NFS Standardizes Reporting on WebFOCUS Information Builders' solution enables Nationwide Financial Services to centrally manage reporting from IT while giving its approximately 1,000 business users federated access within their respective business areas and self-service capability via Web browser. CASE STUDYPMA Insurance Group Follows Vendor to Java-Based PlatformAfter evaluating ease of use, the merits of a single reporting platform and cost-effectiveness, PMA upgrades its systems to implement Hyperion's Java-based System 9. |
FROM THE EDITORI&T's 2008 Tech-Savvy CEOs Know How to Leverage IT to Flourish in Tough Economic TimesAlthough financial services CEOs are generally pessimistic about the current economic and business environment, the insurance company CEOs featured in Insurance & Technology's 2008 "Tech-Savvy CEOs" report have succeeded by championing the use of technology as a means for innovation and differentiation. CEO INSIDE REPORTUnum Group's Simply Unum Initiative Taps Technology's Capability to Provide Flexibility, Balance and MomentumUnum's Tom Watjen, one of I&T's 2007 Tech-Savvy CEOs, describes how the success of the carrier's Simply Unum initiative is driving further IT/business alignment. CEOs TO WATCHCEOs to Watch: BlueCross BlueShield's Vicky Gregg, Liberty Mutual's Edmund Kelly, and Allstate's Thomas WilsonFrom driving product innovation and acquisition activity to the greening of the business, these CEOs are likely to be in the spotlight in the coming year. BlueCross BlueShield's Vicky Gregg Embraces IT's Ability to Transform Health Insurance Investment in data management technologies and adoption of "green" business principles are among the ways Vicky Gregg, president and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, is trying to change the way health insurers do business. CEO Edmund F. Kelly Grows Liberty Mutual Through Acquisition and Leveraging Technology Liberty Mutual CEO Edmund F. Kelly has driven rapid growth for its independent agent-driven business through the acquisition of Ohio Casualty and Safeco. Allstate's Thomas J. Wilson Will Use Agent- and Consumer-Facing Technologies to 'Exceed Customers' Expectations' Allstate CEO Thomas J. Wilson seeks to reinforce differentiation through improved service to distributors and novel product and service offerings to consumers. 
NAMES IN THE NEWSKnight Drives the BASICs at ChubbChubb's new enterprise CIO Jim Knight will work toward bringing the carrier's IT organization to new levels of capability. Northwestern Mutual CIO Schaefer Drives Greater Maturity Tim Schaefer will leverage the experience of a wide-ranging career within Northwestern Mutual to shepherd the carrier's IT organization to new levels of maturity. |
