Year 2000 computer crisis looms for insurers

Between now and the year 2000, many of the world's computers will cease to function properly because of the way they were programmed. Within these systems are data fields that represent date information. For years, programmers relied on a shorthand method for storing dates, Date fields were defined as a 6-digit integer representing year, month and day data. In the year 2000, processing logic that depends on a more recent date being the larger of 2 numbers will not work (is 00 earlier or later than 97?). The problem is the incidence of dates within the inventory of information system applications and the difficulty in flawlessly making changes to working production systems. The first issue to overcome in addressing the Year 2000 date problem is to recognize that the problem is real. Coming to this realization will be a major achievement for many corporations. A strategic plan that can be laid out to accomplish this task is presented.