Soft Landing
By Robert Regis Hyle
Some insurance agents look at doing business through a carrier Web site or portal as a giant leap of faith, but carriers are finding their partners enjoy the ease of doing business and the improved underwriting relationships these newer solutions offer. Read more

By Invitation Only
By Michael P. Voelker
Insurers are challenged to protect customer information against increasingly sophisticated and creative scams while meeting customers' growing demands for online business capabilities Read more

Here Comes That Rainy Day
By Robert Regis Hyle
The recent spate of M&A activity among insurance software vendors has carriers scrambling to make sure their vendor management plan covers the fallout and ensures blue skies. Read more

In the Mix
Uptake of business process outsourcing by property/casualty and life/pension/annuity insurers is evenly mixed, according to a report on global BPO usage by Celent. The P&C side made 43 percent of the BPO deals currently in place, with 41 percent of the market being life/pension/annuity insurers. The remaining 16 percent? Multiline insurers.

Clearwater Offering Directed at Reporting, Analytics
Insurance Analytics and Private Wealth Analytics—two new products from Clearwater Analytics—address the investment reporting needs of insurance companies and private wealth investors. "In today's market environment, investors simply can't afford to use manual spreadsheet processes to track and manage large investment portfolios; the risks are too high," says Clearwater. Read more

CSC Give Edge to Global Conversion for Life, Annuity Carriers
ConversionEdge is intended to help insurers consolidate or transition their life, annuity, and pension policy administration systems to support acquisitions and growth, improve customer service, and facilitate business process transformation. The offering includes full-service conversion support from any source system to any life insurance, annuity, or pension policy administration system. Read more

Innovation Group's Insurance Platform to Ease Pain Points
A new insurance processing platform—Innovation Insurer—from Innovation Group employs service-oriented architecture to allow insurers and their customers access to processing capabilities via internal systems as well as online. "Innovation Insurer provides a solution portfolio that can address carriers' immediate pain points while providing a stable platform for growth," says the solution provider. Read more

MajescoMastek Develops Online Bill Payment Module
"We developed this product offering in response to increased demand from insurance carriers that wanted to provide policyholders the convenience and reliability of paying bills online and benefit from the improved cash flow and profit that timely payments, reduced risk, and better operating efficiencies bring," says MajescoMastek. The STG Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment (EBPP) module provides insurers with a tool to help them attract new customers, increase customer loyalty, and expedite cash flow, according to the company. Read more

BlueWave Designs New Web Site
The provider of claims management solutions for the property/casualty insurance industry has announced its newly designed Web site (www.bluewave-technology.com) incorporates improved graphics and increased resources that reflect BlueWave's company philosophy of continual innovation. "Our goal is to provide up-to-date information for current and potential customers as well as industry analysts and the media in an easy-to-use format," says BlueWave Technology. Read more