Aite Group Launches Life Insurance Research and Analysis Practice

Aite Group has launched a life insurance practice, targeted at life insurance carriers, software vendors, IT services vendors, business process outsourcing providers, and management consulting firms servicing the life insurance industry.

Taken in context with Aite Group's 2009 expansion into the health insurance sector, the firm characterizes the new life insurance practice as another milestone on the path to providing complete coverage of the insurance industry.

"In addition to expanding our coverage of the insurance industry, we expect the life insurance practice to dovetail nicely with our Wealth Management and Institutional Securities & Investments practices," says Gwenn Bzard, a partner at Aite Group. "We also believe that a practice dedicated to the life insurance vertical will prove uniquely valuable to the market."

According to an Aite Group news release, the firm's new life insurance practice is committed to providing Aite Group's clients with quantitative and qualitative insight into the business, technology, and regulatory issues impacting the industry. Aite reports that the new practice's near-term research coverage will address the following issues: strategic, regulatory, and technology trends across functions and geographies for life insurance and annuity markets; IT services and business process outsourcing for the life insurance industry; new product development issues; and institutional offerings (e.g., reinsurance and financial reinsurance, corporate-owned life and group life insurance, group annuity contracts).

Clark Troy, Ph.D., lead senior analyst for the practice, joined Aite Group in October 2009, according to the Aite Group news release. Prior to joining Aite Group, he was a senior consultant with Satori Consulting, where he served as program manager at Goldman Sachs. Earlier, he was a senior consultant with Princeton Consultants, where he worked with a number of life insurers, including The Hartford, RGA Reinsurance, AXA Financial, Prudential Financial, Guardian Life, and UNIFI. He worked with these firms on such diverse projects as balanced scorecards and key performance indicators for non-revenue-producing functions, IT supply/demand management, development of a fully browser-based platform for the administration of deferred compensation plans, business continuity planning, and standards adoption, according to Aite Group. Clark Troy holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Yale University.

"The life insurance industry currently faces a number of real challenges and opportunities," comments Troy. "Although life insurance is an indispensable product, it's still one that is sold — not bought. Americans are at once aging, underinsured, and lacking adequate savings, and the industry needs new ways to get compelling products into their hands cost-effectively. At the same time, life insurance sales in emerging markets are growing. Industry executives must make tough decisions: invest internally, acquire, divest, or expand geographically. To do so, they need the actionable insight and information that Aite Group can provide."

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 ... View Full Bio