Insurance company board members are painfully aware of theimportance of technology to the company's business. They understandthat the issues include having the appropriate hardware, using themost secure software, buying the right number of electronic devicesfor employees, and guarding against cyber attacks among others. Butoften when the company's chief information officer (CIO) gives apresentation, the board members think the CIO is speaking a foreignlanguage.

"One of the differences between more successful and lesssuccessful CIOs is their ability to communicate effectively withtheir boards," explains Frank Petersmark, AVP of Research &Consulting, Novarica. "Being able to communicate effectively withyour board will help make securing organizational support for ITinitiatives, such as funding and resource commitments much easier,as well as achieving the strategic goals of IT, which, if alignedproperly will benefit the entire organization," saysPetersmark.

Novarica, a research, consulting and advisory firm forProperty/Casualty and Life/Annuity insurers, has just published anew CIO checklist report to help insurance CIOseffectively communicate with board members. Developing a commoncommunications approach is a critical part of the CIO function.