Insurance & Technology is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Author
 Anthony O'Donnell
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
RSS
E-Mail

Profile of Anthony O'Donnell

Blog Posts: 2240

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information technology in the property/casualty, life and health insurance industries, following the trends and issues faced by senior technology executives. In addition to reporting and editorial duties for I&T, O'Donnell also serves as a moderator and speaker at industry events and broadcasts. He began his editorial career in the healthcare industry where he reported and edited for medical publications with a variety of audiences, from the general public to physicians and researchers. He has also worked in the healthcare field as a media relations professional and Spanish/English interpreter/translator, and has taught English composition and conversation classes to native speakers of Spanish, both in the United States and in Latin America. O'Donnell lives in the Portland, Oregon area with his wife and two sons.

Articles by Anthony O'Donnell
posted in June 2010

Vertafore to be Acquired by TPG Capital

6/14/2010
Pending regulatory approval, TPG will purchase Vertafore from Hellman & Friedman and its co-investor JMI Equity for $1.4 billion by the third quarter of 2010.

Risk, Reputation and the World Cup

6/11/2010
Americans have taken a lot of abuse over the years for supposedly not being up to competing in the World Cup. Attitudes are slowly changing owing to some impressive performances against great teams, such as Germany. Here's a light-hearted take on the American team from John Oliver of the Daily Show.

Optimum General Taps Iter8 For Broker Portal Project

6/10/2010
The project's goals are to enhance speed-to-market for new products and services, and fully support the independent broker channel, with ease-of-use, comprehensive functionality, and overall superior system performance.

StoneRiver Introduces Distribution Stream Solution

6/8/2010
The latest offering in the Stream solution set, Distribution Stream grants new visibility into and control of commissions, appointments, and terms and conditions as well as analysis through segmentation of the agency force with agency definition by region, district or other marketing area, according to the vendor.

IASA Report: Malcolm Gladwell Asks Engineers and Accountants to Embrace "Mystery"

6/7/2010
Malcolm Gladwell's interpretation of the challenges that face decision-makers today, in the insurance industry as in intelligence, medicine, education and other endeavors, is that there is no triumph of either art or science, but that both complement each other in new, non-linear ways of processing increasingly large amounts of information to yield meaningful insights.

Access Insurance Wins IASA 2010 Technology Innovation Award

6/7/2010
The Atlanta-based P&C insurer received the award for its Instant Access application, which executes all business rules and processes needed to provide a quote, and bind and issue a policy. Honorable mention was given for projects by Great American Insurance and West Bend Mutual.

Insurers Master Data for Strategic Business Support

6/4/2010
As it becomes more feasible for insurers to base their strategic decisions on data analysis, IT and the business are stepping up their efforts to develop more subjective interpretations of data that drive a competitive edge.

Aetna's Attractive Virtual Online Assistant Reduces Call Center Load

6/3/2010
The soundness of Ann's design been validated by adoption by Aetna's members. "We're averaging 2,500 chat sessions daily, and calls to our customer service technical help desk declined 29 percent in the past month as a result," Sherry reports. "She surpassed all expectations in terms of how much people were engaging with her and using the service."

Guidewire Formalizes SI Partnerships To Foster Implementation Success

6/2/2010
Many systems vendors have ongoing relationships with systems integrators and other consulting partners, but Guidewire has introduced a level of formality designed to mitigate project risk and foster success. The PartnerConnect program establishes formal partnerships at the company level and also establishes formal qualifications for individual consultants.

A Vivid Picture of Destruction in Guatemala

6/1/2010
June 1 marks the beginning of the 2010 Hurricane season, both for the Atlantic and central pacific. As if to mark the day, a tropical storm named Agatha slammed into the Central American coast.

Register for Insurance & Technology Newsletters
Slideshows
Video