Rethinking E-Business

Despite what you might read in the general business press, the very public dot-com crash that has occurred over the past few years did not mean that businesses were abandoning e-commerce.

Despite what you might read in the general business press, the very public dot-com crash that has occurred over the past few years did not mean that businesses were abandoning e-commerce. Far from it. And the insurance industry is in many cases a "poster child" of a sector that did not get distracted by hype and, in an under-the-radar kind of way, has pursued numerous creative and cost-effective ways to tap into the promises of the Internet and the Web.

To offer some insights into just how insurance companies could redefine and exploit accepted concepts of e-business, Insurance & Technology presents "Creating a New Vision for Insurance E-Business." Additionally, this General Session Special Report, prepared exclusively for distribution at this year's IASA Annual Educational Conference & Business Show, offers recognition of the sponsors and board members who help make IASA successful. It also includes detailed information about this year's program.

One of the hottest topics in e-business is portals, and our content partner Doculabs provides some expert analysis of the real opportunities (and pitfalls) available to insurance companies that make the commitment to portal initiatives. Doculabs also explores the concept of multi-channel publishing, a critical area for the content-heavy insurance industry.

We also offer a case study from the Principal Financial Group, winner of this year's Insurance Innovator's Award, sponsored by Insurance & Technology, InSystems and Celent Communications. You can learn more about this successful implementation at the Town Hall presentation on Monday, June 2, at 10:30.

Finally, IASA's incoming VP, Education-Craig Lowenthal of Hartford Financial Products-outlines his vision for future educational events and resources. We hope you find this General Session special report helpful in your efforts to make the most out of this year's show. Enjoy!

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio