Chris McMahon

Professional services company Towers Watson has agreed to acquire Brovada, a Canadian insurance technology business best known for the BrovadaOne platform, an application for integrating and automating interactions between insurers, and their agents and brokers.

Commentary: The FBI is still investigating the potential causes of the data breach at Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer. There is still no clear indication who perpetrated the attack, reported Feb. 5, how they did so, or what could’ve been done to stop it, but informed sources point to a number of strong possibilities on all counts.

Survey finds that across all lines of insurance, 18 to 29 year olds are less likely to own coverage than other age groups.

The Bright Choices Exchange is designed to offer ancillary benefits and access to mid-sized and large employers nationwide.

New business unit consolidates recently acquired Extend Health, Liazon and others to help employers deliver health benefits to employees, company says.

This formerly discounted, underinsured and underpenetrated generation now presents a larger sales opportunity than boomers.

Fewer than half of Generation X and Generation Y investors have made saving for retirement their top priority and a majority have little understanding of financial products and services, according to LIMRA research.

Growth strategies aimed at baby boomers may be losing their effectiveness among younger consumers, as the population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, according to “Life-Annuity Consumer Markets Annual,” from Conning and Company, an insurance asset management group.

The insurance industry is not very prepared for climate change, according to “Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey: 2012 Findings & recommendations,” from the Ceres Coalition.

Metlife, Allstate and GEICO received the best scores for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, respectively.

Based on a review of 35 major health plan websites, most issuers are still struggling to provide the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, even while the SBC provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect last week, according to Tyrula LLC.

To more effectively communicate with the various age groups they serve, health insurance providers need to reexamine their approaches to billing and claim information, according to research from Pitney Bowes Inc.

Two new studies amplify the benefits—especially for women—of working with financial advisers, and provide insight into a changing demographic for life insurers.

One-third of “transition boomers,” those aged 55 to 65 and who are 10 years or fewer away from retirement, are unsure how much money they will need to cover basic living expenses in retirement, according to The Transition Boomers and Retirement Income Survey, from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Prudential Group will discontinue sales of new group long-term care insurance policies effective Aug. 1, 2012, except in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and South Dakota, where it will continue for a period as required by state law. In March, the carrier announced that it would discontinue the sale of individual LTC products to focus solely on its group line.

Long-term care liability loss rates and claim severity are now at an eight-year high and could grow steadily into next year, according to Aon Global Risk Consulting’s “2012 Long-term care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis,” which was created in partnership with the American Health Care Association.

Protracted slow growth in the insurance industry is causing executives to concentrate on improving their organization's operational processes, prepare for regulatory changes and enhance their technological capabilities, according to the “2012 KPMG Insurance Industry Outlook.”

Life combination products grew 56% in 2011, according to LIMRA's "2011 Individual Life Combination Products Annual Review." This was the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.

A technological revolution is transforming the financial services industry by empowering consumers to connect with each other and institutions, which is creating new opportunities for lower income consumers, asserts a report from The CSC Leading Edge Forum.

Several insurers were recognized with awards for their use of 'plain language’ by the Center for Plain Language, a nonprofit organization that wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable.