Is the U.S. economy, with a seemingly endless list of financial worries being dealt with by businesses and consumers alike, in as serious condition as it would seem? Rebecca Amoroso, vice chairman and national insurance leader for Deloitte, isn't sure a recession will come, but she concedes there is reason for concern. Still, the insurance industry appears to be running smoother than others. "We've had some hits with some insurance companies, but I haven't really seen a significant slowdown yet in insurance." The economy, among other issues, is discussed in Deloitte's "Global Insurance Industry Outlook Mid-year Update: 2008."

The philosophy of "lean and mean" has returned, Amoroso believes, although she sees one positive economic indicator for the insurance industry. "[Insurers] are spending money where they think it will enhance one of their strategies–efficiencies, growth, things such as that," she says. "Companies still are investing in themselves."

One recipient of strategic spending is predictive modeling. Carriers are achieving enough benefits from their modeling tools that they are pushing to use analytics in other areas of the enterprise, Amoroso observes. "There's more of an awareness of what these models can do for you and how they can help you run your business," she says. "That's why we're starting to see it around claims, some attention given to help better manage your distribution channel, and some trends on how to better manage your employees to enable you to enhance and improve retention."