From year to year the demands faced by senior insurance technology executives tend to evolve: Fads come and go, but the predominance of newer technologies over legacy systems manifests itself more or less gradually, showing up in changed emphasis on certain types of initiatives. As insurers respond to a business landscape suddenly altered by the financial crisis, however, the coming year will represent a departure from this pattern.

While the crisis began in the banking industry, the failure of AIG implicated the insurance industry in the eyes of the public, and subsequent devastating losses in the equity markets have hit many insurers hard with regard to their investment revenues. To the extent that the national and global economic picture worsens, insurers also face the possibility of declining premium income, as consumers cut back on insurance coverage and income products.

But the crisis will also create opportunities. Insurers will be opportunistic as they seek to continue transformation efforts and capitalize on the market opportunities created by the troubles of AIG and other insurers ravaged by the crisis. Insurance technology organizations will likely curtail many "nice to have" initiatives, but they will move with greater focus on core initiatives and customer-facing capabilities, and they will drive forward with increasing urgency neglected areas that were exposed by the crisis, such as risk modeling and enterprise risk management.

In this 2009 Insurance Technology Outlook, I&T's editors and an array of leading industry commentators explore how the challenges and opportunities created by the financial crisis will affect insurers' technology strategies. Among the topics examined are the effects of the crisis on budgets and spending; the likelihood of new regulatory demands; intensified demand to advance technology capabilities for risk management, regulatory compliance and organizational transparency; the need to support M&A activity; and the challenge of advancing critical work in progress to replace legacy systems, deploy analytical capabilities, and improve service for consumers and distributors.

Every year, misinformed homebuyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. Below you'll find the top ten ways to avoid becoming a victim yourself

. 1. Take your time and shop around. You should be able to compare prices and houses. If a lender or broker tells you they are your only chance to get a loan or owning a home, don't do business with them.

2. Do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.

3. Be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to.

4. Do not be talked into lying about (or choose to lie) about your income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.

5. Watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.

6. Be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases.

7. Don't strip your home's equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you.

8. Beware of false appraisals.

9. Do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.

10. Get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you're being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin.