Latest Tech Headlines

All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.

N.J. to Use Face-Recognition Technology, Scan License Photos for Fraud

Jan 24 2012 // New Jersey is preparing to use facial-recognition technology to scan 18 million photographs for signs of driver’s license fraud. Photos that are flagged as suspicious will be reviewed before that person can renew...

Xchanging Names Binns Executive Director – Technology Services Business

Jan 23 2012 // London-based Xchanging plc, a business process and technology services provider and integrator, has announced that Andrew Binns was appointed Executive Director of its Technology Services business, effective January 3,...

Western Insurance Agents Roundtable: In Uncertain Economy, Change Is Certain

Jan 23 2012 // The economy, the promised-land of a hard insurance market and the need to master technologies dominated discussion at the first annual Insurance Industry Roundtable in Irvine, Calif. The daylong event was attended by 23...

Beyond Golf: P-U-T-T-E-R’s the Name of the Game in E&S World

Jan 23 2012 // Golf could be called the go-to sport of the insurance industry, so it’s safe to assume that most insurance professionals know what a putter is – a tool for cursing and hurling to the ground after a missed shot,...

Agents Outline Real-Time Tech Priorities for Insurance Carriers

Jan 23 2012 // Insurance carriers’ use of real-time tools is becoming a differentiator when independent agents choose where to place business, according to a new survey. Independent agents and brokers place the highest priority on...

How Retail, Wholesale Distribution Chains Are Changing to Justify Value, Purpose

Jan 23 2012 // Retail and wholesale brokers face the challenge — and opportunity — of redefining their relationships and value proposition in today’s changing insurance distribution world, according to Glenn Hargrove,...

What Would Online Piracy Bills SOPA and PIPA Do?

Jan 19 2012 // The House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act have generated fierce opposition within the...

Google Captive in Hawaii on Track

Jan 18 2012 // Web search giant Google Inc. has been granted tentative approval from the Department of Labor to form a captive insurance company in Hawaii to cover employee benefits for thousands of the Mountain View, Calif.-based web...

Agents Outline Real-Time Technology Priorities for Carriers

Jan 12 2012 // Insurance carriers’ use of real-time tools is becoming a differentiator when independent agents choose where to place business, according to a new survey. Independent agents and brokers place the highest priority on...

Western Insurance Agents Roundtable Discussion Highlights

Jan 5 2012 // Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based WIAA Education & Research Foundation, a nonprofit corporation focused on advancing knowledge of insurance industry professionals, hosted a recent roundtable discussion on the industry and...

Western Insurance Agents Roundtable: In Uncertain Economy, Change Is Certain

Jan 5 2012 // The economy, the promised-land of a hard insurance market and the need to master technologies dominated discussion at the first annual Insurance Industry Roundtable in Irvine, Calif. The daylong event was attended by 23...

Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Harnesses New Technology to Reach Independent Agents

Jan 4 2012 // Walnut Creek, CA, 12/08/11 – The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) will make use of the new technologies available through the Virtual Insurance Marketplace to bring the organization’s...

Insurers May Open ‘Black Box’ Telematics to Escape Gender Ban

Dec 21 2011 // Motor [auto] insurers seeking to get around a European ban on charging male drivers more than women are turning to innovative black box technology that could trigger an upheaval in the way car insurance is...

Get Ready to ‘Face’ the Next Wave in Marketing: Mavatars

Dec 20 2011 // The motion picture “Minority Report” gave the audience a look into the future of retail marketing as retina scans were used to project customized digital advertisements for consumers in public spaces. An Iowa...

California AG Announces Creation of eCrime Unit

Dec 14 2011 // Attorney General Kamala D. Harris on Wednesday announced the creation of the eCrime Unit, staffed with Department of Justice attorneys and investigators, and charged with identifying and prosecuting identity theft crimes,...

Natural Disaster in China Would Severely Disrupt Global Supply Chains

Dec 7 2011 // A natural catastrophe in China on the scale of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami would have an even more severe impact on supply chains, given China’s critical role in global manufacturing. That is according to a...

People

Nov 21 2011 // Valencia, Calif.-based Petersen International Underwriters has named John J. Russo as legal director. Russo will assist in monitoring compliance and current legislation in various states, maintaining surplus lines...

Travelers Forms Clean Energy & Technology Practice

Nov 14 2011 // The Travelers Companies, Inc. have formed the Clean Energy & Technology Practice. This new practice offers clean energy and technology-focused insurance products, and risk and claim management resources. The practice...

Tech Chiefs Take on Standards, iPad, Light Bulb

Nov 7 2011 // Thomas Alva Edison would have been glowing had he been at the “Technology Issues in the U.S. & U.K.” panel discussion at the annual National Association of Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) conference in San...

Lockton Adds Technology Property Risk Control Consultant in San Jose

Nov 3 2011 // Duane Caldwell was added to Lockton’s technology-focused team in San Jose, Calif. as a property risk control consultant. Caldwell will take a lead in expanding Kansas City, Mo.based-Lockton’s presence in the...