Taking the cue from my stellar revelations of last year, I will list a technology-related trend or event, then rate that event by assigning from one to five “at” signs@for each instance. A rating of one @ is, as an unknown bluesman once wrote, so low you could wear a top hat and walk under a snake. A rating of five @s is the technology equivalent of a Barry Bonds home run (juice-induced, of course).

Insurance carriers continue to resist the idea of SEMCI: @

When he took office in October, newly-elected ASCnet President Robby Dunn told National Underwriter that many carriers are still not getting the message that being able to input data once and send that data to any insurance company in real time is “easy, simple, and it fulfills what agents want.”

Reacting to the idea that insurers are afraid to have their products “spreadsheeted” next to those of their competitors by independent agentsturning the sales process into a price warMr. Dunn said such fears were “very short-sighted.” While some insecurity may be understandable, only about 5 percent of insurance buyers purchase based on price, he added.

I couldnt have said it better.

ACORD and LOMA combine conferences in a single insurance technology show: @@1/2

The combined event drew more attendees than the combination of the single events from the year beforean obvious success for ACORD, the driving force behind the new ACORD/LOMA conference.

The event brought together vendors and insurance personnel from both the property-casualty side of the industry (ACORD) and the life insurance side (LOMA). Exhibitors who do business in both sides of the business were happy with the increased turnout. Those who operate in only one of those areas, however, expressed less enthusiasm for the combined show. These disparate groups have needs that must be met if the new conference is to succeed in the coming years. The jury is still out.

Microsoft and IBM increase their involvement in the insurance industry: @@@@

At this years ACORD/LOMA conference, Microsoft brought out its big guns and its checkbook (to pay for a lavish Las Vegas host suite) to impress upon the industry that it is a serious player for insurance tech business. At the same time, arch-rival IBM has raised its profile in the industry, exhibiting and sending representatives to speak at several industry tech conferences.

This is a positive sign in terms of better software development and better support of the insurance industrys admittedly antiquated technology infrastructure. We must be cautious, however. Other horizontal technology companies have jumped into the insurance space only to run like stuck pigs when they realized how complicated this business can be.

Buying auto insurance online remains a financially risky proposition for consumers: @

The industry has had at least five years to get this right, but our latest foray into buying auto insurance online revealed that consumers could end up paying hundreds of dollars more per year depending on what Web site they happen to use.

The difference between the lowest and highest quotes on the same auto risk was $846 per year, which should be enough to frighten most consumers. Perhaps of greater concern was that many rates differed when they came from a carrier Web site versus an aggregator siteand the difference could be an increase or a decrease.

Unfortunately, the Internet is only useful for getting basic information and a range of prices. The sale is better left in the hands of an agent.

George W. Bush is elected to a second term as president of the United States: @@1/2

Prior to the presidential election, I compared the candidates on a number of technology issues to see which one would make the better technology president. President Bush won my competition by a small margin, and the electorate had the good sense to take my advice.

Now, however, President Bush needs to follow through, particularly on permanently banning a tax on Internet access, his commitment to technology R&D, and use of technology to secure our porous national borders. Its too soon to judge this presidents tech record at the moment, but well be keeping a watchful eye on those issues.

And there you have itanother year of brilliance and technological artistry. As my 16-year-old son would say: “Word!”

Senior Editor Ara C. Trembly is NUs resident tech guru. He may be reached at [email protected].

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, December 30, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.