What should insurance IT leadership do when the financial markets commonly are described as being a devastating bloodbath, hit by a train or in a terrifying plummet, a spectacular free-fall, or a stomach-crunching meltdown? Alternately greed and fear have been driving the market. And now, at press time, the stock market has hit a five-year low with unprecedented slides, and despite some rallies, there is nowhere left to hide. Every corner of the planet has been negatively affected to varying degrees. So, besides going somewhere secluded and letting out a cathartic primal scream, what's next?

First, let's take the emotion out of it and examine the landscape. Toss those old revenue projections out the window–those days are gone. With layoffs, there are fewer employees to insure; with money tight, companies and individuals will be buying fewer big-ticket items that normally would be insured; and life policies may be viewed as a non-necessity until times get better. On the other side of the mess, insurers invested in instruments that have taken a serious hit have begun to wobble, with the unsurprising likely result of agent desertion. Lowered investment income is probable for the foreseeable future. And all this taking place alongside the normal but potentially devastating risks of hurricanes and other natural, unavoidable disasters.

While no one, including the government, has the answer, there are good business practices to employ, all of which rely on common sense; rigorous, pragmatic disciplines–and the technology backbone that enables intelligent business practices.