Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from July 2006

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from July 2006

Insurers' Aim: Tame the Document Bull.(meeting compliance mandates )
July 1, 2006... To many insurance industry executives, compliance means spending gobs of money to avoid having their companies go public with ugly security lapses or pay fines from regulators, or avoid having themselves hauled off to the slammer for misstating...

Progressive Drives for Pricing Accuracy.(automobile insurance pricing)
July 1, 2006... Do drivers who wear turtlenecks get in more accidents than drivers who don't? What if the theory proved true? Although it would be nice to find out whether this level of minutia affects accurate pricing of risk, when it comes to ratings, this...

Electronic Initiatives Reduce Health Exposure.
July 1, 2006... From the healthcare carrier's perspective, the logic is simple: Support physician members' ability to access aggregate patient data and use of e-prescribing and e-doctor visits. Physicians use technology to provide improved quality care,...

The Call to a "Community Enterprise".
July 1, 2006... "Insurance is essentially a community enterprise, social in character but economic in consequence. It touches all phases of commercial endeavor and personal welfare. It creates a stabilizing influence upon business and human relations by...

Solutions.(P&C Insurance Systems Inc.)(financial services)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... AGENCY WEB PORTAL New York-based P&C Insurance Systems Inc. introduced a Web portal that allows direct Web-based upload of ACORD data from agency management software. The portal leverages the architecture of the PCIS management system to...

News Briefs.(GEICO Chevy Chase)(NADAguides.com,)(Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey)(WebMD Health Corp.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... ONLINE TOOLS FOR HORIZON MEMBERS Newark, N.J.-based Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and New York-based WebMD Health Corp. are providing Horizon's members a personalized, interactive health application that provides tools and...

People-Powered Leadership: The Hartford's recent CNA acquisition adds an addendum to the old adage: Plan your work and work your plan ... and put people first.(Hartford Casualty Insurance Co.)
July 1, 2006... It's no secret that the onslaught of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has left many a carrier bruised and battered. Combining systems-IT and human-requires forethought, skill, dedication and focus. There may not be much...

Solutions.
July 1, 2006... ORACLE UNVEILS ORACLE DATABASE VAULT The increasing need to mitigate insider security threats, coupled with the growing number of regulatory and privacy mandates, have made protecting data against unauthorized access a top priority. To that...

News Briefs.(insurance industry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... THE HARTFORD WINS EIGHT ACORD AWARDS Hartford, Conn.-based The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. received eight awards from the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD): the Greatest Dollar Volume of...

Helvetia Patria Architects A Drastically New E-Look: With Hewlett-Packard's SOA offering, the Swiss insurer has shed the silo approach, reshaped online operations and enjoyed skyrocketing ROI in its e-business.(Helvetia Patria Group)(Service-Oriented Architecture)
July 1, 2006... In 2000, the Helvetia Patria Group found itself bogged down by a web of 15 different platforms, which presented a slew of major business challenges. The firm, established by the merger of two firms (the non-life insurer Helvetia with Patria...

Small Carrier Readies for Growth.(Helvetia Patria )
July 1, 2006... Helvetia Patria is Switzerland's fifth largest insurance firm and outside its home market, it has a bit role: It ranks approximately No. 40 in both Germany and Spain, its other top markets. Yet, the carrier has major ambitions for...

A Recipe for Improving the Underwriting Process: Today, there is virtual consensus that no carrier can earn its cost of capital over the long-term through investment performance alone.(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Insurance Networking News recently interviewed Marcus Ryu, vice president of consulting services, at Guidewire Software Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based firm that provides software to the P&C and workers' compensation industries. Ryu plays a...

Employers Direct Targets Enterprise Efficiency: This direct writer of workers' compensation insurance implemented a claims automation system to focus on efficiency, only to upgrade it and add more automation a year later.(Company overview)
July 1, 2006... During 2005's July 4th weekend-a time typically filled with barbeques, fireworks and celebrations, Employers Direct Insurance Co., celebrated, but not for the same reason most other Americans were celebrating. This particular weekend marked the...

News Briefs.
July 1, 2006... FINEOS JOINS IBM INITIATIVE FINEOS Corp. Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., joins White Plains, N.Y.-based IBM Corp.'s North America ISV Advantage initiative, a program designed to provide independent software vendors with technical...

Correction.(Correction notice)
July 1, 2006... In "Insight Wins the Game" (June 2006), quotes credited to Nora Greathouse should have been credited to Grace Pan, controller and vice president, Majestic Insurance Co. We regret the error. (c) 2006 Insurance Networking News and...

Solutions.(MajescoMastek Ltd)(software applications for insurance industry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... ENTERPRISE SOA PLATFORM Elixir 2006, a component-based enterprise service-oriented architecture platform, from Edison, N.J.-based MajescoMastek Ltd., is designed to provide a high level of flexibility and control, enabling life and annuity...

Despite Deadline, Many Firms Lack AML Program.(Adjustable Mortgage Loans)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... U.S. insurance companies that issue or underwrite products presenting a heightened risk of money laundering, terrorist financing or other illicit activity as covered under the USA PATRIOT Act, were required to establish anti-money laundering...

The Industry Structure Is Becoming Extinct: Insurers who do not align their business model and operations with the shift from tangible to intangible assets will become fodder for acquisitions or industry history books.
July 1, 2006... The world of commerce and insurance more specifically is shifting relentlessly from a paradigm based on tangible assets to one based on intangible assets. Increasingly more insurance companies will succeed with fewer people with deeper industry...

Empire Pacific Chooses WC Solution.
July 1, 2006... Empire Pacific Risk Management, a Lake Oswego, Ore., administrator of self-insured workers' compensation groups in the Western United States, licensed Mount Arlington, N.J.-based AGO Insurance Software Inc.'s fully integrated Workers Comp...

Guardian Life Standardizes With Dialogue.(Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America)(Exstream Software Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America is using Lexington, Ky.-based Exstream Software Inc.'s Dialogue software as the corporate standard for producing complex insurance documents. After success using Dialogue to create a multi-faceted group...

End-to-End Claims for FCCI.(FCCI Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... After searching for a single, end-to-end claims system to consolidate and manage all of its claims processing, Sarasota, Fla.-based FCCI Insurance Group decided on Guidewire ClaimCenter from Guidewire Software, based in San Mateo, Calif....

State Auto Focuses On BI.(Business Intelligence)(State Auto Insurance Co)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... To fine-tune its ability to use company data as a corporate asset, State Auto Insurance Cos., Columbus, Ohio, selected analytic tools and the SAS Enterprise BI Server component from Cary, N.C.-based SAS Institute Inc. State Auto plans to use...

The Hartford To Further Strengthen Platform.(Hartford Fire Insurance Co.)(AdminServer Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Hartford, Conn.-based The Hartford Fire Insurance Co. (The Hartford) licensed a policy administration system, from Chester, Pa.-based AdminServer Inc., to further strengthen the company's growing technology platform. According to AdminServer,...

SUA In Production With Admin System.(SUA Insurance Co.)(service-oriented architecture )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Chicago-based SUA Insurance Co. is in production with a new end-to-end policy administration system, powered by Bolivar, Mo.-based Duck Creek Technologies Inc.'s EXAMPLE platform. The implementation was completed in less than six months, and...

WSTIP Integrates Doc Management, Imaging and Workflow.(Washington State Transit Insurance Pool)(Perceptive Software Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), Olympia, Wash., uses ImageNow integrated document management, imaging and workflow solutions from Shawnee, Kan.-based Perceptive Software Inc. to manage insurance claims documentation. Agencies...

Insurers Sign Ledger and AP Solutions Contracts.
July 1, 2006... Three insurance organizations, NLC Insurance Cos., Norwich, Conn., Mountain States Mutual Casualty Co., Albuquerque, N.M., and Norcal Mutual Insurance Co., San Francisco, signed contracts for PRO Financial general ledger and accounts payable...

Hermitage Deploys Rating Technology.
July 1, 2006... Hermitage Insurance Co., White Plains, N.Y., will implement the ISO Rating Service to handle its core rating processes. In addition to streamlining rate management and reducing rating maintenance and insurance program development costs, the...

Securian Uses Policy Admin to Launch Products.(NaviSys Inc.)(Securian Financial Group Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... St. Paul, Minn.-based Securian Financial Group Inc. is using NaviSys Home Office policy administration system from NaviSys Inc., Edison, N.J., to support SecureLink, a fixed indexed annuity that offers fixed interest based on equity index...

Industrial Alliance consolidates data.(Industrial Alliance Life Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Quebec City-based Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. selected Moncton, New Brunswick-based Whitehill Technologies Inc.'s software to improve communications with customers and save on production costs. The company...

Stone Insurance Selects Doc Management.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Stone Insurance Inc., Metairie, La., reports it selected Piscataway N.J.-based EasyLink Services Corp.'s Integrated Desktop Messaging Service to provide a reliable, secure and efficient method of processing critical documents. The solution will...

WPS Improves Efficiency With Doc System.(Wisconsin Physician Service Insurance Corp.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Wisconsin Physician Service Insurance Corp. (WPS), Madison, Wis., implemented Cincinnati-based Cincom Systems Inc.'s Intelligent Document Solutions document automation system. Using Intelligent Document Solutions, WPS streamlined its customer...

Physicians Mutual Licenses FJA-US Product Machine.(FJA-US Inc.)(Physicians Mutual Insurance Co)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Physicians Mutual Insurance Co., Omaha, Neb., licensed the FJA-US Product Machine from New York-based FJA-US Inc. to facilitate the modeling and development of its insurance products based on IBM's Insurance Application Architecture (IAA)...

NBA Upgrades Claims Admin System.(National Benefits America )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... National Benefits America (NBA), a Charlotte, N.C.-based third-party administrator specializing in workers' compensation, recently upgraded to Claims Decisions, a claims administration system from Hartford, Conn.-based Insurity. After NBA lost...

Great American chooses Doc Production.
July 1, 2006... Great American Financial Resources Inc., a Cincinnati-based provider of insurance and annuities, licensed Markham, Ont.-based InSystems Corp.'s IStream ContentFlow, which includes IStream Writer, IStream Publisher and IStream Document Manager....

Mutual of Enumclaw selects Data Warehouse.(Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Co)(Oracle Corp)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... To achieve a tenfold increase in performance while reducing infrastructure costs, Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Co., an Enumclaw, Wash.-based mutual company that provides a broad array of insurance products and services, is using Oracle Database...

AD Index for July 2006.
July 1, 2006... Advertiser Website Address Page # AQS www.aqsadvantage.com 33 CCH Insurance Services www.insurance.cch.com 29 Cingular www.cingular.com/dell 2 Decision Research Corporation www.decisionresearch.com...

Improving Customer Satisfaction With BPI: Business process integration software can tie together disparate systems and automate manual processes, thereby improving customer satisfaction-a declining facet in the P&C industry.
July 1, 2006... Consumer satisfaction with the P&C insurance industry increased by a mere 1% last year, according the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)-a survey to monitor customer satisfaction levels in various industries. Overall, satisfaction with...