Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from August 2003

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from August 2003

Stop The Leakage.
August 1, 2003... If Gail McGiffin is correct, underwriting decisions don't have to swing so dramatically with market cycles. "There's an awful lot of focus now on: 'We're in a hard market. What do we need to do to catch up to compensate for the last 10 years of...

Can Carriers Pass The Self-Service Test?
August 1, 2003... When Farmers Insurance Group conducted testing on a Web-based customer self-service program, the Los Angeles- based property/casualty insurer considered implementing a capability that would enable customers to make changes to their policies....

CIOs Getting Down To Business.
August 1, 2003... With their backs against the wall to stimulate profits and revenues in the face of poor economic times, senior-level executives in insurance companies are turning to their chief information officers to breathe new life into their static...

Can A Carrier Consortium Succeed Where Others Failed?
August 1, 2003... The concept of forming industry consortiums is older than most carriers' legacy systems. Typically, technology consortiums form when companies that are dissatisfied with the IT options that are available to them-and the lack of association...

IT Strategies: New IT Advisory Group Targets P&C Insurers.
August 1, 2003... Most insurers rely on external guidance to help them map out information technology strategies. Over the years, they've derived such support from vendors, consultants, analysts and even state and national associations-all of whom possess a...

IN Focus.(Insurance Technology Board )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Target: The Insurance Technology Board is exclusively focused on the property and casualty insurance industry. Member-Driven Objectives: The selection of topics, as well as the scope, scale and approach of ITB's analysis is...

Web Site Rankings: Insurers Receive Mediocre Score For Customer Respect.
August 1, 2003... The nation's largest insurers together received a mediocre score for online customer respect. But the good news is: The banking and securities sector, as well as Fortune 100 firms overall, didn't ace the test either. This assessment comes...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... VCIA 18th Annual Conference Sponsor: Vermont Captive Insurance Association When: August 5-7 Where: Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Burlington, Vt. www.vcia.com PIA Of Wisconsin 54th Annual Convention When: August...

How Insurers' CRIs Compare.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... (1 lowest, 10 highest) Privacy Transparency Principles Responsiveness Fortune 100 7.5 7.5 6.8 5.5 Insurance sector 6.8 6.9 6 ...

Top 10 Insurers For Online Respect.(Insurance industry)(Illustration)
August 1, 2003... (1 lowest, 10 highest) Company Fortune 1000 Rank Overall CRI Amica Mutual Insurance Co. 840 9.1 Minnesota Life Insurance Co. 756 9.0 The Progressive Corp. ...

Product Previews.
August 1, 2003... Real Time Agent Appointments Innovative IT Solutions Inc., Okemos, Mich., has unveiled a service that cuts agent appointment and termination approvals and denials from days to mere seconds. Called PIN Real Time, the service is available for...

Business Alliances.
August 1, 2003... SunGard To Acquire Sherwood International SunGard, a global IT solutions provider to the financial services industry with offices in Wayne, Pa., has offered to acquire the shares of U.K.-based Sherwood International Plc for 140 pence per...

Reinsurance Hubs: inreon's Demise Tied To Lackluster Profits.
August 1, 2003... With trading volume reportedly far below management's expectations, Web-based reinsurance risk-trading hub inreon was terminated in early May, leaving two players to service the global online reinsurance risk-trading market. London-based...

IN Focus.(Inreon)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... What: inreon, a Web-based reinsurance risk-trading hub, has folded. Why: Industry sources believe the reinsurance giants financing the site concluded that the service would have a difficult time turning a profit. Future: The...

Contracts.
August 1, 2003... The Contracts Update section includes announcements of contracts insurance information technology companies have signed with customers in recent weeks. Contract news can be faxed to Insurance Networking magazine at (312) 913-1366 or by...

IT Spending: Carriers Curb Their IT Appetites.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The economic climate has changed how insurance companies view technology investments. Indeed, carriers today are planning incremental improvements in business efficiency and IT operations-a strategy that may be appropriate in the near term but...

Insurers Assess IT Changes Needed To Comply With Sarbanes-Oxley.
August 1, 2003... Although the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is focused primarily on financial reporting and accounting processes, the law is forcing publicly traded companies to assess their IT systems too. Thanks to the transgressions at Enron, WorldCom and...

XBRL can be a rallying cry.(Extensible Business Reporting Language)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A developing financial reporting standard called Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) may help companies comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, according to some industry observers. XBRL is an XML-based specification for publishing financial...

Small-Scale Projects Dominate CIOs' Wish Lists.
August 1, 2003... A study released in June by Giga Research, an operating unit of Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc., provides insights into specific spending areas that CIOs presently value. The study, "Improving Business and IT Efficiency,"...

AmFed Endures A 'Web' Of Intrigue: AmFed Companies LLC needed a modern policy administration system to support its speed-to-market goals.
August 1, 2003... Since writing its first insurance policies in January 1993, AmFed Companies LLC has been an aggressive pursuer of new business-always on the lookout for niche market opportunities. As a result, AmFed recently went on the hunt for...

IN Focus.(AmFed Companies L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Case Study: AmFed Companies LLC At Issue: AmFed needed a flexible, Web-enabled policy administration software solution to bring on new lines of business rapidly and empower agents to quote using the Internet. The Solution:...

At a Glance: AmFed Companies LLC.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Headquarters: Ridgeland, Miss. Written premium: $10 million Employees: 150 Major Business Lines: Workers' Compensation, Surplus, Commercial, Personal Sales Force: 250 independent agencies Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc....

OneBeacon Sees The Light At The End Of The IT Tunnel: After a year of intensive development, the Boston-based insurer has reached a milestone in its three-year plan to retire dozens of legacy systems and save the company $59 million in annual production costs.
August 1, 2003... When Mike Natan came on board as CIO of OneBeacon Insurance Group two years ago, he inherited a large, failing IT project intended to support a new commercial P&C package. "At that time, I looked at the project, and basically killed it," he...

IN Focus.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Case Study: OneBeacon Insurance Group At Issue: Transforming itself into a small but profitable regional insurer, OneBeacon was saddled with inadequate, expensive systems. The Solution: The company developed a three-year...

IN Focus.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The problem: Despite the hard market and rising insurance rates, premium leakage is still as high as 20% to 25%, according to Bermuda-based Accenture. The solution: Underwriting tools?ranging from knowledge databases to...

Hard-Dollar Savings.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... (What a life carrier can expect to save annually using an underwriting system that automates a portion of decisions.) Number Reduction Savings Support staff 11 80%(9...

Without Good Data, the Outcome Is Wrong.
August 1, 2003... Rules-based underwriting systems are designed to reflect the logic of the best and most experienced underwriters. In this way, they can provide agents and customer service representatives with the appropriate questions to ask applicants,...

CDHP Puts Consumers in Charge.
August 1, 2003... Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina (BCBSSC) in January introduced a new program that many believe could revolutionize the Web-based self-service model. The program, known as Blue-By-Design, is a consumer- driven health plan (CDHP)...

e.Business Briefs.
August 1, 2003... Take Care Going Paperless There are many potential benefits for the independent agency system as carriers begin to eliminate the paper sent to agents and replace it with electronic information. But success will be determined by how well...

Browsers Enhance Self-Service.
August 1, 2003... The self-service economy isn't a new phenomenon. It started with ATMs to avoid teller lines at banks. Then, it expanded to pay-at-the-pump gas station service, and now can even be found at department store check-outs and airline ticket...

States Eye Demutualizations For Cash.
August 1, 2003... If the laws of physics hold that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, then the laws of business hold that for every reaction, there can be unexpected consequences. An unexpected consequence of the recent spate of...