Toward the end of 2003, insurers still wondered whether there was anything left in their budget that could be cut. Today, that mindset hasnt disappeared, but the industry has rebounded, inhaling some fresh airgrowth. The hard market yielded profits that can pay for new systems, both traditional and emerging solutions. To dust off a clich: The only constant is change.

A Gartner report issued last July, titled, Emerging Technology Hype Cycle for the Insurance Industry, 2004, states the insurance industry is a hot spot for emerging technology. Not all are new, but development is rapid.

The study plotted what Gartner views as the typical progression of a technologyfrom initial introduction to broad market acceptanceconsisting of five phases: Technology Trigger (a product launch); Peak of Inflated Expectations (overenthusiasm and unrealistic projections, with some successes and more failures); Trough of Disillusionment (overinflated expectations leading to the technology becoming unfashionable); Slope of Enlightenment (experimentation leading to true understanding of the technologys applicability, risk, and benefits); and Plateau of Productivity (technology gains widespread acceptance).