Tech Decisions March 2008
Cover Story
Slim Pickings
As the number of students choosing IT-related studies for a college major continues to dwindle, insurance carriers are taking creative measures to restaff their IT departments, hoping to find sweet su
Features
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Eureka!
Data is a foundation element for insurance carriers, but an inability to extract useful information from it made its value somewhat overrated. Today, though, thanks to a combination of data tools and
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Getting SOA Under Control
Buck Stuart, chief architect for Great American Insurance Group, calls it the "Law of Complexity Conservation"--the vexing tendency of IT complexity to move from one point to another, rather than dimin
Columns Inside Track
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Visible Value
Service-oriented architecture is a critical tool for insurer technology teams. However, the high level of hype threatens to erode support for experimentation and the creation of documentable business
Columns Trends & Tech
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Setting Priorities
I remember pulling into the parking lot at work and wondering why so many vehicles were in the public parking area. We had an employee parking lot that was controlled by an automatic gate--and the gate
Columns CIO Chronicles
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A Welcome Feeling?
After the May 2007 ACORD/LOMA forum, Greg Maciag, president of ACORD, reported on his blog an executive from a regional insurer offered this comment about the event: "Thanks for making the small firm
Columns Stats Watch
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Easier Said Than Done
Not all insurers are equipped (or interested) in growing the enterprise through mergers and acquisitions, so organic growth remains the focus for the majority of property/casualty insurers. However, u
Departments Industry Intelligence
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MassMutual Offers Retirement Strategies Online
MassMutual's retirement services division has launched a new Web site as a vehicle to share insights and information discovered in its Center for Behavioral Research. The research will be published fo
Departments Business Solutions
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Customer Is King
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan is like many other insurance companies in that it has multiple policy administration systems in production. The challenge FBIM faced was improving customer service. W
Departments Agent Relations
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What Insurers Want
Ever since insurers started using computer technology to do business, agents have been asking for technology-enabled interfaces with carriers to allow for easier, faster, and more efficient rating, ad
Departments Top Tech
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Extreme Makeover: Customer Service
A few years ago, the national health benefits company identified service as a competitive differentiator. Top leaders defined six key characteristics--accuracy, reliability, easy to use, courteous, pro
