Content posted in February 2010
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IFBI Cuts Costs and Improves Service With Billing Solution
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance develops 'All-in-1' customized billing to meet customer demands and reduce costs.
Ag Workers Mutual Speeds Insuresoft Policy Admin Upgrade
Originally scheduled for an April 2010 go-live, Ag Workers got its Insuresoft Diamond .NET policy administration system ahead of a revised Jan. 2010 date.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Feb. 21-27)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 21-27, 2010):
Sircon Renews Partnership with NIPR
Together the companies provide producer licensing and compliance automation services to state regulators, insurance companies, agencies, and individual producers
Pacific Life Promotes Senior Tech Execs, Others
Philip Teeter has been named SVP, technology for the carrier's annuities and mutual funds division; and Dawn Trautman has been promoted to SVP, IT and strategic planning, life insurance.
Lloyd's Extends Contract for Broadridge's Tarot Service Bureau
Lloyd's has also extended its use of Broadridge's solutions through a SWIFT messaging bureau service that is newly available to Tarot users. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
DALBAR: Insurer EOBs Continue to Confuse Consumers
A small number of innovative health insurers — including Arkansas BlueCross BlueShield, CIGNA, and Humana —'buck the tradition of incomprehensible customer communications, according to the third party evaluator.
Sebelius Summons Insurers to Discuss Premium
Letter invites insurer CEOs and NAIC leaders to attend a March 3 meeting to discuss the insurance companies' premiums.
CIGNA Invests $150k In Tennessee EMR Initiative
The Middle Tennessee eHealth Connect initiative is aimed at allowing health care professionals in its health information network access to patient electronic medical records (EMRs) in one safe, secure location.
Dennis Sullivan Named Chairman and CEO of Nolan
A 28-year veteran of the international consulting firm, Sullivan has an extensive background in management systems and performance measurement.
Steve Peeters Joins The Main Street America Group to Head Commercial Lines
The Zurich and Hartford veteran will will be responsible for all product development, underwriting standards, pricing processes and compliance for Main Street America's full portfolio of commercial lines products and coverages.
Trizetto Launches Electronic Personal Health Record
The vendor expects payer-based personal health records (PHRs) to "vault ahead" of provider-based electronic health records (EHRs) or electronic medical records (EMRs) because of health insurance carriers central location in the healthcare supply chain.
XL Insurance Appoints Seraina Maag Chief Executive for North America Property & Casualty
XL Insurance appoints Seraina Maag Chief Executive for North America Property & Casualty; former Zurich North America executive succeeds retiring Dennis Kane.
Progressive Implements SSP S4i for Foray into Australian Auto Insurance Market
SSP developed and implemented an entire insurance solution encompassing a fully customized Web front-end and the configuration and implementation of the S4i back-office application for the Australian market, within 12 months, the vendor claims.
Rockford Mutual Deploys Interactive Intelligence Content Management and Workflow
Rockford Mutual has enjoyed increased efficiency and reduced costs within its claims department following the deployment of AcroSoft tools from Interactive Intelligence.
SunGard, LIMRA Form Strategic Partnership
SunGard is the latest addition to LIMRA's strategic partnership program, which makes product and service offerings available to LIMRA member companies worldwide.
Sentry Insurance Completes Phase II of Claim Components Implementation
After successfully implementing the first release, for workers' compensation, Sentry selected Accenture to implement a second release of the application for Sentry's commercial lines claims, which included auto, general liability and property insurance.
Healthcare Reform Round 2: Obama, Congress, Health Insurers and the Bobo Doll Experiment
Will things be different in Round 2? The updated proposal for healthcare reform released by the Obama White House on Monday, February 22, is being positioned as a revised plan designed to make health insurance coverage more affordable and also bolster federal authority to regulate premium hikes.
China Market Opportunities Obscured by Language Barrier
Insurers looking to tap the Chinese market face many barriers, but the language barrier may be the most difficult to overcome.
Immaturity of Emerging Markets Deters Efficiency
The unique nature of emerging markets prevents volume savings, making forays into these markets costly.
Virtual Roundtable: Profiting in Emerging Markets
Emerging markets such as China and India continue to see growth in the financial services sector, providing opportunities for insurance companies based in more mature markets. What are the key opportunities and challenges that insurers face in doing business in emerging markets?
Insurers View Growth Pronouncements with Bemused Realism
The mood at Celent's 2010 CIO Roundtable was relatively hopeful, with executives and analysts expressing cautious optimism that the insurance industry is ready to move beyond crisis and retrenchment.
Q&A: Peggy Scott, Liberty Mutual Agency Markets
Liberty Mutual Agency Markets seeks to deliver easy-to-use capabilities that feature the flexibility normally associated with a regional carrier but that are backed by the strength associated with a national brand, says Peggy Scott, assistant VP and manager of marketing information services.
White House to Propose Federal Regulation of Health Insurance Rates
The White House's announcement comes in the wake of proposed rate hikes of up to 39 percent by WellPoint's Anthem Blue Cross subsidiary operating in the California market.
Leaders Cove Launches Insurance Technology Practice
As market improves, IT vendors serving the insurance industry will benefit from assistance in building effective teams, the staffing company's strategists believe.
West Point Underwriters Selects DRC's Decision Maker Rating Enterprise
WPU will use the Decision Maker (DM) Rating Enterprise toolset to enable business users to model, manage and analyze rates for all lines of business across all states.
Q&A: Inside a Massive Data Breach
The big news out of the IT security world yesterday was that NetWitness, a Herndon, Va.-based IT security firm, uncovered a new hacking attack that successfully targeted 2,500 companies and government agencies, leaving large amounts of sensitive data susceptible to theft.
Frank Coyne Elected to Underwriters Laboratories Board of Trustees
The Verisk Analytics and ISO chairman, president and CEO also served as executive vice president for Kemper Insurance Companies' specialty and risk management groups, as well as having held roles within the U.S. Treasury Department, Universal Underwriters Group, Reliance Insurance Company and PMA Insurance Company.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Feb. 14-20)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 14-20, 2010):
Humana's Workforce Reduction Plans: Positioning for an Uncertain Future
Call it preemptive, inevitable, cynical or reluctant, but this week's announcement by Louisville, Ky.-based Humana Inc. that it will reduce its workforce on by approximately 1,400 positions (five percent) over the course of 2010 is also a reflection of reality.
CargoNet: Expanding the Significance of Insurance Data
CargoNet functions as a symbiotic network of law enforcement, insurance companies and the industries implicated in the shipment of goods, namely transportation, manufacturing and retail. CargoNet provides the first national network for the reporting and circulation of information about cargo thefts in order to both facilitate recovery and to mitigate shipment risks.
CNA Adopts CargoNet
CargoNet provides a central database and related functionality that enables the immediate reporting of cargo theft to law enforcement professionals nationally, as well as secure and confidential information sharing among other concerned parties.
Carriers Target Ease of Use, STP to Win Agents' Hearts and Minds
Carriers increasingly are targeting ease of use to win agents' hearts and minds, while also bringing them closer to true straight-through processing (STP).
Sunshine State Extends BPO Relationship With CSC
The six-year contract will add support for the insurer's personal and commercial property business from an upgraded technology platform to existing processing services supporting Sunshine State's underwriting, rating policy issuance and administration and other functions.
Indiana Farm Bureau Chooses Thunderhead for Customer Communication Management
Indiana Farm Bureau has chosen Thunderhead NOW over its existing Oracle Documerge solution due to NOW's XML-based design and support for service-oriented architecture, according to the vendor.
Ohio National Licenses CSC's Wealth Management Accelerator, Business Analytics
Ohio National will use CSC's Wealth Management Accelerator for life insurance policy and annuity administration; the carrier will use CSC's Insurance Optics Business Analytics to access and analyze commission and policy information.
Accenture and SAS to Jointly Develop, Implement and Manage Predictive Analytics Solutions
Accenture and SAS to jointly develop, implement and manage predictive analytics solutions; Accenture SAS Analytics Group will target financial services, healthcare and government.
Genworth Taps iPipeline iGO e-App for Drop Ticket
Genworth will deploy the short form of iGO e-App for Drop Ticket for its Colony Term UL products in all states, seeking to ease distributor access to the underserved "Main Street" market.
Zurich Japan Deploys Guidewire ClaimCenter
Under the internal name of Z-Trust, ClaimCenter currently processes Zurich Japan's auto and motorcycle claims and will be extended to other lines of business in subsequent deployment phases.
Allianz Life's Dulka Runs Infrastructure to Meet the Pace of Change
New VP for infrastructure and application maintenance Andy Dulka emphasizes partnership management, teamwork and agility in support of product, service and the demands of M&A.
Blue Shield of California Extends Contract with MedeAnalytics
The MedeAnalytics Claims Transparency solution supports BSC's successful Partnership in Operational Excellence and Transparency (POET) program.
Accenture Launches Risk Management Consulting Practice
By leveraging the consulting firm's broad risk management capabilities, the service aims to provide clients with information that supports advanced decision making and early warning solutions that can detect emerging threats and opportunities.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Feb. 7-13)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (February 7-13, 2010):
Harleysville Life Insurance Launches Online Group Benefits Platform
My Harleysville Life Link provides agents and employers with the means for making policy changes, as well as the capability to download billing statements, forms, employee certificates, policies, and other company information.
Connecture Partners with MedicareCRM
The partnership will enable Connecture and MedicareCRM to offer customers an integrated solution via a series of real-time integration points between their online software platform.
The Hartford Names Brian Laubacker VP, Life Insurance Sales, Western U.S.
The former Saybrus Partners executive will co-lead the sales organization with Ron Herrmann, The Hartford's regional vice president of the eastern region of the country, and will report to executive vice president Brian D. Murphy.
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