First, you might appreciate a picture I took at the ICMG Annual Meeting in Phoenix. It’s cold and snowy here in Cleveland — a shot of a sunrise behind some distant mountains with a lone cactus pointing to the sky seems to help…

About a 4-5 weeks ago, we got wind of a conference in Boston dealing with credit card security relative to the Internet and Web sites. This is an ever-evolving subject, and one that requires VERY careful attention. In fact, it’s so important that I’m going to do a little more research before posting anything too specific here. Suffice it to say that credit card security is yet another compelling reason for insurance e-commerce Web development and hosting to be outsourced to companies like IdeaStar. The capture, handling, storage or transfer, and deleting (wiping, really) of credit card data is a minefield. Insurance companies need to assess the credit card risk areas before launching a site that collects agent appointment fees, insurance premium payments, etc.

More next week – stay tuned. Stay WARM!