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March 2007

DIRECT MARKETING TOOL ENHANCED

Melissa Data announced the addition of multi-platform capabilities to the Canadian Address Object, a complementary product to the Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. company's Data Quality Suite, a direct-marketing tool that verifies and corrects address, phone and contact data.

Mailers can use Canadian Address Object as an API in their custom batch and point-of-entry applications, or use the address verification Web service to instantly validate data entered into Web forms.

MANAGING COMPLEX DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Versata released enhancements to its distribution channel management product. DCM 3.0, provides comprehensive support for electronic mass renewals and terminations and includes other communications and maintenance improvements.

The Versata Distribution Channel Management solution is an industry-specific distribution management and compensation product that enables insurance and brokerage companies to successfully manage complex distribution channels. The newest release includes comprehensive support for the electronic processing of appointment mass renewals, enabling companies to create producer records and file appointment requests automatically.

IMPROVED CONTROL OF CLAIMS OPERATION

Guidewire Software, Inc., San Mateo, Calif., released Guidewire ClaimCenter 4.0, the latest version of its claims system for P&C insurance carriers. ClaimCenter is a Web-based claims system designed to improve the end-to-end claims adjusting process, reduce claims costs and enhance customer service. ClaimCenter 4.0 further improves insurers' control over their core claim operation by enhancing rules-based automation of the claim process, expanding integration with preferred claims adjusting business partners and increasing visibility into key claims performance metrics.

STRATEGIC GOALS GUIDE IT SPENDING

Senior insurance IT executives are making strategic investments, but budgets and staff size are generally flat or growing only modestly.

Those were among the findings reported by Boston-based Celent LLC in a study called "Insurance CIO/CTO Pressures, Priorities, Projects and Plans for 2007 Survey Results."

Matthew Josefowicz, manager of Celent's insurance group and author of the report sees continued focus on meeting demand for speed to market and ease of doing business, and on projects involving core systems, data mastery and distribution.

Areas of significant new project spending vary by size and sector, but include initiatives in underwriting, claims, product development and data mastery, the report says. Common areas of significant new product spending include document handling, policy administration system replacement, ACORD XML adoption, agent portals and BPM.

GLOBAL COMPANY TO TAKE UP SLACK IN CAT INSURANCE

Ironshore Inc. reports raising more than $1 billion through a private placement of equity securities to begin underwriting specialty lines of insurance through a Bermuda-based insurance subsidiary, Ironshore Insurance Ltd.

The new global insurance company was created in response to conditions in the U.S. property catastrophe insurance markets that resulted from harsh recent hurricane seasons that made coverage capital intensive and costly, Ironshore says.

RESEARCHER: GLBA HAS LITTLE EFFECT

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) has not created significant synergies between commercial banking, investment banking, merchant banking and insurance activities, according to a finance researcher at the University of Arkansas. The law also has had little effect on bank profitability and productivity.

"Banking stakeholders expected big changes from the GLBA," says Tim Yeager, an associate professor of finance at the Fayetteville, Ark.-based university and the Arkansas Bankers Association chair at the university's Sam M. Walton College of Business. "But despite these high expectations, gains from combining commercial banking and other financial services are small or had already been exploited."

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