Insurance IT Salary Survey: Job Outlook Improving
Even as the economy has stumbled, insurers' confidence in growth opportunities has led to shifting staffing needs and slightly higher salaries for insurance IT staff as carriers resume large-scale projects aimed at increasing efficiency and improving the customer experience, according to the 2012 InformationWeek U.S. IT Salary Survey. Check out many of the study's other revelations and view detailed charts on topics including the long-term view of insurance IT as a career and the growing gender gap in the sector.
View the Slideshow
|
What Insurers Need to Know About the Next Generation of Tablets
If, as Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part,” then these are indeed tantalizing times for insurance IT execs and others charged with evaluating tablet device options for their workforces -- and, from an apps perspective, for their customers. In recent weeks, Google, Microsoft and Amazon all have revealed plans for new or updated tablets intended to challenge the dominance of Apple’s iPad. Reports that Apple is working on a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad suggest that determining enterprise tablet strategies will be an increasing complex endeavor. Here are some insights and opinions that could help insurers figure out where to place their bets in the tablet wars.
View the Slideshow
|
Extreme Weather in the US: Is It Climate Change or a Historical Pattern?
Devastating wildfires that have destroyed at least 347 homes in Colorado and cost more than $11 million to control. A bizarre derecho storm that killed 22 people and left 4.3 million people without electricity across 10 states. Record heat across the United States. It’s highly unusual – or is it? This summer’s extreme weather has many observers pointing to climate change and global warming as the cause; others argue it’s all part of long-term weather patterns. Either way, insurance companies that must anticipate and respond to natural catastrophes are in the center of the storm. Here’s how some of the experts are interpreting this season’s dramatic weather-related events and their implications for the insurance industry.
View the Slideshow
|
The Supreme Court Rules on the Affordable Care Act: What It Could Mean for Insurers
The Supreme Court’s five-to-four ruling that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provision is constitutional because it is a tax is having many immediate consequences. It surprised many observers, positioned Chief Justice John Roberts as one of the most influential Chief Justices in history, gave President Obama a victory, and inspired Mitt Romney and other Republicans to declare they would overturn the legislation. But what will be the long-term impact? Here are opinions, reactions and predictions related to the ruling and its potential effects on the insurance industry.
View the Slideshow
|
How 2012 Grads Can Prepare for a Career in Insurance IT
As Insurance & Technology’s new report on the Top 11 Schools for Insurance Technology Talent reveals, today’s students graduate from college with impressive training, skills and credentials. But do they have other capabilities – such as common sense, creativity, empathy, a sense of adventure -- that are essential to success in the business technology world? And what can they do to gain these kinds of skills and insights? Here is some of the best advice provided to the college graduates now entering the workforce, based on 2012 commencement addresses and other words of wisdom.
View the Slideshow
|
What Insurers Need to Know Before Adopting Agile Development
Adopting the Agile methodology for software development can be a challenge for insurance IT organizations, but the benefits of Agile Development outweigh the risks.
View the Slideshow
|
Heard at IASA: Top Quotes From the 2012 IASA Conference
With increased attendance for the third year in a row and a sold-out exhibit hall, this year’s IASA Educational Conference and Business Show in San Diego provided evidence of the insurance industry’s health and increased IT spending. It also highlighted ongoing challenges in the areas of customer experience and retention, data management and regulatory compliance. I&T highlights some of the most provocative statements heard at the conference.
View the Slideshow
|
What Makes a Great iPad App for Insurance Agents?
Best practices for creating a great policyholder experience on Apple's iPad are well established throughout the insurance industry. Now insurance organizations are discovering how to create the best applications for their agents and distributors.
View the Slideshow
|
8 Priorities for the 2012 IASA Annual Conference
Attendees at next week’s 2012 IASA Educational Conference and Business Show in San Diego are being encouraged to “Achieve Greatness” through networking, educational sessions and interaction with technology companies on the exhibit floor. Greatness may be elusive but there definitely will be a focus on hot topics such as data and analytics, financial management, distribution and mobile capabilities. I&T asked a cross-section of conference participants to identify their priorities at the show.
View the Slideshow
|
Top Technologies for the 2012 Hurricane Season
The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins June 1, is likely to be relatively mild compared to recent years. But even a less-active season or a Category 1 storm places tremendous demands on insurance companies in terms of risk modeling and underwriting, catastrophe response and claims management/payments. Here’s a review of some of the key technologies and tools insurers must have in their arsenals to provide the right levels of service during the 2012 hurricane season.
View the Slideshow
|
Top Quotes from the 2012 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum
The 2012 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum featured discussions about evolving technologies, including social media and telematics.
View the Slideshow
|
What’s the Buzz at the 2012 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum?
Although an array of hot topics — including analytics, cloud computing, mobile technology and social media — will be on the agenda at next week’s 2012 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Orlando, conference participants will have their own priorities. I&T asked industry executives what they’ll be looking for at this year’s Forum.
View the Slideshow
|
8 Priorities for More Effective Mobile Security
Smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.7 billion in 2017, forecasts telecommunications analyst Ovum – more evidence that the growth of the mobile channel presents opportunities for insurance companies in areas as diverse as distribution, claims and customer service. However, security remains a huge concern – especially as the bring-your-own-device movement means increasing volumes of sensitive corporate and client information are handled on mobile devices. To help insurers optimize the mobile channel while minimizing risks, here are some words of warning, insights and recommendations about how to address mobile security challenges.
View the Slideshow
|
Insurers Dodge a Bullet on Q1 Catastrophes
Although insurers’ exposure to costly catastrophes in the first quarter of 2012 was much less severe than what they experienced in the same period a year ago, they are facing new and complicated challenges in areas as diverse as healthcare claims, mobile security and domain/brand protection. Here’s some of what was top of mind for the industry this past week.
View the Slideshow
|
Managing Expectations in Real Time: The Talk of the Week in Insurance
I&T takes a look back at this week's best commentary.
View the Slideshow
|
Image Gallery: 5 Steps to Customer-Friendly Online Insurance Quotes
The user experience experts at Corporate Insight offer five ways to generate a customer-friendly online insurance quote and evaluate six carriers' websites based on the consultancy's top best practices.
View the Slideshow
|
Anatomy of a Data Center: Green Means LEED Gold in Piscataway for DFT's NJ1 Data Center |
 Take a Tour of Savvis' Newest NY Metro Data Center |
 Inside Telx's New York Data Center |
 NYSE Datacenter |
Sun's Data Center |
