Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from July 2004

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from July 2004

Taking The Risk Out Of Enterprise Risk Management.
July 1, 2004... Carriers struggling with implementing the necessary infrastructure, processes, tools and systems to manage enterprisewide risks would do well to listen to the advice of ERM visionary Christopher E. Mandel. His approach to measuring,...

Insurers' Golden Opportunity.
July 1, 2004... As they prepare for retirement, many American workers could come to the realization that the gold wristwatch they receive at the end of their careers is the most valuable asset they own heading into retirement. While this notion might seem...

A Disciplined Approach.
July 1, 2004... In 1997, the property/casualty insurance industry had a net underwriting loss of $6 billion. By 2001, that loss grew to $53 billion. At the same time, P&C insurers' investment income fell from $41 billion to $38 billion, and their capital gains...

Customer Service Pays Dividends.
July 1, 2004... Customer service, we have all been told, is a clear differentiating factor in the competitive financial services marketplace. I must admit, I skeptically agreed with that theory, which assumes that a happy customer is-in the long run-a...

Speed To Market: Studies Quantify Financial Impact Of Shorter Product Cycle.
July 1, 2004... Common sense says insurers can reduce costs and improve their competitive position by shortening their product development cycles. But two new studies from Celent Communications Inc., a Boston-based research and advisory firm to the financial...

Fraud Survey: Accenture: Americans Undeterred From Committing Fraud.
July 1, 2004... If one goes by the beliefs of a handful of American consumers, insurance fraud is motivated by an understanding of many individuals that they can commit fraud with impunity. In a survey released in June by Bermuda-based consulting firm...

Calendar.(0)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... The Art Of Designing Reinsurance Contracts Sponsor: Reinsurance Association of America When: July 20-23 Where: Helmsley Hotel, New York www.reinsurance.org Advanced Fraud Seminar Sponsor: National Association of ...

Product Previews.
July 1, 2004... Insystems Tracker 6.1 for State Filing InSystems Corp., a Markham, Ont.-based compliance automation provider for insurance and financial services, has released InSystems Tracker 6.1, which automates the product development and regulatory...

Business Alliances.
July 1, 2004... Address Verification Allenbrook Inc., a Brunswick, Maine-based software and consulting firm for the property and casualty industry, and QAS, an address management software vendor based in Boston, have partnered to offer insurance carriers...

Contracts.
July 1, 2004... 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...

Governance, Risk And Compliance Software Vendors Form Compliance Consortium.(Government, risk and compliance management)
July 1, 2004... In an effort to establish more efficient industry practices for enterprise governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management, a group of enterprise software solution providers in June formed the Compliance Consortium. The founding members...

Business Process Improvement: Better Productivity Is Insurers' Priority.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... When it comes to improving business processes, carriers are searching for ways to increase productivity and reduce costs, according to a recent survey of 156 P&C and life insurance executives. The survey, which was conducted May 23 at the...

A 'Blue Chip' Data Conversion: An enterprise data warehouse is enabling the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to improve the availability and usability of its data.
July 1, 2004... In the heart of Tobacco Road, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) knows how to travel an extra mile or two to support its members and affiliates. The Chapel Hill, N.C.-based health insurance provider for years has taken pride...

INN Focus.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Case Study: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina At Issue: BCBSNC wanted to improve the availability and usability of data in its data warehouse. By resolving these two problems, the health insurer could create an environment...

The Five Myths of Data Mining.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Myth 1: Data mining provides instant crystal ball predictions. Reality: Data mining is a multi-step process that defines the business problem, explores and conditions data, develops the model and deploys the knowledge gained. Myth 2: Data...

Allmerica Deploys Underwriter's Portal for Commercial Lines.(Customer account and activity management system)
July 1, 2004... With part of its company using a home-grown account management and work tracking system developed in the 1980s, and another part with no account management system at all, Allmerica Financial decided early last year to implement a...

Property Valuation on the Web.
July 1, 2004... Carriers and their agents have been using tools to estimate residential replacement values for quite some time, but a Web-based, user-friendly estimating technology that pre-fills actual property data from public databases is at the leading...

MassMutual's Long-Term Fix for LTC.
July 1, 2004... When MassMutual launched its long-term care division in 1999, the Springfield, Mass-based insurance provider relied on career agents to drive sales. But executives knew that to reach a higher plateau for annualized premiums, the carrier...

Age, Demographics Dictate Strategies.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... When it comes to retirement planning, the strategies insurers develop often hinge on age and demographic trends. In a report on the retirement market titled, "The Retirement Income Market: Strategic Implications for Insurers," Needham,...

Insurers Need Better ERM Tools.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Information technology tools for collecting, massaging and reporting complicated levels of risk are needed to advance the implementation of enterprise risk management (ERM). "The technology that is available today is limited in its ability...

Insurance Agency Offers Real-Time Underwriting: Targeting a specific group of tech-savvy prospects, ING International is enabling computer consultants to buy businessowners insurance online within 15 minutes.
July 1, 2004... Independent computer consultants usually work for a number of employers throughout the year, obtaining assignments on a project-by-project basis. Often, in order to clinch a contract, they have to produce proof of businessowners P&C coverage....

e.Business Briefs.
July 1, 2004... Wausau Adds Links To Agents Wausau Insurance, Wausau, Wis., is launching technology to expand middle-market electronic links with brokers and agents. Wausau developed the technology to accept complete submission data from producers based...

Making The Most Of Sarbanes-Oxley: SOX represents an opportunity for non-public insurance companies to gain benefits from adopting financial reporting and corporate governance standards.
July 1, 2004... Due to its comprehensive nature, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is being viewed as a de facto standard for corporate governance and financial reporting. It provides basic guidelines that insurers can use to measure the quality of their best...