NETWORKING NEWS
July 2009, Volume 12 Issue 12
www.insurancenetworking.com
>>COVER STORY | e-SIGNATURES
Insurers TKO
Rivals with
e-Signatures
The current economic
crisis was caused by
gaps in the financial
regulatory system.
Story on page
24
By Daniel Joelson
Stat Speaking
8
Eight million Americans
now opt for self-directed
health plans, and the age
of these Americans varies.
21% are 0-19
11% are 20-29
14% are 30-39
22% are 40-49
23% are 50-59
9% are 60+
THE FIGHT FOR ACCEPTANCE compliance rates. While these
for e-signatures among insurers back-office efficiencies are
has been a long and rocky one. noteworthy, e-signatures are
Since its inception in the 1990s, also poised to make in impact
a thicket of legal, technological in the front office, as carriers
and cultural issues have blocked push the technology into cus-the technology. tomer-facing processes such as
Now, with these issues large- servicing claims and customer
ly resolved, forward-thinking acquisition.
insurers, going toe-to-toe with Indeed, with ease of doing
their competitors, are employ- business now a primary source
ing e-signatures to gain process of differentiation in the mar-improvements aimed at achiev- ketplace, insurers leveraging
ing straight-through processing. e-signature technology could
Foremost among the benefits establish a real competitive
realized are reduced cycle advantage.
times, lower costs and higher Story on page
12
INNSight
18
The best way a life/health/
annuity carrier can reduce the
total cost of ownership year
after year across an entire
systems portfolio is through
consolidation and conversion.
Vantage Point
20
Driven by the necessity to
both innovate and reduce
costs, insurers are turning
to cloud computing as a
strategic initiative.
>>CUSTOMER SERVICE
Portals Ease Issuance of
Reinsurance Contracts
By Joe McKendrick
I T’S A GIVEN THAT PLACING
business with reinsurers has
never been a simple matter;
its complexities are the bane
of many an insurer.
Add the burden the underwriter faces in submitting a
facultative risk, only to find
that the application does not
fit the terms of the targeted
contract. So the notion of a
reinsurer offering its insurer
client a “self-service” option
seems a distant idea. Until
now, that is.
>>BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Analytics Emerge All
Around the Enterprise
By Bill Kenealy
IF DATA IS INDEED THE
lifeblood of insurance companies, one might consider analytics its hemoglobin. While
long familiar to central organs
such as claims and underwriting, analytics is now making
its way to extremities such as
marketing and auditing. But a
look at the evolution of analytics technology finds insurers
need to take the right steps in
order to successfully transfuse
analytics from one part of the
enterprise to another.
Asked & Answered
24
The new head of the AIA
weighs in on a bevy of
legislative issues pertinent
to the insurance industry.
INN Online
InsuranceNetworking.com
*Lincoln National To Accept
TARP Funds, Sells UK
Subsidiary
*Laid Off Employees
Increasingly Shunning COBRA
*Should We Just Shut Up
About Data Security?
