VIEWPOINTS

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  What's AI-Right and AI-Wrong?

  Marty Ellingsworth | June 01, 2021

  The use of AI raises a plethora of ethical questions. Can you pass the AI ethics quiz...

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  The Giant Hole in Actuarial Models

  Bob Frady | May 05, 2021

  Hint: garbage in, garbage out...

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  Purchasing and Innovation: Friends or Enemies?

  Bob Frady | April 21, 2021

  Insurers want to innovate, but something is holding them back: their own purchasing departments...

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  An AI Walks Into an Electronics Store...

  Marty Ellingsworth | March 17, 2021

  Everyone likes a helpful, empathetic, and friendly voice, but many find an avatar or smart-bot can be e-better...

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  COVID-19 One Year Later: The Digital Transformation of Insurance

  Samir Gulati | March 04, 2021

  COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption, especially in the areas of claims adjustment and fraud prevention...

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  An Entirely Preventable Disaster

  Bob Frady | February 25, 2021

  Even the best risk models can’t take into account major system failures...

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  Flipping the Fraud Triangle

  Jeffrey Cirino | February 23, 2021

  Identifying pressure and rationalization early on helps eliminate opportunity -- the key to committing fraud...

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  Sink or Swim: A Mid-Term View of Virus Impact

  Denise Garth | May 28, 2020

  COVID-19 has said to insurers, “It’s time to move...

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  The Insurance Data Journey Into the New Normal

  Ben Moreland | May 20, 2020

  Without a very strong focus on data as a strategic and vital corporate asset, insurers will struggle to keep up with the necessary changes in the “new...

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  Big Data and Insurtech: A Carrier Perspective

  James Merz | May 19, 2020

  Insurance has always relied on large volumes of data to gauge customer behavior and more. But as big data has gotten bigger, insurtech has empowered...

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  4 Ways AI is Empowering Insurers During COVID-19

  Sonny Patel | May 11, 2020

  The technological advances born from this moment will help empower insurers for what lies ahead...

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  Simplifying the Move to a Third-party Print Provider

  Ernie Crawford | December 09, 2019

  Case study of how a Fortune 500 employee benefits provider serving 35 million insureds throughout the U.S. and Europe transitioned from in-house...

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  Insurtech Landscape 2019: Top 5 Takeaways

  Philippe Lafreniere | October 11, 2019

  Philippe Lafreniere, Chief Growth Officer, Slice Labs, looks at five things that are holding insuresr back from fully embracing technology...

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  SageSure Insurance Managers Improved Competitiveness by Consolidating Payments to a Single Digital Platform

  Jennifer Overhulse | October 04, 2019

  SageSure Insurance Managers (SageSure), an independent residential property managing general underwriter (MGU), thrives on developing competitively...

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  The 22nd-Century Insurer: Taking a Cloud-First IT Approach

  Cara McFarlane | October 01, 2019

  Insurers feeling the strain of on-premises technology are on the verge of migrating to the cloud. Before they do, there are a couple of considerations...

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  The Hidden Costs of Custom Software Systems

  David Pittman | December 06, 2018

  Customization in the general sense has a very positive connotation. However, in the world of software systems, customization quite often falls short...

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  Consider Tackling Insurance Fraud Detection Before Claims Automation

  Arnaud Grapinet | January 30, 2018

  Fraud detection has always been and will continue to be a critical component of claims management. Learning the lessons from current claims Straight...

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  Distracted Living: What It Means for Insurance

  Mark Breading | January 30, 2018

  One important trend in society over the past decade is our increasing ability to create and consume a seemingly unlimited amount of digital content...

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  Do Insurance Bots Dream of Mitigating Risk?

  Kaushik Gohain & Prateek Vijayvergia | December 06, 2017

  Insurance Operations and Knowledge Workers in the Era of Intelligent Technology...

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  Another Cycle for Insurance and Technology

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 29, 2017

  Insurance has gone through several business and technology cycles in the last two decades and with the infusion of not just insurtech tools but with...

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  Connected Vehicles and Insurance: Geo-Spatial Analysis as a Critical Success Factor

  Mark Breading | August 14, 2017

  The whole transportation sector is in for massive transformation. The way people and goods will be moved from point A to point B in the future will be...

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  Insurtech Has Four Main Area of Focus for Insurers

  Rob McIsaac | August 07, 2017

  Insurtech activity certainly remains high and Novarica has been working with multiple insurance-focused accelerators in 2017 to keep abreast of...

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  Game Changing Technology-Driven Innovations in P&C Insurance

  Wayne Iluyomade | July 24, 2017

  The insurance industry is on the brink of major technology-driven change. IoT, mobile computing, big data, and blockchain ecosystems will bring even...

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  Hiring a CISO is the Next Step for Insurance Carriers

  Mitchell Wein | July 10, 2017

  Cybersecurity is top of mind for insurers following the implementation of New York State’s new cybersecurity regulations this spring...

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  In the Core Systems Hourglass, Sand is Falling Faster

  Karen Furtado | June 26, 2017

  The core systems replacement cycle is speeding up. Twenty years ago, even if you spent your entire career working at the same insurance company, you...

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  An Inside Look at Next Week’s IASA Conference

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 30, 2017

  As many insurance technology professionals prepare to travel to Orlando for next week’s IASA annual conference they will be happy to know the program...

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  Selecting a Future-Proof Technology Solution

  Cara McFarlane | May 30, 2017

  The insurance industry is experiencing one of the most profound transformations in centuries...

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  Targeted Ransomware Hits Insurance Data

  Bryant G. Tow | May 15, 2017

  Managed service providers are new targets and the cost of rescuing the data is exorbitant...

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  Fulfilling the Insurance Promise—and the ITA Promise as Well

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 27, 2017

  The insurance promise basically amounts to when a policyholder presents a legitimate claim to their insurer, the insurer pays the claimant...

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  Insurtech: Word of the Year

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 29, 2016

  This is the time of the year when we discuss an important topic, at least for people who write for a living, and that is the Word of the Year...

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  Digital Distribution Fuels Market Network for Insurers

  Kathleen Garlasco | November 15, 2016

  Today, a similar market network is revolutionizing Property & Casualty insurance as a new option for carriers to sell and market products and for...

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  Here Comes the Judge

  Frank Petersmark | November 14, 2016

  I recently had the opportunity to judge the ACORD Innovation Award finals as part of the recent ACORD2016 conference in Florida...

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  The Ultimate Disruption: Trump Wins

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 09, 2016

  It’s a new day, America. I just wish I knew what that meant...

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  Insurtech and MatureTech: Blending the New with the Old

  Mark Breading | October 19, 2016

  The insurtech phenomenon reached new heights at the InsureTech Connect 2016 event in Las Vegas earlier this month...

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  Sometimes, All that Glitters Is Gold

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 11, 2016

  Here are six words you rarely hear when an insurance carrier CIO sits down with his boss, the CEO, and discusses the proposed budget for next year: “...

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  Building Bridges: The Future of Insurance

  Staff Writer | August 30, 2016

  Strategy Meets Action will hold its annual Summit in Boston on Sept. 19. The focus of the event is on becoming a Next-Gen Insurer—bridging from today...

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  Nothing Will Ever Be the Same in Insurance

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 22, 2016

  Doing things new and striving to be different are staples of American business. No one ever proclaims their new company will offer some of the “same...

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  A Tale of Autonomous Vehicles and a Deer

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 19, 2016

  Autonomous vehicles had a temporary setback when a Tesla Model S crashed and killed the lone passenger in the car...

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  Beyond Transformation: The Convergence of Finance, Risk, and Actuarial Functions

  Doug French, Steven Abel and Carol-Ann Back | June 28, 2016

  C-suite executives and senior leaders in finance, risk, and actuarial are under intense pressure to navigate a wide range of megatrends and market...

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  San Antonio the Place to be for IASA

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 07, 2016

  The place to be, beginning Sunday, will be San Antonio, Texas where, for four days, the insurance world will congregate to educate, be educated, and...

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  Customer Service Needs to Go Above and Beyond

  Kimberly Harris-Ferrante | May 24, 2016

  To improve customer service, insurers need to look for alternative value to provide above and beyond the insurance transaction, match customer service...

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  ITA LIVE Will Be Illuminating for CIOs

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 19, 2016

  Pardon me for bragging a bit, but this is one of the most important weeks of the year for the Insurance Technology Association...

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  Get Your Feet Back on the Ground

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 29, 2016

  While I remain curious about the effectiveness of package delivery via drones, there is no argument about how valuable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV...

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  Will Google Compare Be Viewed as a Successful Failure?

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 24, 2016

  Failure is not always a bad thing. There are many reasons why projects and initiatives don’t succeed and they can’t always be blamed on a lousy...

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  New Players Find Insurance Isn’t for Them

  Karen Furtado | February 16, 2016

  Cargill, Monsanto, Wells Fargo, and John Deere are officially out of the crop insurance business, according to a recent article from Bloomberg...

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  ITA Bridge Award Deadline Nears

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 09, 2016

  There are a number of continuing themes discussed in the pages of ITA Pro magazine and on our website, but none reaches the level of importance as the...

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  Intelligent Capture Helps Insurers Retain Policyholders

  Ian Llado | January 28, 2016

  Who among us wouldn’t jump at the chance to improve policyholder retention? The fact is that policyholders respond to your ability to decrease cycle...

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  Technology and Your Grandfather’s Insurance Company

  Robert Regis Hyle | January 12, 2016

  Everybody has a wish list and it seems that atop the lists for insurance carriers still operating with legacy systems is the desire to do away with...

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  Looking Back on a Pivotal Year for Insurance

  Deb Smallwood | January 04, 2016

  What we have all experienced the last 12 months in terms of decisions, investments, and developments are vastly different than we have ever seen...

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  Why Not? Is the New Motto for Insurance Distribution

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 24, 2015

  New technology has yet to cause complete disruption in the insurance industry, but there certainly has been more than a minor disturbance in the way...

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  Cybersecurity: Balancing Risk and Cost

  Chuck McGann | October 27, 2015

  There are ways to secure your data that don’t cost more than what you are trying to protect...

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  The Federal Government and Security Standards Meet at a Dangerous Time

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 12, 2015

  Like a ticking clock—channel the old Jack Bauer thriller 24—our enemies, some known the majority unknown, are looking at ways to attack us...

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  Insurance Innovation with a Realistic Eye

  Deb Smallwood | September 28, 2015

  The 2015 SMA Summit: Next-Gen Insurer focused on insurance innovation and transformation with a realistic eye. It was an action-packed day...

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  Will Emerging Technologies, Innovation Transform the Insurance Customer Experience?

  Mark Breading | September 08, 2015

  The world is abuzz with the potential of a new wave of emerging technologies aimed at transforming business, society, and our daily lives...

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  Machine Learning and Insurance: Don’t Run and Hide

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 11, 2015

  Celent’s latest report on (pick your favorite term) artificial intelligence, machine learning, or cognitive computing, is a reminder that fantasy-land...

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  Drone Technology Soaring in Interest for Insurers

  Karen Furtado | July 20, 2015

  In early 2014 the first commercially available drone debuted in the consumer market. From the beginning, demand was phenomenal as both professionals...

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  Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: Insurance IT in 2020

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 14, 2015

  There is always time to look back and re-examine the failures (and the occasional success stories) that have taken place, but looking forward and...

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  Connectivity Drives New Business in Evolving Benefits Market

  Anthony Grosso | July 06, 2015

  In spite of all the arm-flapping and hand-waving stirred by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the way health insurance is purchased, and employee...

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  Yet Another Reminder that Security Begins with You

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 23, 2015

  Baseball has a long history of chicanery, but nothing like the news from last week that the FBI is investigating the breach of the database of the...

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  The Drumbeat for Insurance IT Reaches a Crescendo at IASA

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 16, 2015

  A complaint heard too often is technology has dehumanized us. People stare at their phones or tablets and put aside any personal communication...

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  Single View and the Customer Experience in Insurance

  Mark Breading | June 16, 2015

  Now that the customer experience is front and center in insurers’ strategies, it’s time to revisit the single view, a/k/a the 360 degree view of the...

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  Data Leads to Safer Driving, Not Just Lower Premiums

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 05, 2015

  The value of all the data collected today by insurers is not limited to what carriers can learn about their customers; it also will enable insurers to...

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  Execution Wins in Core Systems Implementations

  George Grieve | June 01, 2015

  The best software package in the world is useless if it cannot be implemented correctly...

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  The Promise of Insurance Fulfilled 25 Years Ago

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 26, 2015

  For me, the promise of insurance was fulfilled 25 years ago. On June 2, 1990 a violent storm ripped through southeast Indiana and destroyed my two-...

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  Duck Soup: The Recipe to Being a Successful CIO

  Frank Petersmark | May 18, 2015

  It’s hard to argue with Groucho Marx’s view on club membership, especially if that club is for CIOs. Why would anybody in their right mind want to...

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  Risk Management Focus Has Flipped Since Bubble Burst

  Nicholas Michellod | May 12, 2015

  The insurance industry has faced difficult times following the collapse of the subprime bubble back in 2008...

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  The Smart Play When Implementing Software Platforms

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 05, 2015

  The fear of failure is often greater than the excitement of success. Insurance IT leaders focus so much on the negatives that they forget the positive...

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  Turn to Government for Claims Innovation—Seriously

  Karen Furtado | May 04, 2015

  The federal government is likely not the first place you would look for innovative inspiration...

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  The Right Insurance Technology Solution Includes the Right Systems Integrator

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 28, 2015

  It is exciting to talk about the possibilities the future has in store for us with the many advancements in technology we’ve seen in the last few...

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  Managing Risk Continues to Evolve for Insurance Carriers

  Mitchell Wein | April 27, 2015

  Insurers have been in the business of managing risk exposure and pricing to cover risk since insurance evolved as an industry over 500 years ago...

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  You’ve Been Hacked: Few Surprises in Cybersecurity Study

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 21, 2015

  When Janeen Blanton asked the audience at a session of ITA LIVE last week to guess the number of insurance carriers where Salient Commercial Solutions...

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  Preparing for War with Technology Companies

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 14, 2015

  “Technology is at war with the insurance industry, but insurance doesn’t know it yet...

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  Insurers Embrace Changing Relationship between Business and IT

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 07, 2015

  A couple of months ago, when the ITA launched its first Bridge Award, I was curious about the response we’d get...

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  Predictive Models: Right Place + Right Time = Better Decisions

  JJ Jagannathan | April 06, 2015

  Predictive modeling is a powerful tool that can help make better business decisions in every segment of the P&C insurance value chain...

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  Targeting the Mobile Customer in Insurance

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 31, 2015

  The fact that more people use mobile devices to connect to the Internet shouldn’t surprise anyone, but if you sit back for a minute and contemplate...

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  Agile Development Creates Collaborative Culture

  Janeen Blanton and Sujey Edward | March 31, 2015

  Bringing agile development across the enterprise requires a new roadmap...

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  Call It What You Want, Just Be Sure Governance Is in Place

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 24, 2015

  Data governance is as important and complicated a process for insurance carriers as anything they deal with...

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  ITA Unveils New, Improved Online Buyers’ Guide

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 17, 2015

  From the beginning, the relationship between insurance carriers and software solution providers has been a focus of attention for the Insurance...

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  Data is the Currency for Insurance Carriers

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 10, 2015

  Companies are generally valued by the amount of sales they make, or in the case of insurance carriers, the amount of premium dollars generated...

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  Cyber Security Gains More Regulatory Attention

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 02, 2015

  There are two words that throw the fear of god into the face of any insurance carrier: regulatory compliance...

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  It’s Time to Bury the Phrase ‘Close Followers’

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 17, 2015

  What’s new? We all ask that question, probably several times a day, unless you’re totally self-absorbed with a complete lack of interest in what is...

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  Insurers that Embrace Change are Positioned for Success

  Martina Conlon | February 16, 2015

  An organization’s attitude towards change had a huge impact on the business and technology decisions they make...

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  Common Lessons for Insurers in Modernizing Policy Systems

  Karen Furtado | February 10, 2015

  Modern core systems are essential to an insurer’s ability to compete effectively in today’s increasingly complex and dynamic market...

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  Has Your Company Bridged the Gap?

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 09, 2015

  I’d like to ask you to put your hands—and your minds—together and show some love for the IT leaders you work with and their business side counterparts...

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  The Insurance Customer of 2020

  Tim Attia | February 09, 2015

  There has been a good deal of buzz in the industry about customer centricity, the ideal customer experience, the role of Big Data and analytics, the...

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  How Far Away Are We from Autonomous Cars?

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 03, 2015

  The insurance industry is justifiably excited and nervous about Google dipping its toe into the cool water of the insurance industry...

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  For the Insurance CIO, the Future is Now

  George Grieve | February 03, 2015

  The CIO’s job is to stay in control of the complexity, maximize the benefits that it brings, and minimize its risks...

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  Looking for a Good Night’s Rest

  Robert Regis Hyle | January 26, 2015

  A favorite question of journalists—and I admit to using it myself at times—is what keeps people up at night. In our case, the question is normally...

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  Consumer Electronics Show Highlights Business Needs

  Denise Garth | January 26, 2015

  The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been the preeminent show for seeing, hearing, and feeling what is emerging and hot in consumer electronics at...

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  Where Are the Insurance Innovators?

  Denise Garth | January 20, 2015

  Many insurance carriers are taking advantage of the innovations developed by those from outside the industry, but carriers are conspicuously absent...

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  Earning the Respect of the CEO

  Robert Regis Hyle | January 19, 2015

  When ITA LIVE takes place in April, what promises to be one of the more interesting sessions will focus on the relationship between CIOs and their...

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  A Day of Reckoning Approaches for Insurers

  Robert Regis Hyle | January 13, 2015

  The day many insurers were looking to with trepidation while consumers were waiting for with some measure of glee appears to be drawing nigh...

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  The ITA in 2015: Bigger and Busier

  Robert Regis Hyle | January 05, 2015

  The first week of every New Year is a time for hope. Plans have been put in place and unless there were some extremely challenging deadlines attached...

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  Competition Level to Step Up in 2015

  Robert Regis Hyle | December 16, 2014

  The folks at Majesco have been busy lately. There’s been a bevy of announcements coming from the technology solution provider since early fall when...

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  The Future is Now for Group Insurance Carriers

  Rob McIsaac | December 12, 2014

  As economists see it, the Great Recession has been over for more than five years. That said, the journey back from the high unemployment and negative...

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  Next Gen Insurance IT Workers

  Robert Regis Hyle | December 05, 2014

  There are dozens of issues that keep insurers tossing and turning all night. We’ve learned over the years that no two insurance carriers are alike, so...

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  The Difficult Task of Achieving IT Innovation

  George Grieve | December 05, 2014

  There can be no true innovation in insurance technology until carriers solve the basic problem of core system replacement...

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  Some Insurers Need an Extreme Makeover

  Robert Regis Hyle | December 02, 2014

  Now that we’ve all been thankful for what we have, it’s time to focus on what we don’t have and for many insurance carriers that is modern core...

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  Giving Thanks for Insurance Technology

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 25, 2014

  This traditionally is a week of reflection amidst the hustle and bustle of getting home for the holidays or preparing a feast for a bunch of relatives...

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  Feeding the Beast: Three Data Value Considerations

  David Lukens | November 24, 2014

  Insurance carriers have traditionally used predictive models for pricing, using credit-based insurance scores, and general linear model or GLM-based...

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  Modern Anti-fraud Technology Remains Lower Priority

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 18, 2014

  In case you didn’t realize it, this is International Fraud Awareness Week, so it seems like a good time to point out that estimates of fraud are no...

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  Financial Crisis Still Takes a Toll on Insurers

  Jamie Macgregor | November 11, 2014

  In a post-global financial crisis world, continued low interest rates and lackluster investment performance continue to take their toll on the...

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  Cyber Attacks Coming to a Business Near You

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 11, 2014

  As the holiday season closes in on us, it’s the time of the year when we break out our credit cards and say a little prayer that the websites we shop...

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  When Developing Technology, Failure’s Not an Awful Result

  Robert Regis Hyle | November 04, 2014

  Those attending Guidewire Connections were once again reminded—if they could stop laughing for a few seconds—that mistakes are never something we...

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  Do You Know Where Your Insurance Documents Are?

  Scott Bannor | October 31, 2014

  Among the challenges the insurance industry is currently facing perhaps the least talked about, yet one of the most critical is the increasing...

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  Right Before Our Eyes, Technology Vendors Are All Grown Up

  George Grieve | October 28, 2014

  When it comes to the insurance IT vendor market the closer you look the more differentiated and specialized the vendors become. Some vendors are...

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  Once Upon a Time, Implementation Stories Were Truly Spooky

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 28, 2014

  Halloween is a night for scaring people, too. There will be plenty of zombies and vampires walking through the neighborhoods this week, but there...

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  Looking Beyond the Insurance Horizon

  Denise Garth | October 21, 2014

  Amazing. Extraordinary. Powerful. Disruptive. Transformative. Destructive. Constructive. Innovative. These are the words that describe what I heard...

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  A 180-degree View of the Customer

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 20, 2014

  I believe in the agency system because I still like to talk with people who give me their full name and reside in the community where I live...

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  Identify Managers Before You Begin Any Project

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 14, 2014

  It took a while for companies to figure out that just because technology was involved in improving the way they do business, new software or upgrades...

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  Insurers Reminded to Look to Their Own Future

  Robert Regis Hyle | October 07, 2014

  At the MajescoMastek customer conference in Chicago last week, an insurance CIO made an interesting point that all of us should consider as we compete...

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  Inspiration Comes from Many Windows

  Robert Regis Hyle | September 29, 2014

  Last weekend I had the opportunity to view a masterpiece up close, Grant Wood’s American Gothic, possibly the most well-known American piece of art...

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  Insurers Demand Analytics on the Go

  Cynthia Walker | September 29, 2014

  Secure, mobile insurance industry data offers high value insights on any device, anytime, anywhere...

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  Solution Providers Abandoned the IKEA Approach

  Robert Regis Hyle | September 23, 2014

  Have you shopped much at IKEA? The prices are great and the furniture looks good in a practical sort of way. The bigger challenge, at least for guys...

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  Innovation is More than a Catchy Topic

  Robert Regis Hyle | September 16, 2014

  Innovation should be on the minds of nearly everyone these days. It certainly was on the minds of the 100 or so who took part in the SMA Summit on...

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  Just When You Thought it Was Safe . . .

  Robert Regis Hyle | September 08, 2014

  When my mother died, my siblings assigned me the task of sorting through thousands of old photographs and distributing anything of real sentimental...

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  Insurers Can’t Afford to Try, Try Again

  Robert Regis Hyle | September 02, 2014

  IT seems to be growing, according to Grieve, yet many of the traditional tasks performed internally are now being shipped out to others—including...

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  Legacy or Epitaph? Insurers Face Challenges With Their Systems

  Craig Robinson | August 29, 2014

  Information technology changes at warp speed these days, causing ripple changes throughout the commercial world...

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  Insurers Can Define Their Future Through Technology

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 26, 2014

  As research and consulting firm Strategy Meets Action prepares for its annual SMA Summit on Sept. 15 in Boston, SMA founder Deb Smallwood fielded...

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  Go Digital (as Long as the Fries are Hot)

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 26, 2014

  Are you still wondering if digital capabilities are worth the effort for your company? If so, consider that fast-food chain McDonald’s recently...

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  Means, Motivation and Money Will Keep Carriers Ahead of the Pack

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 19, 2014

  One of the things I looked forward to when we began the ITA Pro magazine and website was to keep asking one simple question: What is going to be...

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  Platform for Success: How to Maximize Legal Technology Solutions

  Chris Fields | August 19, 2014

  Property and casualty insurers have a multiplicity of concerns that require the attention of legal staff and services...

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  Standards Turn Foes into Friends

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 12, 2014

  It’s always enlightening to speak with independent insurance agents—and even carriers—about the issues that matter the most to them in their...

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  Smaller Insurers Often Threatened by Technology Changes

  Robert Regis Hyle | August 04, 2014

  Carriers wisely worry about process management, but not nearly enough attention is paid to the fundamental changes in culture that come with true...

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  The Disruptors Among Us: Start with Mobility

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 28, 2014

  If you’re a member of the ITA’s LinkedIn Group, you may have noticed a post that asks for opinions on what will be the greatest disruptor in the...

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  Where There’s Smoke, There’s Venture Capital

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 21, 2014

  If we needed any more reason to believe cybersecurity is top of mind for American insurance carriers, we have this: According to CNN: Venture capital...

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  The Real Problem With Data Governance

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 14, 2014

  I believe the problem insurance carriers have with data governance is simple: It’s the title. Governance brings with it a set of baggage that scares...

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  What’s on Your List?

  Robert Regis Hyle | July 07, 2014

  Now that we’ve reached the second half of 2014, it’s time to begin thinking about 2015. The budget season is still a few months out, but it’s...

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  Filling the Gaps Between Dreams and Reality

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 30, 2014

  I guess the biggest difference in who I am as a journalist and what I cover as a journalist is the skepticism that some of the things I hear—or even...

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  Don’t Look Now, but Process Changes are Coming

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 23, 2014

  Is there anything that draws leery looks from the staff than the announcement that the company is going to re-examine the processes being used to...

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  The Responsibility to Fail

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 12, 2014

  How often in life have you asked yourself, “Where did I go wrong?” It’s an important question for those who like to get things right, but none of us...

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  The Right Way of Dealing with Customers

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 09, 2014

  The customer is always right. Except, of course, when they’re not and then we have all sorts of issues. Back in a previous lifetime, I was editor/...

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  Ditch the Onboard Device, But Not the UBI Model

  Jake Diner | June 06, 2014

  Here is a typical onboard diagnostic device UBI business model...

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  Data Is Never Beyond Reproach

  Robert Regis Hyle | June 03, 2014

  One impulse with technology is to assume it somehow makes everything we do work better, but as you can see with Bryant Tow’s blog published this week...

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  Reflections of a Retired Insurance CIO

  Wayne Umland | May 20, 2014

  Glatfelter Insurance Group is one of the top 20 privately held brokerages in the country. I had the pleasure of serving as the company’s first Chief...

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  Better Driving Habits at the Core of UBI

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 19, 2014

  There’s a great deal to be excited about in the insurance industry thanks to the advances technology has provided. Insurers are finally able to dig...

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  Reverse the Perspective and Become Demand-Led

  Matt Josefowicz | May 13, 2014

  The insurance industry has a tendency to view the world from the inside out, but the industry needs to reverse that perspective and look at itself...

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  Change is Good: Overcoming Resistance to IT Adjustments

  Craig Robinson | May 12, 2014

  Industries like retail and banking have been leveraging “disruptive” technologies for many years to make customers happier, operations more efficient...

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  Bringing Science to Data and Analytics

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 12, 2014

  There seems little doubt that Murli Buluswar has the most interesting title in the insurance field today. The Chief Science Officer for AIG spoke at...

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  Handshakes and Business Cards: It’s Time for Conference Season

  Robert Regis Hyle | May 02, 2014

  We’re off to Orlando once again for the 11th annual ACORD LOMA Forum and, as usual, expectations are high as the insurance technology field enters a...

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  Five Tablet Considerations for Insurance Field Agents

  Mike McMahon | May 05, 2014

  For insurers, mobile technology is becoming a business-critical tool, as it allows insurance workers the advantage of bringing all of their files and...

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  Which Way Do You Lean on AXA/Facebook Deal?

  Denise Garth | May 02, 2014

  The reactions and responses to the SMA blog The Shot Heard Around the Industry: AXA and Facebook have been very interesting and enlightening. It has...

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  Centralize Data to Accelerate Core System Replacement

  Jack Plunkett | April 28, 2014

  So, you've invested in a modern core system. Congratulations. As you are no doubt aware, this is the critical first step in your business...

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  ‘Any’ is the Key Word in Mobile Technology

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 28, 2014

  The three “any’s” are ruling the mobile world these days: any time, any place, and any way you want to communicate or do business. These three aspects...

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  Data Catching Up With Core Systems Conversation

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 21, 2014

  For years, the main discussion point surrounding insurance technology involved core systems. It still remains at the top of the list, but inching its...

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  Removing the Guesswork for Improved Premium Rating

  Stuart Rose | April 21, 2014

  The business of insurance consists of evaluating and pricing risks, resulting in a business model that is unlike any other industry. Insurance is the...

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  Telematics and the Remote Worker

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 14, 2014

  Until last September, I spent 15 years driving approximately 25 miles to work in the morning and another 25 home each night. There are plenty of...

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  How Wearable Technology Can Impact Insurance

  Tom Benton | April 14, 2014

  As long as I can remember, I’ve been a gadget guy. Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s were among the first generation to have a television in...

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  Start the Revolution: Prototyping Helps Developers Get it Right

  Michael Overend | April 11, 2014

  Prototyping, the iterative modeling of a system, enables users to be actively involved in the development process...

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  Contrasting Views on Culture vs. Strategy Debate

  Robert Regis Hyle | April 08, 2014

  So how important is the culture surrounding a company, particularly one that is on the wrong end of the mergers and acquisitions chain? I recently...

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  Lessons from GEICO and Progressive on Winning the Critical Buying Stage

  Tim Attia | April 03, 2014

  Both Progressive and GEICO have mastered the skill of understanding the consumer thought process and their insurance buying behavior...

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  Four Ways to Modernize Core Legacy Systems

  Donald Light | April 02, 2014

  The benefits of modernizing core legacy systems are clear and compelling...

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  The Right Concoction of Science and Data

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 31, 2014

  It hasn’t been too long ago that a number of people were discussing the issue of CIOs having a seat at the table. With the size of today’s IT staffs...

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  What You Don't Do Can Hurt You

  Michael Sauber | March 25, 2014

  In 2013, technology initiatives designed to phase out or modernize legacy core administration systems finally moved from “potential” to “reality” for...

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  Outsiders Provide Next Challenge for Insurers

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 24, 2014

  One of our goals when we launched the ITA Pro magazine and website was to look beyond what was happening today and spend some time examining the goals...

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  You Are a Target for a Cyber Attack

  Bryant G. Tow | March 19, 2014

  In the insurance space, I hear a few common statements about cyber security: “I am just an independent agent” or “We are only a small regional company...

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  Analytics, Basketball, and the Perfect NCAA Bracket

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 17, 2014

  Analytics assists people on a daily basis to learn more about their business, customers, and pretty much anything that is going on in the world...

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  Life Insurance Claims Benefit from Process Optimization

  Erik Stockwell | March 13, 2014

  The main reason life insurance exists and its true mission is to provide financial stability to families at the time they need it the most—the death...

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  Three Dots for Insurers to Connect

  Robert Regis Hyle | March 10, 2014

  There’s no doubt insurance is unlike any other business that operates in our universe, but as we’ve learned, that doesn’t mean there aren’t certain...

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  Gaining a “Wow” Experience from Web Users

  Wendy Aarons-Corman | March 07, 2014

  For years the insurance industry has focused on providing Internet access to products and information to their agents. Insurers have responded to a...

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  Time to Shift from Business/IT Alignment to Business/IT Alliance

  Deb Smallwood | March 06, 2014

  There is no question that alignment between the views and actions of business and IT professionals is critical for synchronizing strategies...

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  Healthcare Insurers Changing to Consumer Model

  Lori Gelter | February 24, 2014

  Healthcare payers are dealing with a lot in the volatile market with expanding regulations. They are seeing inevitable changes in their business...

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  Organization is the Key for Selecting Software Vendors

  Larry Fortin | February 12, 2014

  An inside look at how one insurance IT manager goes about the difficult task of keeping existing systems humming while searching for new software...

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  Analysts Expound on the Needs of the Mid-tier Insurance Market

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 12, 2014

  In each issue of ITA Pro, we will be asking a group of insurance technology analysts their view on important industry issues. This month, we have four...

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  Finding the Cure for Obamacare’s Website

  George Grieve | February 12, 2014

  The rush to implement the national healthcare website proved once again the danger of rushing a project before it has been tested thoroughly...

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  Products, Market Impede Investment in Systems for Life Insurers

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 12, 2014

  Carriers are not as quick on the draw when it comes to investing in new policy administration systems...

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  Combatting Cyber Threats: Predict, Prevent, Persist

  Carlos Fernandes | February 12, 2014

  U.S. companies have become a target for hackers across the world...

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  The Future of Telematics Heads Beyond Insurance

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 12, 2014

  Data collected from automobiles can tell as much about the drivers as it does on how fast they corner turns...

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  It’s a New Dawn for the ITA

  Robert Regis Hyle | February 10, 2014

  I’ve been fortunate in my career to be involved with two start-up magazines. It’s been nearly 15 years since I had the first opportunity and all I can...

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  Life Insurers Fail to Follow Through on Customer Service

  Rob McIsaac | February 10, 2014

  We live in a time of remarkable convenience and incredible advances in the technologies which permeate our daily lives. The once unimaginable stuff of...

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