Study reveals top IT intentions for insurers
Increased adoption of big data and analytics remains the top priority for IT spending by insurance companies. A study from technology advisory firm Technavio shows that intensification of cloud computing, prevalence of mobile solutions and the emergence of insurance tech start-ups are the other major trends for US insurers.
“The insurance IT market in the US is expected to grow at a significant rate with increased shipment of smartphones, connected devices, and networking equipment,” said lead analyst Amit Sharma.
Among the main uses for the roll-out of better mobile solutions is the ability for real-time chat between policyholders and insurers to resolve customer grievances quickly.
Economical Insurance to acquire Western Financial, Petsecure
Ontario-based Economical Insurance is to acquire the pet insurance business of
Desjardins Group. The Ontario-based insurer has announced its intention to buy Western Financial Insurance Company and its flagship Petsecure brand.
"For Desjardins, this is the result of an ongoing strategic review of our activities and, as part of this decision, it was important to identify a prospective acquirer that would be in a position to continue growing the business," said Sylvie Paquette, Desjardins' Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of P&C Insurance. "We believe WFIC and its employees will have a promising future under new ownership that will further develop the full potential of the business."
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016 and it is expected that WFIC will remain headquartered in Winnipeg and that Desjardins will continue to distribute WFIC's pet insurance product through its Desjardins Insurance and The Personal Insurance brands.
77 per cent of firms unprepared for cyber attack
Most organizations are unprepared to cope with a cyber attack despite rising risk. The Global Threat Intelligence Report from NTT Com Security shows that just 23 per cent of respondents have the capability to respond effectively to critical security incidents.
“Prevention and planning for cyber security incidents seems to be stagnating,” says Garry Sidaway, VP Security Strategy & Alliances, NTT Com Security. “This is a real concern and could be down to a number of reasons, not least the possibility of security fatigue – too many high profile security breaches, information overload and conflicting advice – combined with the sheer pace of technology change, lack of investment and increased regulation.”
The NTT research analyzed 6.5 billion attacks in 2015 from 24 security operation centers. It found that the retail sector has increased its readiness to deal with attacks replacing financial services as the most prepared.
While cyber insurance is one part of the picture, the report shows that being able to respond swiftly is key to mitigating the impact on the business.
