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 April 2009
4/29/2009
Economic concerns will trump political anxieties when it comes to outsourcing decisions in the near future. And while some carriers may balk at offshore options, all insurers will explore alternative software delivery models, including software as a service.
4/28/2009
Ohio National inherent strengths have enabled it to shine in response to the challenges faced by the life insurance industry in the wake of the financial crisis.
4/28/2009
RiskAgility Economic Capital Aggregator (RiskAgility EC) can help insurers to calculate economic capital faster and more reliably, according to the vendor.
4/27/2009
Vendor cites increasing demand for cost-effective services from experienced advisors departing traditional banks and brokerage firms, as well as individual investors seeking guidance from such professionals.
4/24/2009
The two executives will pay key roles in AIG's efforts to restructure its businesses and repay the government assistance the company has received, according to AIG CEO Ed Liddy.
4/24/2009
Solutions are aimed at U.K. insurers doing business in the United States.
4/24/2009
As insurers offer fewer senior technology positions to more applicants, consulting work may be a good way for unemployed CIOs to ride out a tough economy — especially as it often leads to a permanent position.
4/23/2009
Outsourcing and layoffs not only affect the employees who may be transferred or let go, they also present hazards for the effective functioning of IT organizations after the transaction is completed.
4/23/2009
Zurich Financial Services' Target Operational Model initiative is built to anticipate the future demands of the market while building-in flexibility.
4/23/2009
Available to customers through the Apple App Store, the mobile application enables claims reporting from an accident site.
4/22/2009
The acquisition expands Portico's customer base from 17 to 33 healthcare customers who serve 30 million members nationally, and will enable Portico to offer contracting solutions that range from turnkey, stand-alone solutions, to configurable, integrated solutions, according to the vendor.
4/22/2009
Canopy's CareGain solution will power Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Flexible Blue consumer-directed healthcare plan.
4/22/2009
SEG's rules-based system will enable Union Labor Life Insurance Company to manage growth while providing better customer service more efficiently.
4/21/2009
4/21/2009
The former AIG and Travelers Life & Annuity CIO was most recently CTO at Thomson Financial, where he oversaw the company's technology and information operations globally.
4/20/2009
Prior to joining the IIS, Morrissey was chairman and CEO, Firemark Investments. As a founder of Firemark, Morrissey was also the chief investment officer for the company and portfolio manager of the Firemark Tiger Fund.
4/20/2009
Under the terms of the partnership, MajescoMastek will add Flexi Software's accounting solution to the STG Suite for all insurance transactions, including general ledger, accounts payable, fixed assets, purchasing and projects.
4/17/2009
Rajammanar will lead the Louisville, Ky.-based health insurer's Innovation Center, as well as its marketing, corporate communications and government relations organization.
4/17/2009
The Sword Ciboodle CRM solution will enhance Admiral's existing customer service agent systems, addressing the key goal of reducing the number of screens and steps required to fulfill customer requests while providing agents with correct information for customers, in a timely fashion, the vendor says.
4/16/2009
The $1.9 billion deal to acquire AIG's Personal Auto Group is expected to close by the third quarter of 2009, pending regulatory approval.
4/16/2009
Moving away from a more regional orientation, AXA's IT services organization will provide worldwide network connectivity and management of IT assets, hardware and software, change control and incident management.
4/16/2009
Former People's United executive will oversee improvements to Delta Dental companies' IT effectiveness and replacement of key operating and processing systems.
4/15/2009
Whether carriers are being more cautious or more aggressive in their technology investment, they are likely to renegotiate with vendors and seek fewer, deeper partnerships.
4/15/2009
Using iter8's Collabor8 agent portal software and services from the Toronto-based vendor, the Brampton, Ontario based personal and commercial lines carrier seeks superior ease-of-doing-business for its independent distributors.
4/14/2009
Truckers covered by First Guard can report new claims via handheld mobile devices in a process that takes less than five minutes to complete.
4/14/2009
Implementation of the customized commercial lines Insurity solution is aimed at bringing greater value to the financial representative and independent agents supported by COUNTRY Financial and its MiddleOak affiliates.
4/13/2009
In rough economic times, top-tier IT professionals remain the most mobile. Insurers that can afford to should aim at beefing up their organizations; all CIOs need to work harder to hold onto the quality people they already have on staff.
4/10/2009
From the division's New York headquarters, Rumpler will oversee the operations of the carrier's QBE Regional, QBE Reinsurance and QBE Specialty in the United States, and QBE Latin America in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico business units.
4/10/2009
With the depth of rating impact knowledge the Decision Research solution provides about the carrier's commercial auto business, Grange is equipped to fine-tune rates to offer more competitive and profitable business, the vendor claims.
4/10/2009
SecurianRetirementCenter.com Web site offers new resources for advisors to assist their clients in addressing both investment- and plan-related fiduciary tasks.
4/9/2009
The carrier's BillingCenter implementation improves upon its legacy billing environment through real-time billing and payment data at the individual policy level in addition to the account level.
4/9/2009
ConversionEdge packaged service provides access to multi-disciplinary teams experienced in all aspects of systems conversion and includes full-service conversion support from virtually any source system to any life insurance, annuity or pensions policy administration system, CSC claims.
4/9/2009
The Thunderhead enterprise document automation and multi-channel communications platform will support consolidation of forms infrastructure for Unitrin's P&C units, driving operational efficiency and product speed-to-market.
4/8/2009
Kerner, who takes on his new role June 1, formerly led the establishment of sophisticated pricing and risk selection methodologies as global chief underwriting officer and head of group strategy at Zurich Financial Services' headquarters in Switzerland.
4/8/2009
The life insurance and financial products division of Nationwide will use iPipeline's intelligent forms platform for its YourLife term and universal life products.
4/8/2009
The 30-year insurance technology veteran will support the Jacksonville, Fla.-based P&C carrier's continuing focus on ease-of-doing-business for its agent customers.
4/7/2009
Hammett comes to Delos from Arch Insurance, where he led an effort to build the P&C carrier's corporate actuarial department and enterprise risk management modeling framework.
4/7/2009
While the Millennials didn't invent the technologies they use, they will drive their use to high levels of efficiency through their adaptation of technology to informal communication. By integrating mobile technology and Web 2.0 applications into compliant processes, insurers can combine informal, always-on style with formal, auditable business processes.
4/6/2009
Component based policy admin, claims and analytics solution offers advanced capabilities, including wireless capabilities for adjustors, integrated telematics, in-vehicle crash detection, and vehicle and asset tracking.
4/6/2009
Highlights of LANSA Composer Version 2 include: Improved exception handling; enhanced auditing features; introduction of version control; improved user interface; support for Excel 2007; Automated deployment features; and support for Windows Server 2003 & 2008 " in addition to the IBM i as a deployment server.
4/6/2009
We have written here about the resilience of the insurance industry in the face of the financial crisis and the resolution of carriers to stick close to their original budgets. Our conversations with senior insurance technology executives continue to confirm that insurers are determined to steam ahead with major technology projects.
4/3/2009
This characterization, in an article by Chris Whalen of the Intitutional Risk Analyst blog, was music to the ears of those who can't see any difference between Bernard Madoff and any financial company, of course, explaining why the piece was taken up by countless blogs that cater to that audience. However, the source and the competent, thorough tone of this nearly 4,000 word article resulted in its being taken seriously by more sober readers, several of whom contacted me about it. So what is one
4/3/2009
Insurance industry associations argue the benefits or drawbacks of federal regulation, optional federal charter and the priority of addressing systemic risk over shortcomings of the existing state-based regulatory regime.
4/3/2009
Sales of AIG Life of Canada and Hartford Steam Boiler total approximately $1 billion.
4/2/2009
NICPA, if signed into law, would create a robust federal regulator for insurance to act as an alternative to the antiquated, non-uniform system of state insurance regulators currently in operation, according to a press advisory released by Bean and Royce.
4/2/2009
The solution can be used for single-billed or account-billed policies and also allows policyholders to manage their profiles online; pay by credit card, EFT or virtual check via a direct debit option; see and access prior invoices in PDF format; and view installment schedules and payment histories.
4/1/2009
Tough times have made aggressive pursuit of new technologies less of a focus, and have put a premium on vendor stability.
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