What would an insurance carrier look like if it were at the top of its game in the technology arena? The financial services research and consulting firm Celent, a division of Oliver Wyman, set out to build (at least on paper) that "model carrier" in its most recent report, "Celent Model Carrier 2008: Case Studies of Effective Technology Usage in Insurance." It identified key components that a model carrier would provide within different disciplines and processes across product and policyholder lifecycles.

In building this virtual model carrier, Celent invited more than 100 insurers and 50 vendors to nominate themselves for the study. Celent's goal was to gather as many real-world examples of effective usage of technology as possible. The selected case studies are presented as "model carrier components" in the study. In making its selections, Celent cautioned, "a model carrier component is recognition of a carrier's effective use of technology in a certain area, not necessarily a statement that the carrier is absolutely best in class (although some may be). Model carrier components are those that help insurers improve performance and meet market demands. In general, they represent the way things should be done."

The exhaustive study, released in March, was broken down into 10 key areas that cover the various departments and divisions within agencies and carriers. Within each area, readers can find a general analysis, information on key technology elements, and the model carrier components for that particular process or discipline.