CNA Names Bob Lindemann President and COO, CNA Commercial
7/31/2009Lindemann comes to CNA from Zurich North America, where he led a turnaround of the company's middle market business.
Profile of Anthony O'Donnell
Blog Posts: 2240Anthony 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 July 2009
posted in July 2009
Lindemann comes to CNA from Zurich North America, where he led a turnaround of the company's middle market business.
Scampas Out as MetLife CIO
7/31/2009Jeanette Scampas, who replaced Steve Sheinheit as MetLife's enterprise CIO in early 2008, has left the company, according to an internal memo.
Blue Plans to Share WellPoint’s Cost Comparison Capability
7/30/2009The Care Comparison tool will extend facility-specific information for 35 specific medical procedures performed at more than 2,800 locations, to over 48 million health plan members.
The Standard Launches Online Benefit Modeling Tool
7/29/2009Pension Estimator tool allows participants to model an unlimited number of potential scenarios, including alternative retirement dates, interest rate assumptions, salary increase assumptions and annuitization options.
Obama Plan Leaves OFC an Open Question
7/28/2009The government's financial services regulatory reform proposal treats insurance as an afterthought, but federally driven consumer financial protection could open the door to an optional federal charter.
IBM to Acquire SPSS
7/28/2009IBM's $1.2 billion bid to acquire the Chicago-based business analytics vendor is expected to close later this year.
ImageRight 5.1 Designed to Enhance Content Access and Workflow
7/27/2009Vertafore's latest version of the ImageRight solution integrates better with Outlook and Sharepoint, according to the Vendor.
Youth, Social Networking, and The "Deification of Imbecility"
7/24/2009However, this inexorable wave of change sweeps us along, it might be fun to cast a gimlet eye upon upon youth-driven change. At least that's what Nathan Conz - incidentally I&T's most youthful editor - seems to think. Nate offers us all a welcome friday chuckle with Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson's wry take on youth-driven commercial culture as the "deification of imbecility" and the reason "everything sucks."
Pacific Life Speeds Life Insurance Illustrations with Introduction of Express Navigator
7/24/2009Novarica: Tech Transforming P&C Claims Amid Downturn
7/24/2009Carriers are moving forward with existing core claims systems initiatives and investing in emerging technologies such as analytics, fraud detection, geographic information systems, mobile applications and Web 2.0 to drive operational efficiency and improved customer service.
Rapid Change Threatens Traditional Life Insurance Distribution Strategies
7/23/2009Just as insurers prepared for OFC will gain market share from those who are not, companies that effectively leverage online mechanism will eat the lunch of the stodgier companies who fail to invest in the necessary technology enablement.
Mutual of Omaha Gains Agility and Efficiencies as It ’Greens’ Its Technology
7/23/2009Data center reconfiguration and server virtualization have yielded not only business agility benefits but also significant cost efficiencies related to environmentally friendly modifications to the physical plant and server farm.
Conning: Life Insurers Prepared for Optional Federal Charter Will Enjoy Competitive Advantage
7/23/2009Insurers prepared for what Conning calls a likely single-licensure, single regulatory system, in terms of distribution, geographic focus, and other issues, will gain a significant advantage in the event of federal regulation of some portion of the life insurance industry, according to the research firm.
Duck Creek Releases v4.0 Policy Administration System
7/22/2009Version 4.0 of Duck Creek Policy Administration uses an improved data model that improves usability and data accessibility, and includes Duck Creek's EXAMPLE Author tool in .NET, according to the vendor.
Northwestern Mutual Able to Stay the Course on IT Investment, Recession Notwithstanding
7/22/2009Financial strength and robust planning capabilities have enabled the insurer to keep major initiatives on track and limit the impact of market chaos on its technology investment, according to Northwestern Mutual chief technology officer Karl Gouverneur.
Baldwin Mutual Taps Lyzasoft Solution for Desktop Data Analysis
7/21/2009Lyza application spares the Alabama-based regional P&C company inefficient data collection and analysis processes.
Berthiaume’s Influence Spreads at Chubb
7/20/2009Mark Berthiaume, Chubb Specialty Insurance's CIO since 2001, has taken on the CIO role for Chubb Commercial Insurance, in addition to stewardship of the carrier's Surety IT organization and Specialty's field operations, and responsibility for global IT strategy.
Andrade Will Head The Hartford’s P&C Company
7/17/2009Most recently co-leader of The Hartford's Property and Casualty Operations, Andrade joined the company in 2006 to head its claims organization.
MetLife Reorganization To Drive Streamlined Product Development
7/16/2009William Mullaney, who has headed Institutional Business, has been named president of the new U.S. Business organization.
Milliman Releases Employee Benefits Tool Set
7/13/2009Tools enable greater transparency for sponsors and participants in benefits plan, as well as providing decision support and managed account options.
MapInfo v10 Designed to Boost Operational Efficiency
7/10/2009Industry analysis and customer feedback has powered enhancements to MapInfo Professional to support reduced risk, cost savings, greater ease-of-use and enhanced data access, according to Pitney Bowes Business Insight.
Argo Group Makes Executive Appointments
7/10/2009Kevin D. Silva will head human resources, Michael Fusco will serve as chief actuary, and Bernhard H. Scheifele has been named chief risk officer.
ULLICO Signs GlobalOptions Group for Fraud-Related Services
7/9/2009GlobalOptions will use its enhanced GlobalTrak proprietary enterprise risk mitigation and management solution in its role as exclusive provider of investigative and SUI services to ULLICO.
Kaplan Compliance Solutions Adds Ad Hoc Reporting
7/9/2009Other new features of KCS's Compliance Management System Generation 2 (CMS G2) include producer look-up and non-resident renewal capabilities.
Blue Cross NEPA Tackles Call Center Volume Challenge with Virtual Hold Solution
7/8/2009Virtual Hold's Concierge system pleases customers, boosts call center efficiency and decreases Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania staffing expenses.
AssureSign Unveils Enhanced Version of its E-Signature Software
7/6/2009AssureSign V2.0.4's DocumentTRAK component enables users to send communications to their own Web-accessible applications.
Mitchell Releases V7 of its UltraMate Collision Estimation Software
7/6/2009UltraMate 7 includes several features designed to enable estimators to more easily identify and select parts, and to write estimates more efficiently, including highlighted active tabs, updated icons, alternating color repair grid lines, and title case fonts.
Farmers Completes Acquisition of 21st Century Insurance
7/2/2009Largest acquisition in the company's history strengthens its position as the third-largest personal lines carrier in the U.S. and makes it the top auto insurer in several states, including California.
Cover-All Launches Mass. Commercial Auto for My Insurance Center
7/1/2009Already in production at Old Republic General Insurance Corp., the vendor's Massachusetts Auto product includes commercial auto, private passenger, and special type vehicles.
The Claims Technology Opportunity
7/1/2009The one area where both growth and efficiency objectives can be pursued to maximum effect is claims. The impact of claims overshadows that of any other customer interaction. Yes, consistently poor service will undermine customer retention, but the most important interaction between carrier and customer is the claim. Claims is also a tremendous cost center, in terms of what it takes to run a claims operation as well as the impact of claims leakage.
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