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

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

Legacy Lifeline or Component CHAOS?(insurance industry)
May 1, 2006... The analysts say it's a given. More than 65% of insurance companies in a study conducted more than two years ago by Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., research firm, agreed that the general trend for IT architecture is toward a "services-oriented...

Change Agent Extraordinaire.
May 1, 2006... There's no question that both agents and carriers are enthusiastically embracing many of the Web services standards now available across the industry. However, we're still only in the early stages of this process, and there is much work to be...

Straight-Through Processing A Reality for More Carriers.
May 1, 2006... Like perfection, Straight-through processing (STP) is something many insurance company IT departments are striving for but may find hard to call fully conquered. "Straight-through processing in the insurance industry is not something you...

On Thin-Slicing and Standards.(Malcom Gladwell)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... I had the pleasure recently of meeting malcom gladwell, the well-known New York author of "The Tipping Point" and his latest treatise, "Blink." Gladwell had been invited to speak to a group of insurance and banking executives on the theories...

Letters from INN Readers.
May 1, 2006... THE HUMAN TOUCH I read, with interest, the article entitled "Consumers Still Prefer the Human Touch," in the March 2006 issue (page 29). In that article, Craig Weber from Celent LLC was quoted: "The Web has proven an inconsistent...

News Briefs.
May 1, 2006... AETNA ENABLES MEMBERS TO DOWNLOAD CLAIMS INFORMATION Aetna Inc., Hartford, Conn., has enhanced its suite of consumer tools and information to allow members to more easily track and manage their health care expenses. Aetna members will now...

Alliances.(insurance industry)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... UNICA ACQUIRES SANE SOLUTIONS Waltham, Mass.-based Unica Corp. has acquired Sane Solutions, a supplier of Web analytics. This acquisition accelerates Unica's vision for delivering enterprise marketing management solutions that improve...

Solutions.(UCN Inc., Internet MegaMeeting LLC,)
May 1, 2006... UCN CONTACT MANAGEMENT SUITE HAS NEW FEATURES Salt Lake City-based UCN Inc., a provider of on-demand contact handling software and voice-over -IP business telecommunication services, has added several new features to its inContact contact...

Life Before and After May 2, 2006: The deadline for the anti-money laundering regulation is upon us; where do insurers stand, what did it take for them to get there and what are they expecting for the future?
May 1, 2006... Anti-money laundering (AML) Compliance Prog-ram: Hopefully, this term is not new to you, because the deadline for 31 CFR 103.137 compliance is May 2, 2006. This regulation, which is part of the USA PATRIOT Act, was developed to better...

News Briefs.
May 1, 2006... IBM ACQUIRES LAS IBM Corp., New York, will acquire Language Analysis Systems Inc. (LAS), a privately held company based in Herndon, Va., that develops multicultural name recognition technology. LAS technology is designed to allow...

Red Flags to Watch for.(insurance)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... After May 2, make sure you are reporting the following red flags to possible money-laundering activity: * The purchase of an insurance product that appears to be inconsistent with a customer's needs. * Any unusual method of payment,...

Filing Procedures.(Suspicious Activity Report by Insurance Companies )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Within 30 days after an insurance company becomes aware of a reportable suspicious transaction, the business must report the transaction by completing a Suspicious Activity Report by Insurance Companies (SAR-IC) and filing it in a central...

Solutions.
May 1, 2006... AML/FRAUD DETECTION SOFTWARE AMLOCK, an anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection software from 3i Infotech Ltd., a Edison, N.J.-based global provider of information technology solutions, is tailored for the insurance, banking and...

It's About Time: Executives at Dakotacare could tap into their data and provide customers with information, but oftentimes retrieving that information took too much time. The solution: business intelligence software.(South Dakota State Medical Holding Co. Inc.)
May 1, 2006... You have heard, and probably have even used, the phrase: "Time is of the essence." No one knows that better than insurers answering requests from customers who want their information now. Hence, the real-time phenomenon in the industry. ...

Agents, Carriers Win by Using ACORD XML: Carriers using standards to speak the "language" of agency management systems have a leg up, while agents reap benefits of real-time transactions.
May 1, 2006... Insurance Networking News recently interviewed Steven Hauck, co-founder and president of AgencyPort Insurance Services Inc., a Boston-based provider of Web-based agency portal and agency interface software for P&C companies. Hauck's experience...

State Accident Wrestles with the Content Giant: With content growing exponentially, the workers' comp insurer realized that replacing an aging intranet would require careful planning, organization and flexible, robust software.
May 1, 2006... When Brigitte Hamilton looks back on the humble beginnings of her organization's intranet, there were only six divisional areas of the site and upwards of about 500 pages. That was in 1997. Since then, Oregon's largest workers'...

Solutions.
May 1, 2006... SEEC UNVEILS ENTERPRISE WORKSPACE AND PROOF OF VALUE FOR SOA SEEC Inc., a Pittsburgh-based provider of business component software for the insurance and financial services industry, has unveiled its Enterprise Workspace Suite, an integrated...

News Briefs.(insurance industry)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... NEXT PHASE OF SEGMENTATION: CAT RISK SCORES Chicago-based Aon Re Inc. has studied the results of companies that have implemented more sophisticated customer segmentation strategies over the past few years, and the results show improved...

Solutions.(insurance, software solutions, Haley Systems Inc.)
May 1, 2006... GUIDEWIRE LAUNCHES POPICYCENTER Guidewire Software Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based technology provider to property/casualty insurers, has released Guidewire PolicyCenter, a policy administration system for all lines of P&C insurance....

Who's Buying What: Recent deals for technology software and services.
May 1, 2006... LIFE POLICY ADMINISTRATION Securian Financial Group Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of financial products, selected the AdminServer Policy Administration System from AdminServer Inc., Chester, Pa. The system will be implemented as a...

AD Index for May 2006.
May 1, 2006... Advertiser Website Address Page # Acord www.cartoons.acord.org 36 AdminServer www.adminserver.com 2 AQS www.aqsadvantage.com 28 BillMatrix www.billmatrix.com 10 CGI / WYNSURE Insurance...

ECM Benefits Extend Beyond Document Management: Enterprise content management can do what more simplistic solutions can do-and more.
May 1, 2006... The best analogy for insurance technology solutions may be "trying to put a square peg in a round hole." And I suppose no matter which cliche you use, the meaning is the same: making an inappropriate object or solution fit where it doesn't...