Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from July 2009

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from July 2009

Insurers Jump into the e-Signature Ring; As the technical and legal merits of the technology improve, carriers are increasingly implementing to achieve true straight-through processing and a competitive advantage.(Cover Story/e-Signatures)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Daniel Joelson The Fight for acceptance for e-signatures among insurers has been a long and rocky one. Since its inception in the 1990s, a thicket of legal, technological and cultural issues have blocked the technology. Now,...

A Surgical Approach to Regulatory Reform; Expert says Congress should proceed with caution when revamping regulation of insurance industry.(The most popular content on INN's Web site - InsuranceNetworking.com)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Bill Kenealy Given the enormity of the financial crisis, a predisposition toward bold legislative action among lawmakers seems natural. Yet, a measured, surgical response that takes into account the peculiarities of insurance while...

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Portals Ease Issuance of Reinsurance Contracts; Arch Re is employing a Web-based system to ease the manual burden of the insurers with which it works.(Front Office - The latest on customer-facing issues that drive revenue)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Joe McKendrick It's a given that placing business with reinsurers has never been a simple matter; its complexities are the bane of many an insurer. Add the burden the underwriter faces in submitting a facultative risk, only to...

BUSINESS ANALYTICS: Analytics Emerge All Around the Enterprise; Insurers are finding new parts of the enterprise suitable for business analytics.(Back Office - Strategies and technologies to boost behind-the-scenes efficiencies)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Bill Kenealy If Data is indeed the lifeblood of insurance companies, one might consider analytics its hemoglobin. While long familiar to central organs such as claims and underwriting, analytics is now making its way to extremities...

FRONT OFFICE SOLUTIONS.(Front Office - The latest on customer-facing issues that drive revenue)
July 1, 2009... WAUSAU Launches Payment Processing Solution WAUSAU Financial Systems (WFS), a Mosinee, Wis., provider of payment and remittance processing solutions, unveiled PremiumWorks, a new solution designed to meet the needs for premium payments to...

Americans Increasingly Embrace Self-Service; Eight million Americans now opt for self-directed health plans, according to new survey.(Statistically Speaking)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Bill Kenealy Consumer-directed, or health savings account (HSA)-style plans are becoming increasingly popular, a new survey finds. The study, conducted by Washington-based health insurance association America's Health Insurance...

Carriers Wise to Rethink the Merits of Conversion; A life/health/annuity carrier can reduce the total cost of ownership through consolidation and - in most cases - conversion.(INNSight - Exclusive commentary from Novarica)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Chad Hersh Carriers have continued to invest in core systems replacement throughout the recent economic downturn. While there has been less activity for life/health/annuity carriers than for their P&C counterparts, this is not...

Insurers Can Find Sunshine in the Cloud; Carriers willing to consider replacing legacy systems with cloud computing initiatives can reap many benefits.(Vantage Point - Guest commentary from industry sources)
July 1, 2009... Byline: Randy Rodriguez Insurance organizations continue to face myriad challenges, even as the economy shows faint glimmers of recovery. While senior insurance leaders in 2008 were often forced to make reactive decisions, 2009 may afford...

Surveying A Chaotic Regulatory Landscape; The new head of the AIA, Leigh Ann Pusey, weighs in on a bevy of legislative issues pertinent to the insurance industry.(Asked & Answered - Exclusive INN interviews with insurance thought leaders)
July 1, 2009... With various bills intending to reshape how the insurance industry is regulated now advancing in both houses of Congress, Leigh Ann Pusey stepped into the legislative equivalent of a maelstrom when she became president and CEO of the American...