Tech Decisions January 2006
Cover Story
Picking Up the Pace
Insurance IT leaders and analysts have thrown the often used and by now very familiar word caution to the wind for their spending forecast for 2006, focusing instead on an optimistic view technology p
Features
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Losing the Ball and Chain
An increasingly competitive business environment and more demanding customers unquestionably are putting pressure on carriers and their IT departments to do more, but the biggest challenge facing comp
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Taking the Big Step
Short of going through a merger or an acquisition, the biggest challenge hanging over business units and a CIO's desk is policy administration. So, making the right decisions in this "once in a career
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Power Toolbox
In its annual insurance CIO survey report published last January, Celent predicted 2005 would be "the year of policy admin." While the high volume of policy administration requests for information (RF
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The Road Ahead
Like time-crunched students preparing for a final exam, most insurers approached the first Sarbanes-Oxley compliance audit more intent on making the grade than developing a good understanding of the s
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Where the Money Is
Writing for the P&C market, research vice president Kimberly Harris-Ferrante predicts investment in claims technology and process improvement projects will increase by more than 20 percent this year a
Columns Editor's Note
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Table Stakes
Competition is a powerful motivator. Whether toddlers compete for a parent's approval, students for the best grade, employees for a promotion, or companies for greater market share, the cycle of compe
Columns Trends & Tech
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In Name Only
I don't know about you, but I am getting a little tired of the apparent need within the developer community to create new buzzwords and terminology to describe what we do. When I say the developer com
Columns CIO Chronicles
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Time to Say Goodbye
Over the past 30 years, the world of automating policy administration in property/casualty insurance has changed a great deal: In the early days of computing, companies built their own; in the '80s, l
Columns Tech Tattler
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Play Now, Pay Later
H.G. Wells' classic novel "The Time Machine" depicts a distant future in which England's industrialized society has "evolved" into a world in which workers and consumers have become separate but still
Columns Automated Exec
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Terry Walker, Hartford Life, Inc.
Terry Walker's philosophy about new technology is the same at work as it is at home. If it is cost-effective, integrates well with other IT-related projects, and most importantly, solves a problem, he
Columns Stats Watch
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Savings Galore
If you suspend for just one moment the belief financial concerns are what matter most in the business world, it seems those looking for grounds to outsource part of their operation offshore do have ot
Departments Industry Intelligence
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Fort Dearborn Life Expands Access for Producers, Customers
Fort Dearborn Life Insurance Company launched its redesigned Web site (www.fdl-life.com) with a variety of new features, including streamlined navigation and sections dedicated to its audiences of emp
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Relaunched Nationwide.com Underscores Branding
Over the last 18 months, Nationwide Insurance has stepped up its marketing efforts behind the theme "life comes at you fast," and now the financial services and property/casualty carrier has brought i
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Who's Using What?
The Seibels Bruce Group, Inc., has implemented ISO HomeValue, a Web-based residential replacement-cost estimator that can be integrated into virtually any underwriting or policy-quoting system, from I
Departments Business Solutions
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Spread the Word
Access to the latest information is crucial when making business decisions, but with approximately 400 managers scattered across a global operation, distributing that data in a timely manner can be a
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Just One, Please
Like many insurance carriers, SECURA Insurance found itself dealing with the integration headaches of multiple policy administration systems. Putting a single system in place may reflect a growing tre
Departments Top Tech
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Company: InSystems
InSystems, a developer of document and compliance automation for the insurance and financial services industries, has released InSystems Tracker 6.3, the latest version of its compliance software. Tra
News
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editorial
Competition is a powerful motivator. Whether toddlers compete for a parent's approval, students for the best grade, employees for a promotion, or companies for greater market share, the cycle of
