Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from January 2002

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from January 2002

Slowdown Isn't Curbing IT Appetite.(information technology in the insurance industry)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... When times are tough, common sense tells us it's prudent to cut our spending back. Cost-cutting initiatives gutted many corporate budgets in 2001, specifically for "discretionary" items such as business travel and conferences. Although most...

Legal Issues: Captive Agents Sue Carriers, Claiming Companies Have Violated Their Contracts.(State Farm and Allstate Insurance get lawsuits filed against them)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As insurance carriers expand into financial services and provide multichannel access for customers, many agents are not going along with the new program. Both State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Allstate Insurance Co. were sued...

Carriers' Legal Troubles.(State Farm and Allstate get lawsuits filed against them)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... * AT ISSUE: Concerned that the Internet and call centers are encroaching on their businesses, and claiming that carriers' new business practices are unfair, Allstate's and State Farm's agent associations have filed lawsuits against the...

Business strategies: What Does The Future Hold For Fusura?(Fusura Inc. plans to go live)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... More than nine months after it was created, Wilmington, Del.-based Fusura Inc., a Web-based personal lines insurance agency formed by global insurance giants AIG, Kemper and Prudential, is finally preparing to go live. As it prepares to...

Newsline Digest.(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Bill Would Open Door For Retirement Advice A bill that would enable independent agents and brokers to provide counsel to participants in employer-sponsored investment plans was approved in November by the House of Representatives by a...

Newsline Briefs.(insurance industry products and services information)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Westwood, Mass.-based MIB Group Inc., a purveyor of database and information management tools to the global risk management community, has launched a program to help locate life insurance policies for the families of victims of the Sept. 11...

Alliances.(insurance industry contracts)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., has signed an agreement to acquire NCSI, a specialized provider of insurance and information services for the flood insurance industry. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Rockville, Md.-based NCSI is an...

A Technology Diplomat: June Drewry brings a mix of technology know-how and relationship skills to her job of managing Aon Corp.'s global IT strategy.(profile, chief information officer and executive vice president June Drewry manages using her information technology experience)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... With more than 20 years of IT experience in the insurance industry, June Drewry has a vast knowledge of technology. Nevertheless, she insists she is not a high-tech wizard. In fact, when she talks about her responsibilities as executive...

A Brand New Challenge.(Internet branding)
January 1, 2002... Millions of potential buyers are using the Web to shop for insurance. That's why carriers are reassessing how to use the Internet to build their brand. In the mid-1990s when the Internet landed on our desktops, almost every...

Keep it consistent.(Prudential Insurance Company of America rolls out international Web sites)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Until recently, insurance companies have developed many Web sites for various products and business units, with little attention paid to consistency in branding, according to Kimberly Harris, senior research analyst at Gartner Financial...

Getting 'IT' Together.(information technology in the insurance industry)
January 1, 2002... In 2000, insurers rode an information technology investment wave that was largely fueled by ambitious dot-com providers eager to plant their flag in the online insurance market. A year later, insurers jumped off the wave. The dot-com...

IT priorities differ by market sector.(information technology investments in the insurance industry)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... When it comes to information technology investments in the insurance industry, there is a clear delineation of priorities predicated on the sector of business in which a carrier operates. Underwriting, pricing and products are the most...

Assessing technology after Sept. 11.(insurance carriers review their information technology investment strategies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The tragic events of Sept. 11 in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., cast a pall on the nation's collective psyche, and also prompted insurance carriers to re-examine their IT investment strategies. Carriers that absorbed...

Will HIPAA Spur Claims Automation?(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
January 1, 2002... Growth in the automation of claims and related transactions remains very slow. But HIPAA and the Internet could push more health care organizations to automate. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center thought it had an efficient...

Payers claim a united front.(MedUnite Inc)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In March 2000, seven major health care payers started earnest negotiations to create a joint company to enable providers to communicate with the payers via the Internet. By July 2000, MedUnite was formed with a goal of offering services...

When 'Best' Is The Only Option: Most online insurance marketplaces pit carrier against carrier. MarketScout has an approach it says won't diminish a carrier's brand.
January 1, 2002... Imagine how difficult it must be for an independent agent to locate a carrier that covers beekeepers or acupuncturists. Or, from a carrier's perspective, finding agents who will sell employee dishonesty or bailee coverages. MarketScout, a...

Allied's Web Strategy Empowers Agents: Allied Insurance is betting that its Web strategy will eliminate the need for agents to submit policy applications on paper.
January 1, 2002... As world of insurance grows more complex due to competition from within the industry and from banks and other financial services providers, Allied Insurance has a simple business strategy: attract and retain quality independent agents. ...

Web Sightings: Insurance Networking periodically takes a look at the Web offerings from carriers and insurance marketplaces.(Allstate Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Allstate Insurance Co. www.allstate.com It has been two years since Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate Insurance Co. first announced its multchannel strategy. Allstate has spent a lot of time-and money, no doubt-building connectivity between...

Contracts Update.(insurance information technology companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 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...