Semantic Discord and Data (Dis)Integration [ Source: expressor software corporation ]
February 2008- As business requirements continue to accelerate, the ability of existing data integration technologies to solve those requirements lags appreciably behind. In an effort to address this issue, vendors have been frantically retooling their platforms and/or buying "complementary technologies" to help them stay afloat. Unfortunately, these incremental improvements and bolt-on solutions have not been successful in resolving the core problem. What is needed is a fundamental shift in the way that data integration projects are ...

Modern Policy Administration Systems Require Modern Implementation Methodologies [ Source: Camilion Solutions, Inc ]
December 2008- The insurance industry is rife with anecdotes of late or failed implementations and millions of dollars lost in the process. In the Celent report "The 18 Month Rule: Avoiding The Endless Project" (Nov. 2006), it was noted that “between 30% and 80% of all large projects fail, with most estimates coming in on the higher side of this range.” But it doesn’t have to be this way –- implementations of modern policy admin systems can be successful. Learn ...

P&C Industry - Technology Strategy after Financial Crisis [ Source: Mahindra Satyam ]
March 2010- As the year 2009 ended, the dust from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has begun to settle. The depth and breadth of damage suffered by the U.S. and global economies is becoming apparent. From the P&C perspective, insurers saw their net income plummet and the net premium written trend also lowered. Insurers hoping for a resurgence of hard market in the 2nd half of 2009 realized that this was just wishful thinking. ...

NAIC SSAP No. 43R: A Practical Analysis -- Interpreting the Latest Guidance for Insurance Companies Accounting for “Loan-backed and Structured Securities” [ Source: Clearwater Analytics ]
December 2009- On Sept. 23, 2009, The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Statutory Accounting Principles Working Group adopted SSAP No. 43R, providing insurance companies with guidance on recording other-than-temporary impairments (OTTI) on loan-backed and structured securities. For insurance companies, SSAP No. 43R applies to all investments held by the reporting entity subsequent to Sept. 30, 2009. This article provides a framework for insurers to understand the implications of SSAP No. 43R, and includes recommendations for responding to SSAP No. 43R ...

Eight-Step Guide to Building A World-Class Investment Strategy and Reporting Process [ Source: Clearwater Analytics ]
March 2009- During times of market uncertainty, investment profesionals need all of the information they can get to make smart decisions about their portfolios. In today's market investors can't be days or weeks behind in knowing what they own, or they put portfolio investments at risk.

Five Steps for Building the Business Case for SOA Governance [ Source: Software AG ]
November 2008- IT architects understand that governance is essential to service-oriented architecture (SOA) success, but they need to get the business to understand this as well. With SOA, financial services firms gain a flexible architecture that slashes maintenance demands, improves quality and reusability, speeds the development of new systems, and reduces time to market. But in order to achieve these benefits SOA development must begin with SOA governance. Without governance SOA can turn into chaos. Too often, ...

Modern Policy Administration Systems Require Modern Implementation Methodologies [ Source: Camilion Solutions, Inc ]
December 2008- The insurance industry is rife with anecdotes of late or failed implementations and millions of dollars lost in the process. In the Celent report "The 18 Month Rule: Avoiding The Endless Project" (Nov. 2006), it was noted that “between 30% and 80% of all large projects fail, with most estimates coming in on the higher side of this range.” But it doesn’t have to be this way –- implementations of modern policy admin systems can be successful. Learn ...