Orlando
An electronic poll conducted during the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum held here last month revealed that insurers' information technology executives are facing numerous problems at work, including the ignorance of non-IT officers regarding data standards and inadequate funding for regulatory-compliance projects.
The survey was conducted during a CIO panel session titled "Confidently Meeting An Uncertain Future" and was based on responses from more than 400 insurance IT executives using electronic audience-response devices.
Some of the survey responses displayed in real time at the packed conference hall elicited much head-shaking and laughter. The survey showed that nearly 80% of IT executives are undertaking more regulatory-compliance initiatives but that 62% are getting no extra funding for them. Regarding legacy systems, nearly 50% of IT executives said such systems continue to pose big or somewhat big problems.
The IT executives also indicated that their chief information officers and chief executive officers often don't see eye-to-eye. Half of the respondents in the survey said they were only moderately confident about aligning their companies' IT and business goals for growth.
The survey also showed that many insurers lack multi-year IT strategies. While the majority of respondents said their companies have a one- or two-year plan for prioritizing IT investments, half said they don't have plans beyond that time frame.
The poll also revealed that ACORD still has a tough road ahead in developing and marketing insurance data standards. When asked whether non-IT executives at their company understand the role of ACORD standards, 55% of IT executives said "seldom," while less than 30% said "sometimes." And more than half said they don't have a corporate industry standards compliance strategy in place.
Charles McCaig, CIO at the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, commented during the panel discussion that problems revealed in the poll are all too common for insurance IT executives–challenges coming from being asked to do more with less.
