One of the foundations of any productive partnership is trust. That is especially true when an insurance company selects a software vendor--particularly a vendor that will provide the platform that drives the carrier's business.

Harford Mutual Insurance is the exception to many regional carriers in that the company has built most of its own systems.

MutualAid eXchange Insurance Company (MAX) is a reciprocal insurer owned by its members--and safely can be described as unlike any others.

Physicians Liability Insurance Co. (PLICO) could have continued doing business with its old legacy system.

It didn't take Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. 100 years to realize changes needed to be made in how the company handles workflow and business processes.

Finding a single solution to satisfy the needs of business users as well as meeting corporate initiatives can be tricky--particularly in the case of the potentially time-consuming process of producer appointments.

Karen Pauli, research director in the insurance practice at TowerGroup, and Bob Hyle, editor-in-chief of Tech Decisions, discuss the issues insurers face in order to achieve growth in the market.

At one time, growing the insurance business was all about selling more policies, but it's become more complicated with multiple distribution channels, customer retention issues, and investment strategies.