Pat Speer

Farmers and other carriers are engaging and empowering their customers’ self-service lifestyle and thirst for real-time access to information.

In a business environment marked by increased customer demands, insurers have been forced to continuously monitor and revise their distribution strategies. One of those strategies is to provide excellent service to the producer as a way to retain and grow business. According to a new report issued this morning by Celent, from January 2010 to March 2012, more than 50 insurers across the life, annuities, health, or property/casualty industries licensed new systems that contained commission and producer management functionality.

A new research report from the Commonwealth Fund offers new insights into America’s uninsured.

Although the focus of discussion among health plan thought leaders who convened in Florida last month at The Managed Care Executive Group ran the gamut from care management to meaningful use, to medical informatics, payment reforms, HSAs and more, technology’s role in the industry’s success was evident.

Insurers wondering how to engage the Millennial Generation may have to fine-tune their marketing efforts or find more innovative products to pitch. According to market researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as a result of the Great Recession, a younger cohort of this group has emerged with very different values, desires and lifestyles.

Insurers relying on social media sites for customer intelligence may need to look elsewhere, according to new research. Yet, as social network site users become more savvy, it may also present challenges.

Although North American life, annuity and pension administration systems technology providers have seen a decline in deals since 2009, vendors with stand-alone systems have increased their deal volume.

Nine in 10 life insurers surveyed recently are meeting producer demands with mobile technology initiatives, according to a new report issued by LIMRA, a worldwide research, consulting and professional development organization.

Outsourcing is still very much alive as a tried-and-true strategy for insurers hoping to increase productivity without increasing overhead. Such is but one of the findings of a new report issued by New York-based research and consulting firm Novarica.

Policy Studies Inc. has a new business process outsourcing service to help address the requirements — and deadlines — for implementing health insurance exchanges and marketplaces, the company reports.

As the industry faces shrinking distribution, profitable growth is a top priority for life insurance executives in 2012. This is the essence of LOMA’s annual industry forecast, which includes the results of executive interviews conducted on topics such as sales, distribution, use of technology and social media, as well as the effects of regulation during the next 12 months.

The U.S. insurance industry saw a 3.3% increase over November’s jobs figures, adding 3,300 jobs in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One week after new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the number of children with insurance increased by 1.2 million since President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act in 2009, more than $296 million was awarded to states for ensuring more children have health coverage.

Professional insurance agents have what insurance customers are looking for, according to research results issued by the PIA Partnership. The PIA Partnership is a group of insurance companies that works collaboratively with PIA National to conduct research and develop tools and resources designed to benefit professional independent insurance agents. PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance.

Consumers, facing worries over being able to afford adequate health care, want their employers to do more to help them improve their health and get the most from their employer-provided health and wellness plans, according to a new survey.

Insurers have yet another cloud option available to them, as Informatica announced several new insurance clients using their services. Although not a new offering (the company launched cloud services in 2006), it's relatively new coming from an insurance industry known as technologically risk averse. According to a recent Gartner Group study, annual spending on cloud-related transactions may grow to almost $150 billion worldwide by 2014.

The term “social media” was recently added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, reflecting the reality of its presence and power in both business and social settings. But there is a consumer-driven evolution underway in social media that is portending the end of an era, according to Brian Solis, an expert in new media and principle at Altimiter Group, a research advisory firm.

When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced rules for the new state health insurance exchanges back in July, she did so with an air of caution, telling stakeholders to expect more modifications before they become final. That may prove to be an understatement.

Insurers have yet another cloud option available to them, as Informatica announced several new insurance clients using their services. Although not a new offering (the company launched cloud services in 2006), it’s relatively new coming from an insurance industry known as technologically risk averse. According to a recent Gartner Group study, annual spending on cloud-related transactions may grow to almost $150 billion worldwide by 2014.

A survey measuring use by various state’s departments of insurance of their websites to engage consumers rated California, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Utah as highest in giving consumers access to critical insurance information.