Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from August 2007

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from August 2007

Slow on the Uptake.
August 1, 2007... The momentum to move to a nationwide e-health network that includes electronic medical records and secure transmission of information between stakeholders is being fueled by entities of all sizes and influence-from grass roots-oriented...

M&A Pains Stifle Efforts To Shore Up Call Centers.
August 1, 2007... If you think your contact center (what used to be your call center before e-mail and Web chat were added to the customer service mix) doesn't do much for sales, you might have a look at a new study from Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories...

Staying Ahead of the New Network Explosion.
August 1, 2007... From collaboration to customer service, companies are turning to networks of applications and individuals to accomplish tasks, increase competitiveness and improve productivity. As a result, pressure is on enterprise networks to constantly keep...

What's Newsworthy?
August 1, 2007... It seems as though the insurance industry just can't cut a break in the media. As I write this, the news of a MetLife agent convicted in a New York murder-for-life-insurance plot received coverage across all major business wires. Those of you...

News Briefs.
August 1, 2007... SC BLUES WINS CALL CENTER TECH AWARD BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C., took top honors in the "Best Use of Technology" category during the 3rd Annual Call Center Excellence Awards held recently in Las Vegas. ...

Four Contact Center Technologies Worth Watching.(SPEECH ANALYTICS)(VIRTUAL QUEUING)(VIRTUAL OUTSOURCING)(CONTACT CENTER PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT)
August 1, 2007... SPEECH ANALYTICS Speech analytics is analogous to data mining. In fact, it's sometimes called audio mining, and according to Donna Fluss, DMG Consulting, West Orange, N.J., it's one of the hottest emerging technologies in contact centers....

Solutions.
August 1, 2007... FEE REDUCTION FOR INSURANCE SERVICES The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's (DTCC) Insurance Services New York business reports its first fee reduction in history, reflecting growing usage of its services. Insurance Services has...

CRM Systems: One Size May Not Fit All Insurers: Complex business processes drive selection and deployment of solutions, but carriers need to keep the big picture in mind.
August 1, 2007... What do insurance, consumer goods, retail and manufacturing companies have in common? Each relies on a complex value chain of partners engaged in collaborative business processes in order to develop relationships and deliver goods or services...

News Briefs.
August 1, 2007... NATION'S INSURERS URGE UNITED FRONT TO FIGHT FRAUD Over the last two years various committees were created and staffed with property/casualty insurance industry professionals charged with identifying weak spots in existing fraud-fighting...

Solutions.(Intellitactics Inc. introduces data security software)(Securent Inc.)(AIR Worldwide Corp. )
August 1, 2007... INTELLITACTICS SECURITY MANAGER FEATURES NEW EVENT MANAGEMENT Reston, Va.-based Intellitactics Inc.'s latest release of Intellitactics Security Manager v5.6 is designed to add more capability for speedy implementation and simplified use so...

The Outlook is Bright for CUNA Mutual Group: Upgrades and changes to the claims system deliver big results to the bottom line, including more than $50 million in financials.(Cuna Mutual Group)
August 1, 2007... The relationship between IT and the business within insurance companies is a subject insurance professionals will talk about until the cows come home. How do the two work together? Who are the forward thinkers? How does IT know what the...

IT Spending: Outlook Good.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... With the 2007 business environment for North American insurance carriers looking relatively good for the second year in a row, according to Forrester Research Inc., insurance carriers have become slightly more generous in their IT spending. The...

Solutions.
August 1, 2007... REMOVABLE MEDIA SECURITY PROTECTION EndPoint Security, the latest release from UK-based secure e-mail and Internet gateway security provider Marshal, is a policy-based enforcement solution designed to allow only authorized removable media...

Reinsurance Firms Still Battle Stiff Challenges: To compete in a changing marketplace, more reinsurers are embracing location intelligence and e-claims processing.
August 1, 2007... Reinsurance firms are gripped by a series of major challenges, from increased consolidation in the industry to the rise in securitization and the greater risk primary insurers assume. Although the firms' brokers remain intent on winning clients...

News Briefs.
August 1, 2007... N. AMERICAN P&C INSURERS SLOW TO ADOPT PROCESSES According to a Bermuda-based Accenture-conducted survey of North American and European P&C insurers, the North American insurance industry is slow to adopt claims systems and processes that...

Solutions.(Oracle Governance, Risk, and Compliance)
August 1, 2007... ORACLE INTRODUCES GOVERNANCE, RISK AND COMPLIANCE HELP FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES Oracle Governance, Risk, and Compliance (Oracle GRC) for Financial Services, an initiative Oracle introduced to address key GRC issues specific to the financial...

Balancing Technology and High Touch.
August 1, 2007... Traditionally, reinsurers have competed more on a relationship basis than on anything else, according to various industry experts. For that reason, technology cannot be seen as the end-all-and-be-all for their problems. Reinsurers "are trying...

Ratcheting Up Claims Processing.
August 1, 2007... Many reinsurers are embracing technologies designed to improve claims processing. Cambridge, Ontario-based Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc. (FMRP) has begun focusing on improving claims assessments and monitoring claims activity. This is part...

Who's Buying What: Recent deals for technology software and services.
August 1, 2007... DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER INSURER CHOOSES RULES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Precedent Insurance Co., a subsidiary of American Community Mutual Insurance Co., headquartered in Livonia, Mich., chose Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Corticon Technologies' Business...

INN August 2007 Editorial Index.
August 1, 2007... Company Name Page # AAA Life Insurance Co. 37 Accenture 18, 23, 34 Accident Compensation Corp. 37 Achmea 37 Active Health 24 Acxiom Corp. 28 AEGON 6 Aetna 24 AgencyPort Insurance Services 10...

Correction.(Correction notice)
August 1, 2007... In Who's Buying What (July 2007) Skywire Software's headquarters was incorrectly listed as Scottsdale, Ariz. Skywire Software's actual headquarters is Oak Brook, Ill. We regret the error. (c) 2007 Insurance Networking News and SourceMedia,...

P&C Carriers Threatened by Claims Management Legacies: Carriers that do not address the potency of their legacy claims systems may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
August 1, 2007... Remember the tale of the boiling frog? As the fable goes, a frog placed in a pot of boiling water will frantically clamber out. That same frog, however, will sit placidly in a pot of tepid water. It will remain there even as the water is slowly...