In This Issue:

Forecast for 2013

New research briefs

Education and Training

Events

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Featured in this month's Resource magazine:

Forecast for 2013

Sales may rise 3 percent.

Life insurance executives surveyed by LOMA's Resource magazine for its 2013 Forecast are cautiously optimistic about sales this year, with several expecting a modest growth of around 3 percent. However, the executives say the low interest rate environment is a concern.

The executives gave their views on other issues, such as technology, customer service and structural change. They said new technologies such as social media are changing consumer interactions and are here to stay. Mobile technology creates improved customer connections and will play an important role in the industry. And data analytics is beginning to be seen as having potential for life insurers.

Read full article | Members: download the January issue

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Research Briefs

Member login is required to download briefs, which are available in the Research and Knowledge Database on LOMA's Web Site. To see all available briefs, visit the Information Center and log in.

New research briefs
from LOMA's Information Center:

IT Gets Personal

IT populism. Technology consumerization. The democratization of IT. Whatever tech watchers choose to call it, the blurring of the lines that separate business IT from personal IT (especially among young, tech-savvy Gen Y users) is impacting the traditional relationship between corporate technology departments and end users. As consumer devices – tablets, smartphones, laptops, netbooks – continue to advance and proliferate at an alarming pace, IT shops are facing a "let-me-use-my-own-iPad" assault that many technologists see as futile to resist. Some of LOMA's member companies have recently commented on their policy toward bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs. Learn more about their positions in "Bring Your Own Device: IT Consumerization at Life Insurers."

Members: Download "Bring Your Own Device: IT Consumerization at Life Insurers"

Paying with Plastic

Consumers can use credit and debit cards to pay for almost everything – but what about products offered by life insurers? According to informal polls conducted among LOMA's member companies, many survey participants do not offer this option as a standard payment method. (There are several that allow credit or debit payments in narrow circumstances – for example, within specific products lines, for initial premiums, for one-time payments to prevent policy lapse, or online only.) Review these survey results in "Credit or Debit? Using Cards for Insurance Premium Payments."

Members: Download "Credit or Debit? Using Cards for Insurance Premium Payments"

What Commute?

Home-based workers may be out of sight, but they're still on the minds of employers looking to generate cost savings and provide the kind of flexibility that talented workers desire. The proliferation of high-speed Internet connections, wireless local area networks, mobile devices, and cheap, direct-to-consumer conferencing technology has expanded the possibilities of these remote-work arrangements. In the insurance industry, telework initiatives span the entire spectrum – some companies have not yet moved beyond small pilot programs, while others have embraced an almost completely virtual existence. Explore the industry's remote-work practices in "Insurers' Telework Arrangements."

Members: Download "Insurers' Telework Arrangements"

More Than an Image

Life insurers – always seeking ways to stem the tide of paper that threatens to drown them – have a long history with imaging and workflow systems. These solutions were first adopted simply to reduce manual paper handling and to streamline work handoffs and distribution. However, as the systems have become more robust and insurers' desire to maximize their functionality has grown, imaging and workflow tools have taken on a more sophisticated role at some companies. These organizations view imaging and workflow as part of their broader enterprise content management (ECM) strategies and seek to use these platforms for more advanced business process management (BPM) and reporting. Explore these implementations in "Imaging and Workflow Maturity at Life Insurance Companies."

Members: Download "Imaging and Workflow Maturity at Life Insurance Companies"

Are Insurance IT Shops Getting Lean?

Can Lean management, a concept that originated in the manufacturing industry, help information technology (IT) shops improve their processes? Service-based industries began asking this same question several years ago, and though the adaptations to non-manufacturing environments haven't always been smooth, service companies have experienced Lean-based successes and improvements. In the resource-strained IT department, which tends to align itself more closely with a service-delivery model than a widget-making environment, these successes haven't gone unnoticed. Learn more in "Lean IT at Insurance Companies."

Members: Download "Lean IT at Insurance Companies"

More...

For research requests on these and other industry topics, contact LOMA's Information Center at infoctr@loma.org.

Quick Queries

LOMA's 50 committees often conduct informal surveys to obtain insight on various industry practices and procedures. LOMA members can access these surveys on LOMA's website, in the Research and Knowledgebase section, at Quick Queries.

Recent Surveys:

E-Presentment of Producer Document Copies

Web Site Usage and Call Center Utilization

Gathering Sales Force Feedback

IVR Systems Support

BYOD Policies

You may be closer to a designation than you think!
Check your student record — log in to LOMANET.
For assistance, contact your company's Ed Rep or e-mail education@loma.org.

Education & Training

College Credit for LOMA Courses

In its recent evaluation of 11 LOMA courses, the National College Credit Recommendation Service (National CCRS) advised that LOMA's Need 2 Know online interactive courses should receive the same amount of college credits that NCCRS recommends for the traditional text-based Level One courses.

These recommendations help college students to incorporate specific insurance education into their college curriculums, of particular value to those who are simultaneously matriculating while building a career in an insurance or financial services company. Benefits accrue to the employer as well.

Read more about college credit for LOMA courses.

Need 2 Know learning is delivered in two state-of-the-art online courses.

Find out more about Need 2 Know courses

See more!

Upcoming LOMA Events

Events

Don't miss featured speaker Charlene Li
Featured at the ACORD LOMA Forum,
May 6-8, 2013 in Las Vegas

Charlene Li is founder of Altimeter Group and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Open Leadership. She is also the coauthor of the critically acclaimed, bestselling book Groundswell, which was named one of the best business books in 2008. She is one of the foremost experts on social media and technologies and a consultant and independent thought leader on leadership, strategy, social technologies, interactive media and marketing.

Make your plans now to attend the ACORD LOMA Forum, May 6-8, 2013, at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas.

For more information or to register, visit www.acordlomaforum.org.

Technology. Business. Connected.

Customer Service Conference
March 13–15, 2013
New Orleans

The 2013 LOMA Customer Service Conference will explore the tactics and strategies that will enable you to act on the voice of the customer so that you can retain their business and strengthen your bottom line.

For complete session information and to learn about our guest speakers, visit www.loma.org/csc.asp.

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