COVER STORY What Makes a Great iPad App? I&T went straight to the experts to get the best practices for creating insurance iPad apps to optimize the tablet's unique talents. The Best Insurance iPad Apps Take a look at iPad apps from GEICO, Progressive, Humana, USAA, State Farm, Zurich, John Hancock and Aflac. Insurers Re-Examine the Mobile Web As the ways insurance customers and employees use mobile devices is better understood, and the amount of devices proliferates, some carriers are turning back to the mobile web as a place to bring next-generation mobile capabilities to the marketplace. Mobile Advancements Lead to Rise in Usage-based Insurance As the ways insurers' customers and employees use mobile devices is better understood, and as the number of devices proliferates, some carriers are turning back to the mobile web rather than apps to bring next-generation mobile capabilities to the marketplace. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE WATCH Consumer Comfort, Less Costly Technology and Better Pricing Models Lead Stronger Push Toward Pay-As-You-Drive Though insurers have approached the concept carefully over the past decade, companies including Progressive and Allstate are broadening their promotion of usage-based auto coverage. NAMES IN THE NEWS Ameritas Life Insurance's IT Organization Ramps Up for Business Transformation Richard Wiedenbeck, VP of IT for Ameritas Life Insurance, is leading an IT strategy to help the carrier fulfill its potential as an innovator in the annuities and retirement space. |
FROM THE EDITOR Can Insurers Compete in the Global Competition for Qualified Workers? New research from the ManpowerGroup indicates that one in three employers is having trouble filling jobs due to lack of available talent. Do insurance companies have the right strategies to compete in this environment? SPECIAL REPORT Insurers Now Have Modernization Options When Package PAS Systems Don't Fit Rules-based, configurable policy administration packages have proven themselves in the market. But other alternatives to legacy systems, including modular solutions, also have developed, bringing new options to insurance carriers that need to modernize their core capabilities. ONE ON ONE Q&A: BCBS of Rhode Island's CIO Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island CIO Bill Wray draws on his experience in the banking industry as he steers an unwieldy core systems replacement project back on track and helps the carrier position for a more consumer-focused healthcare environment. UPDATE ICANN's New Top-Level Domain Name Program Forces Insurers to React Praised by ICANN as a liberator of innovation, the new gTLD program may bring new marketing opportunities to the insurance industry but also compels insurers to defensively apply for expensive domain names to protect their brands. With More Insurance M&As, IT Faces Compliance, Integration Challenges Analysts are noticing an increase in M&A activity in the insurance industry, and IT capabilities are not an afterthought. Insurers Take Social Media Strategies Beyond Branded Pages With initiatives such as corporate Facebook pages and Twitter feeds becoming table stakes, carriers across lines of business are looking to lead in other areas. Insurance Trade Groups Praise White House Appointment of Roy Woodall as FSOC Expert Insurance industry trade associations praised Woodall’s understanding of the state insurance regulatory system and his appreciation of the less risky nature of the insurance industry with reference to the potential for systemic risk in the financial services industry. |
