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
Maria Woehr

Profile of Maria Woehr

Blog Posts: 177
Articles by Maria Woehr

A New Extension

1/5/2007
Safeway implements ShoreTel's Enterprise IP Phone System, reducing maintenance costs and improving disaster recovery capabilities.

Customer Insight A Key Competitive Advantage

12/13/2006
It can be hard for insurers to quantify the specific financial benefits of investments in customer analytics. But the competitive advantages enabled by improved customer insight are countless.

Inspecting Gadget

12/13/2006
To automate and manage its underwriting inspection process, Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company implements Myriad's Risk Manager.

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

12/13/2006
Carriers need to improve financial modeling for actuaries and align them with the IT organization, according to Ernst & Young roundtable findings.

Balancing Act

11/15/2006
Western & Southern Financial Group pursues IT initiatives that support growth while keeping expenses in check.

Message Mania

11/1/2006
E-mail and instant messaging offer convenient communications and often boost productivity, but the technologies also can expose financial institutions to privacy breaches, embarrassment and litigation. To combat the threat, insurers are stepping up efforts to monitor e-mail and IM, and improve security procedures.

On the Road Again

11/1/2006
Norwich Union is driving competition in the U.K. with the launch of usage-based auto insurance policies.

Tracking Trouble

10/31/2006
To fix Web portal errors in real time and increase the productivity of its independent sales force, State Auto Insurance Companies taps TeaLeaf CX Solutions.

Rewriting a Legacy

10/31/2006
Munich Re completes a worldwide legacy system consolidation to speed business processes and improve data quality.

Paying for the Future

10/31/2006
Technologies such as SOA and modeling will be key to insurers' compliance with the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Anthem Pilots Cost Estimation Tool

10/25/2006
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield launches an online tool that breaks down the cost of medical procedures to enable consumers to make informed decisions about their health care spending.

Growth Engine

10/6/2006
Al Bowen, SVP of information systems, is modernizing Ohio National Financial Services' infrastructure to support agents' use and aggressive business growth.

Customer Insight

10/5/2006
Rick Roy is refocusing CUNA Mutual Group's technology to improve service, beginning with a systems consolidation effort designed to create a single view of the customer.

Up in Arms

10/5/2006
For Liberty Mutual's Stuart McGuigan, increasing speed to market is an arms race. To stay ahead of the competition, he is tapping technology to drive business productivity.

One Charter to Rule Them All?

9/14/2006
With an optional federal charter on the Senate floor, insurers are considering the regulation's businessimplications and its impact on IT systems.

Straight-Through Service

9/5/2006
Western Reserve Group makes a long-term commitment to straight-through processing, starting with enabling online business submission for agents.

Estimating Replacement Risk

9/5/2006
South Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. (West Columbia, S.C.; $114.4 million in total assets) is enhancing its catastrophe risk management system, AIR Worldwide's (Boston) CLASIC/2, with the vendor's ISO HomeValue Web-based residential replacement cost estimator.

Generali Policy Generation

9/5/2006
With the goal of underwriting policies in the United States, New York-based Generali U.S. Branch ($100 million in total assets), a wholly owned subsidiary of Assicurazioni Generali (Trieste, Italy; US$62 billion in premium), implemented INSTEC's (Naperville, Ill.) QuickSolver Commercial Automobile and Commercial Package in January 2006.

Main Street Gains N’Site

9/5/2006
Jacksonville, Fla.-based The Main Street America Group (approximately $900 million in direct written premium) purchased Urbandale, Iowa-based N'Site Solutions' Web-based software application NSolutionsv4.Net to enhance the claims turnaround time in conjunction with the carrier's new Guidewire (San Mateo, Calif.) ClaimsCenter claims processing system.

From Auctions To Insurance

9/5/2006
U.K. insurer Norwich Union (Norwich; US$373.6 billion in total assets) and electronic auction house eBay (San Jose, Calif.) have launched an online insurance center in an effort to boost sales through Norwich's online sales channel.

Thrilling Service

9/5/2006
To maintain its dominant position in Maine's workers' compensation market, Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Co. leverages IT to improve service for its agent customers.

Document Demands

9/5/2006
In order to meet the document requirements of every state in which it operates, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based UnumProvident (UNM; $10.4 billion in revenue) is deploying Exstream Software's (Lexington, Ky.) Windows-based Dialogue enterprise document software as a common platform for designing, managing and producing policyholder communications.

Punching Up Processing

9/5/2006
P&C start-up Homeowners of America Insurance uses online agent submission and processing to shake up the competition.

Get Real (Time)

9/5/2006
MetLife Auto & Home taps Xactware to simplify communication between the carrier's field staff and claims office.

Healthy Options

9/5/2006
The Principal Financial Group is pushing competition in consumer-driven healthcare with an integrated HRA and HSA product.

Web Appeal

8/14/2006
Harleysville Insurance collaborates with its agents on IT projects to break away from the competition.

Policy Roundup

8/10/2006
Frankfort, Ky.-based Investors Heritage ($433 million in total assets) has joined three other unnamed carriers in issuing life insurance policies under CrailHuntly's (Overland Park, Kan.) Combosurance package -- Basic Permanent.

Compliance Automation

8/10/2006
Responding to growing pressure on insurers to comply with federal regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Federal Information Act and HIPAA, ControlPath (Englewood, Colo.) launched ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0.

Rating Risk

8/10/2006
Fitch Ratings (New York and London) unveiled Prism, a global economic insurance capital model that will be added to its evaluations of carriers' enterprise risk management.

Rapidfire Connection

8/10/2006
Fiserv Insurance Solutions (Brookfield, Wis.) and Scene Genesis (Rochester, N.Y.) will integrate their claims solutions -- Fiserv's Claims Workstation system and Scene Genesis' Scene Access and SceneConnect -- to streamline P&C claims settlements.

Enhancing the Enterprise

8/10/2006
Insurers are rethinking ECM strategies to benefit the entire enterprise rather than business silos, resulting in customer service, productivity and compliance improvements.

Deadline Debate

8/10/2006
Citing significant IT modifications and investment, health insurers request a deadline extension for bill requiring upgrade of HIPAA codes.

MetLife Auto & Home Taps Xactware

8/2/2006
In an effort to speed claims turnaround MetLife Auto & Home has chosen Xactware's Xactimate and XactAnalysis estimation software to simplify communication between the carrier's field staff and claims office.

Consolidating Risk

7/12/2006
To help insurers manage their risk exposure across the enterprise, Toronto-based Algorithmics has enhanced its Algo Risk solution to calculate risk for insurance liabilities and investment assets consistently within a single framework.

Navigating Sales With SunGard

7/12/2006
Then Cleveland-based First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association, a fraternal insurance society, decided to build an independent agency force, one of its first challenges was to implement a sales illustration system to meet state requirements, according to Pat Braun, national sales manager at FCSLA.

Recognizing Excellence

7/12/2006
Three years ago, New Haven-based Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency decided to automate its claims processing and integrate its core business systems.

Virtual Policy Processing

7/12/2006
Peak Performance (Hoboken, N.J.) has launched PolicyPointe, a Web-based application for P&C insurance companies that rates and underwrites risk in real time through embedded business rules, the company says.

Scanning Time

7/12/2006
As recently as January 2005, to meet Sarbanes-Oxley retention and retrieval requirements, Burlington, Mass.-based workers' compensation insurer AIM Mutual Insurance manually scanned 8,000 pieces of paper into its storage system a day.

Digging for Dollars

7/12/2006
Insurers are mining data and implementing sales force automation tools to manage distribution channels more effectively.

Follow the Rules

7/12/2006
Blue Shield of California centralizes human resources systems and automates workflows with Enterprise Human Capital Management solution.

Not Risking It

7/12/2006
To limit its risk exposure, Allstate cuts earthquake coverage, citing limitations of catastrophe modeling technology.

Staying In The Game

7/12/2006
For insurers that rely on independent agents, moving to Web-based policy administration systems to enable producers to submit business electronically has become a competitive necessity.

EMC Acquires RSA Security

7/5/2006
Deciding that security is essential to information management, EMC has acquired RSA Security to enhance its data storage and management offerings for financial institutions with a security portfolio.

RSA Secures Transactions

6/1/2006
RSA Security has unveiled two new authenticators for enhancing the security of online transactions between agent and carrier, including the submission of electronic signatures.

Uncovering Crooked Claims

6/1/2006
Finding fraudulent claims can be challenging. But with the use of rules-based analysis, data mining and predictive modeling, insurers are waging a war on scam artists.

Opening a Gateway

6/1/2006
Looking to speed the launch of a new annuity product, West Des Moines, Iowa-based Midland National Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Sammons Financial Group, implemented XAware's Annuity XCelerator, a catalog of SOA-based services that provides a standards-based gateway between the carrier and its broker-dealer network, according to Paul Swenson, second vice president of Midland.

The Big (Not So) Easy

6/1/2006
The Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee has approved legislation that the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America fears could raise rates for consumers and drive insurers that still are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Katrina from the Louisiana market.

Acquiring Automation

6/1/2006
American Capitol Insurance has completed the consolidation of the disparate administration systems it inherited from eight acquisitions in the '90s.

Implementing Advantage

6/1/2006
Penn National Insurance is overhauling systems and driving IT initiatives to achieve STP -- and boost competitiveness.

Doubling Up Data

6/1/2006
GGI develops an in-house solution for enterprisewide business continuity with NSI's Double-Take software.

A Tight Schedule

6/1/2006
OSF HealthPlans eliminates manual errors in batch and claims processing with Advanced Systems Concepts' ActiveBatch Job Scheduler.

Cooperative Care

6/1/2006
To take care management to the next level, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee brings disease management in-house.

Driving Competition

6/1/2006
The next competitive push in auto insurance could be driven by usage-based policies.

Mass. Revision

6/1/2006
In an effort to create more-affordable health insurance, the state of Massachusetts has passed legislation that will overhaul the market, requiring carriers to rethink their IT.

ACORD LOMA INSURANCE SYSTEMS FORUM BRIEFS

5/24/2006
ACORD presented insurance industry carriers, vendors and individuals with awards recognizing leadership and achievement at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas this week.

ACORD Awards

5/24/2006
ACORD presents industry leaders with awards at ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas.

Mapping Out Risks

5/3/2006
Seeing that many reinsurance executives want the convenience of conducting risk analysis themselves, Guy Carpenter & Company (New York), part of Marsh & McLennan Companies (New York), has launched the online risk management platform i-aXis.

Everyone on The Same Page

5/3/2006
In order to enhance its claims processing, Delta Dental of California (San Francisco; gross revenues of $4.8 billion) will standardize disparate systems in offices throughout 16 states with EDS' (Plano, Texas) MetaVance Administration and Finance System.

Give ’Em What They Want

5/3/2006
To stay ahead of the competition in the volatile health insurance marketplace, CIGNA is turning to the Web to strengthen its appeal to consumers.

Making Things Easier

5/3/2006
By keeping it simple, Kent Cannon drives IT to facilitate business growth at Beneficial Financial Group.

Crossing the Bridge

5/3/2006
Elizabeth Haar's technology-driven business strategy led to Accident Fund Insurance's e-business model solution and national expansion.

A Winding Road to Success

5/3/2006
To manage an influx of claims processing documents for its TRICARE division, Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance selected Cincom Intelligent Document Solutions.

Kyobo Outsources IT to IBM

5/3/2006
Alocal-market-oriented company with an IT infrastructure designed and operated by a local business cannot support global expansion, which is why Seoul, Korea-based Kyobo Life Insurance ($35.5 billion in total assets) has signed a 10-year IT services outsourcing agreement with IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) worth $340 million.

Opting In or Out?

5/3/2006
As the optional federal charter for insurers hits the Senate floor, industry leaders weigh cost savings and enhanced competition against possible risks to carriers -- and policyholders.

Principal Enhances Market Research Capability

4/26/2006
Seeking to optimize market research collaboration on cross-business unit initiatives, the Principal Financial Group has implemented Novintel's Viva Intelligence Plaza automated business intelligence platform.

CIGNA Offers Virtual Doctor Visits

4/12/2006
CIGNA HealthCare has teamed up with RelayHealth to offer customers Physician webVisits, a Web-based solution that allows customers to schedule doctors appointments, view laboratory results, and receive prescription refills and renewals online.

Multifunction Printers

4/6/2006
Lexington, Ky. • Lexmark introduced a new collection of multifunction printers, including the Lexmark X644e, X646dte, X850e, X852e and X854e.

Cover Your Assets

4/6/2006
Insurers must focus on internal risk management rather than depend on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire in two years, to mitigate losses from a terrorist attack, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS).

Hanover Goes Commercial

4/6/2006
In an effort to strengthen its commercial business, Worcester, Mass.-based The Hanover Insurance Group (2005 net premium of $2.2 billion) deployed OneShield's (Westborough, Mass.) browser-based rating and policy administration platform, Dragon, for commercial package policies.

Harleysville Taps AQS

4/6/2006
To reduce time to market for new commercial lines products and provide ease of use to its agents, Harleysville Insurance (Harleysville, Pa.; $3.7 billion in total assets) will implement AQS' (Hartland, Wis.) Web-based AQS/advantage suite.

Taking Action On AML

4/6/2006
Responding to The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network mandate that life insurance companies establish an anti-money laundering (AML) program by May 2, 2006, Actimize (New York) and IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) will jointly deliver an AML solution to the industry.

4/6/2006
To automate its medical/personal-injury protection (MED/PIP) claims processing, Farmers Insurance Group ( Los Angeles; $18.4 billion in total assets in 2004) deployed Clear Technology's (Westminster, Colo.) Med/PIP Claims Processing Solution.

Call Forward

4/5/2006
Promises of cost savings, enhanced customer service and improved business continuity are driving insurers to make the switch to Voice over IP.
Register for Insurance & Technology Newsletters
Slideshows
More Slideshows
Video
All Videos