Content posted in January 2010
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IT Operating Models That Meet Today's Challenges
New IT operating model capabilities are enabling insurers to take on "sacred cow" topics that have plagued the industry. As insurers adopt these capabilities, IT professionals are enjoying greater influence and are making a greater business impact. IT does matter and these operating models are making a difference.
How Multi-line Insurance Companies Can Improve the Customer Experience
Capabilities within multiline companies are not owned by one organizational team, but may be spread across product lines. For example, the auto division may have its own payment capability, and the life division its own. To make matters worse, the "sales process" described above may also be different for the product lines. The result of process, capability and business silos, shows up as lousy customer experience.
Marketing Software Solutions Debuts FLEX for U.S. Financial Services
FLEX allows for personalized delivery of sales and marketing material and products, based on client-driven process rules and individual customer profiles and combines the ability with e-signature and online execution.
Steve Cooper Named President of United Heartland Insurance
Prior to joining United Heartland, Cooper served as vice president of Claim Operations & TPA at Accident Fund Insurance Company of America (Lansing, Mich.), another Accident Fund Holdings subsidiary.
BCBS of Alabama Names Terry Kellogg President and COO
Kellogg's election by the insurer's board of directors coincides with the retirement of Phillip Pope, president and CEO, effective June 30, 2010.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Jan. 24-30)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (January 24-30, 2010):
AgencyPort Provides Tech for Aon Benfield's FAConnect Facultative Broking Platform
Aon Benefield Fac leveraged earlier AgencyPortal implementations and extended use of the platform to handle pre-negotiated facilities between ceding insurance companies and their chosen reinsurance markets and to do so for lines of insurance not before implemented by AgencyPort, the vendor reports.
Geman Mutual Selects iPartners BI and Agent Portal Solution
The Ohio-based P&C insurer has begun implementation of business intelligence dashboards and portals for internal and external independent distributor partners.
eHealth Enters the Online Life Insurance Space
By entering the online life insurance space, eHealth, the company behind eHealthInsurance.com, may bring increased visibility -- and competition -- to the developing market.
Apple Unleashes Worlds Greatest Technology Innovation of All-Time, We Assume
After weeks of wild speculation around its new tablet e-reader thingy, Apple officially unveiled its latest (potentially game-changing) product today, during a 1 pm press conference.
Conseco Taps CSC for Legacy Policy Admin Support
The five-year agreement will enable Conseco to reduce expenses and achieve additional flexibility in the management of the two large legacy applications, according to the vendor.
Guidewire Debuts ClaimCenter 6.0
The new version of ClaimCenter features Claims Performance Monitoring, a visual display of claim health metrics that gives single-click, real-time access to actionable information to claims personnel users at all levels in a consistent and easy-to-use manner, according to the vendor.
Zurich Names Steve Gillen Global Head of Marine Claims
Gillen will work to enhance Zurich's claims proposition in support of its global marine specialty practice, and enhance claims capabilities in support of Zurich's marine business.
Penn National Empowers Agents With Easily Customized Documents
Penn National Insurance has extended its relationship with HP Exstream to deliver documents to agents in real time via the carrier's agent self-service portal.
Jackson National Life in Aggressive Hiring Mode
While other life insurance companies were tanking and laying people off, Jackson was holding course and hiring. In fact, hiring will be a high priority for Jackson's IT and operations organizations in the coming year.
Legislative Reform Remains a Long-Term Issue for Health Insurance IT
The death of proposed reform legislation in Washington could mean more rather than less regulation for the insurance industry but is unlikely to change the course of IT investment influenced by longer-term reform considerations.
John Hancock Launches Boston Marathon Twitter Site
Content for the site will include tweets on the perennial Boston Marathon sponsor's partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, the John Hancock Elite Athlete Program, its non-profit Bib Program, Employee Running and Fundraising Program, Marathon community initiatives, and additional Boston Marathon sponsorship news and information.
Aon Benfield's FAConnect Online Factultative Broking Platform Goes Live
FAConnect provides a choice of global markets and is designed for high-volume transactions, where frictional costs have traditionally made it uneconomical for intermediaries to participate in the sector.
Permanent General Moves E-Mail Archiving to the Cloud
Permanent General Assurance Corp. improves business continuity and reduces e-discovery risk by tapping Mimecast software-as-a-service solution for archiving, continuity and disaster recovery.
iPipeline Launches e-Policy
iPipeline has launched e-Policy, an electronic delivery system for policy documents.
MEMIC Appoints Loss Control and Safety Executive
MEMIC appoints Karl Siegfried Promoted to Assistant Vice President for Loss Control and Safety.
New York Life Microsite Plays to Changing Consumer Attitudes
The GuaranteesMatter site uses rich media to contexualize the financial crisis, emphasize historical strength of mutuals and suggest solutions for addressing lowered 401(k) balances and other financial protection concerns.
The New York Insurance Exchange's Second Act Will Depend on Technology
Technology will play an important role in helping the recently proposed New York Insurance Exchange (NYIE) succeed, unlike its early-1980s predecessor.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Jan. 17-23)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (January 17-23, 2010):
John Hancock Launches LTC Multi-Life Microsite
The www.GetMoreWithMultilifeLTC.com site include information and tools to help brokers and consultants navigate through the employer-sponsored LTC insurance benefits planning process.
iPhone Insurance App Helps Truckers for the Long Haul
1st Guard's TRUCKER1 application for the iPhone includes claims reporting capabilities and a variety of self-service functions for customers as well as a suite of functions useful to all truckers.
CIGNA Teams with MD On-Line to Grow Electronic Claims Submissions
CIGNA teams with MD On-Line to grow electronic claims submissions; new initiative part of CIGNA efforts to offer providers enhanced service and reduced expenses.
Insurers Must Calculate Risks of Tsunamis That Typically Follow Earthquakes
Within the last 165 years, 3,503 deaths have been attributed to tsunamis across the Caribbean, from Haiti to Venezuela, according to the NOAA.
Catastrophe Risk Models Show January 12 Haiti Quake Presages Future Caribbean Earthquakes
This time the insurance industry responded with charity, but the next Caribbean earthquake could require a massive claims response, given the region’s seismic hazard.
RMS Debuts Earthquake Risk Parametric Industry Loss Index
Paradex U.S. Earthquake combines ground shaking data from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMaps with industry exposure data to calculate insured loss estimates.
Significant Aftershock Hits Haiti
Little news has emerged of further damage, but as reporter Robert Dougherty darkly noted in a spirit of concern for Haitians' plight, the event "can't be as bas as last week's quake, since there's much less to destroy now."
Oceanus Insurance Selects Policy and Underwriting Administration Solution
Oceanus Insurance Company has selected Delphi Technology's OASIS Professional Liability Suite for policy and underwriting administration.
Technology Can Help Life Insurers Go Where the Customers Are
The retail industry has developed very sophisticated and precise models to evaluate where storefronts should be placed. Winning carriers will need to develop similar virtual market coverage models, leveraging analytics to determine exactly where to place sales capacity.
CIO Turnover: It's Business, Not Personal
"It's not personal, it's strictly business." This phrase, and numerous variations on it, is not only among the three Godfather films' many additions to our culture -- it also is a guiding principle in the business world.
Lowenthal Leaves NYMAGIC CIO Post
Craig Lowenthal was hired by New York Marine and General Insurance Company to build up the carrier's IT organization and replace its legacy system.
Report: MetLife Close to Acquiring AIG Life Insurance Unit
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that MetLife is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire AIG's American Life Insurance Company, commonly known as Alico.
Jackson Makes Multiple IT and Operations Promotions
The life and annuities carrier follows up top IT/operations promotions with the appointment of four IT vice presidents and a new VP and AVP in operations.
On Data Mapping and Rumsfeldian Thinking
A, um, wise man once said, "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we don't know."
Jackson National Life CIO Mark Clark Emphasizes Simplicity and Service
Working in close partnership with operations, Jackson National Life's CIO seeks to meet intensifying broker-dealer demands and drive 'explosive growth' while controlling costs.
Microsoft Names Susan Hauser to Lead Worldwide Industry Sectors and Global Accounts
Microsoft Names Susan Hauser to Lead Worldwide Industry Sectors and Global Accounts, which includes Worldwide Financial Services, Distribution and Services, Manufacturing and Resources, and the Global Accounts Organization.
Microsoft: Hackers Used IE Vulnerability in Google Hack
More details are beginning to emerge as the technology community further investigates hacks that originated in China that targeted Google and other corporations. Yesterday afternoon, Microsoft announced that a vulnerability in Internet Explorer was exploited as part of the hacks.
Northwestern Mutual Launches Recruitment-Related Facebook App
The Northwestern Mutual-branded application, designed to reach young professionals and college students, invites users to dress themselves using a variety of apparel options, with ample possibilities for humor.
Honor Roll: This Week's Top Insurance Blogs (Jan. 10-16)
Our favorite insurance technology-related blog posts from around the Web (January 10-16, 2010):
Progressive Taps Kofax for Accounts Payable Workflow
The $500,000 contract for Kofax's MarkView solution aims at consistent, efficient, cost effective and timely processing of invoices from receipt through payment.
White House Gains Agreement on Taxing High-End Health Benefits
The U.S. moved a small step closer to some form of healthcare reform today as The White House reached a tentative agreement with union leaders to tax high-cost insurance plans.
Lloyd's North America President Hank Watkins on the Proposed New York Insurance Exchange
In the coming weeks, I&T will be going more in depth in our reporting of the possible technology implications of New York Governor David A. Patterson's announcement regarding a planned New York Insurance Exchange modeled after Lloyd's of London. (If anyone knows of a particularly good analyst or consultant source for such an article, please let me know.)
FARA Releases Web-Based Medicare Section 111 Compliance Solution
FARA describes its online MRCE product as a low-cost, reliable means of transmitting Non-Group health plan data to Medicare to comply with MMSEA Section 111 laws regarding Medicare Mandatory Insurer Reporting.
After Hack, Google Reconsiders China Strategy
Google is rethinking its involvement in the Chinese market, after uncovering a serious hacking attempt against the company and many others that originated in China.
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