Billing modernization:
Strengthening customer satisfaction to build a competitive advantage

by Kim Morton

With customer retention needs at an all time high, insurers are beginning to consider all points of customer contact—including billing—to be uniformly critical. In this article, Kim Morton of Guidewire Software reveals that growth-oriented, service-focused carriers view billing not as a back-office function, but as a key customer touch point. These carriers are willing to make invest-ments in modern billing platforms that have proven to deliver quantifiable business benefits and increase a company’s competitive advantage.   More...

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SERFF liberation:
The System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing needs competition

by Eli Lehrer

Insurance compliance is deeply rooted in a series of complex and compulsory data standards promulgated by government and industry entities. And until recent years, insurers were allowed the freedom to collect, transmit and store data in any system of their choosing. But this is changing and trouble is brewing, thanks to the rising prominence of the NAIC’s mandatory SERFF system. In this article, Eli Lehrer of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains the SERFF system in detail, explores problems with its current modes of operation, and suggests changes that would ultimately benefit the insurance industry and state insurance regulators.   More...

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A commutations overview:
Effectively managing reinsurance programs

by Mark Jones, A.C.A.S. & M.A.A.A., Steve M. McElhiney, C.P.C.U.

While the “front-end” of the reinsurance placement cycle is typified by pleasantries, relationships and boundless optimism, the commutation and workout “back-end” of the cycle is far different. Steve McElhiney, President of EWI Risk Services, compares insolvent insurers to “a pack of ravenous wolves tearing apart a carcass as the various competing creditor classes attempt to tailor the best outcomes for their respective positions”. The authors suggest that in order to achieve the best outcome, parties must understand a number of “macro” considerations and make an appropriate choice of negotiating strategies.   More...

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Harnessing network effects:
A Web 2.0 primer for the insurance industry

by Josh Struve

The dramatic shift from industrial era practices to those of the information revolution have forced modern businesses into the age of the network economy. As such, insurance companies that accept the network economy, and attempt to understand the art of positive network effects will drastically increase their competitive positioning over those that do not. In this article, Josh Struve, Marketing Manager at Perr&Knight, explores the phenomena of positive network effects and posits that insurance companies can exploit these effects using emergent Web 2.0 technologies.   More...

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Google Apps:
New considerations for the insurance industry

by Michael Scott

The advent and continued advancement of cloud computing is transforming modern business operations faster and more radically than any single development since the desktop computer. However, industry concerns regarding privacy and data security pervade, and legacy systems and information architecture prevail. But in this article, Michael Scott of Urban Digital Group posits that insurers can increase productivity, reduce operating costs and improve data security by embracing the cloud and making the switch to Google Apps.   More...

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Project management offices:
Strategic drivers for organizational excellence

by Karen Furtado

For far too long, IT departments have struggled to deliver projects on time and within budget. But is it fair to blame IT staff? Or is it the fault of organizations who fail to develop proper management techniques and align technology initiatives with larger organ-izational objectives? In this article, Karen Furtado of SMA Inc. contends that sound project management, and project manage-ment offices in particular, can help insurers build the proper framework for delivering IT projects steeped in business value.   More...

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