Issue 2010-43 -- October 26, 2010
This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry, insurance products and the marketplace. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.
Featured Report
IBM Canada & Rogers Special Report: The Road to Better Broker-Carrier Collaboration.
Canada's insurance industry is changing. Insurance brokers face increasing competition. Carriers face new regulations. Tech-savvy policyholders expect to be served differently. Are carriers and brokers changing to address these new situations? Judging from the results of a study conducted by Rogers Publishing and technology provider IBM Canada Ltd., the answer may be, "not enough".
Distribution
The Economical Insurance Group Unveils Their First Step in Print Suppression.
Waterloo, ON - The Economical Insurance Group® (TEIG®) is helping their broker partners go green with the release of Print Suppression - the latest instalment of TEIG Connex Suite™. Print Suppression allows brokers to suppress the Broker Copy of the Declaration Pages as well as Additional Interest copies.
Compu-Quote: ezITV 2010 IS NOW AVAILABLE!
October 20, 2010 - Windsor, Ontario - The new update to the popular and versatile ezITV residential replacement cost valuation tool is now available! ezITV 2010 accesses the eValue-EVS? cost engine via a web service ensuring users receive the most current information and industry data, alleviating worries about processing updates.
J.D. Power: As the Financial Markets Recover, U.S. Advisor Perceptions of Their Firms Have Stabilized.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 22 October 2010 - After a considerable decline in advisor perceptions from 2007 to 2008, financial advisor sentiment regarding their firms has stabilized in 2010, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction StudySM released today.
Claims
FINEOS Claims Delivering Automated Claims Management for Personal Injury to Manitoba Public Insurance.
Dublin, Ireland, Oct 19, 2010 - FINEOS Corporation, a market leading provider of core software solutions for Insurance and Government Insurance, today announced that Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) of Canada has gone live with FINEOS Claims to manage its claims for personal injury. MPI is a crown corporation that provides basic compulsory automobile insurance coverage in the province of Manitoba, Canada.
Our People
InsuranceWorks.ca launches a new online recruiting service designed specifically to give insurance employers access to the benefits of social networking.
The Social Media Max Job Posting allows insurance employers to add an immediate social networking component to their recruitment strategies, in addition to posting a job on InsuranceWorks.ca, a well-established insurance-specific Canadian jobsite.
eBusiness and Technology
Duck Creek Technologies® Formalizes Partnership with Preview.
BOLIVAR, MO - October 18, 2010 -- Duck Creek Technologies, Inc., a provider of innovative software and services for the insurance industry, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive partnership with Australian-based Preview that will allow them to market and sell Duck Creek Rating™ in Australia and New Zealand.
Celent Report - What Insurance Customers Really Think: An IT Service Provider Report Card.
London, United Kingdon, October 07, 2010 - In spring and summer of this year, Celent undertook two research projects to document the IT service providers available to insurers in Europe and North America. Part of this research included customer interviews. In a new report, What Insurance Customers Really Think: An IT Service Provider Report Card, Celent explores this aggregated customer feedback in more detail to analyze the types of services being outsourced, the customer experience, and areas for improvement.
Novarica Report Finds Annuity Writers' IT Strategies Focused on STP, Speed-to-Market, and Actuarial.
October 15, 2010 (NEW YORK) - In a new sector report published today, Business and Technology Trends: Individual Annuity Insurers, research and advisory firm Novarica looks at recent technology initiatives by individual annuities lines insurers and highlights top issues for 2011.
Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011.
STAMFORD, Conn., October 19, 2010 - - Gartner, Inc. today highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations in 2011. The analysts presented their findings during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, being held here through October 21.
Consumer Information
RSA Poll: Small Business Owners Take on Mother Nature.
TORONTO, Oct. 18 2010 - According to a recent Leger Marketing poll commissioned by RSA Canada, small business owners have no plans to change their insurance policies, despite the fact that many of them were affected by inclement weather in 2009. The same survey revealed that 98 per cent of small business owners aren't planning to upgrade their insurance, even though 61 per cent of these same respondents lost power in 2009 with some also reporting a loss in sales, or being forced to shut down the office.
Allstate Insurance : Don't Let Winter Catch You Off Guard - 10 Things You Can Do Now to Winterize Your Car.
Toronto, October 19, 2010 - Canadian drivers are often caught off guard when bad weather hits as December sees the highest number of collision claims in comparison to the other winter months, according to new data from Allstate Insurance Company of Canada. Harsh winter driving conditions often increase in December and this spike in claims could be explained by unprepared winter drivers,
Business of Insurance
CLHIA Welcomes Senate Report on Pension Reform.
TORONTO, Oct. 20 2010 - The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) welcomes the recommendation in the report, Canadians Saving for their Future: A Secure Retirement, released by the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce that multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs) should be encouraged.
CLHIA: Global Insurance Industry Urges G20 to Tailor Their Approach to Global Financial Regulation.
OTTAWA, Oct. 2010 - In a letter sent today, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) along with 16 other insurance associations from around the globe*, voiced the industry's collective views on proposed financial regulation to G20 leaders ahead of their upcoming Summit in Seoul, South Korea next month.
Reference and Statistics
FSCO: Ontario Auto Insurance Rates for the Third Quarter of 2010.
The Government passed regulations to enact auto insurance reforms effective September 1, 2010. These reforms are designed to reduce excess assessment costs in the auto insurance system and ensure more accident benefit dollars go to treating people injured in auto accidents.
MIB Life Index Reports U.S. Life Insurance Activity Declines 2.0% in Q3.
Braintree, MA. - (October 18, 2010) U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined -2.0% in September year-over-year, all ages combined, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Activity for the third quarter declined by -2.6% when compared against the same quarter 2009.
from Doug:
We live now in the oldest part of Toronto, in the western part of the few town blocks which comprised the Town of York as surveyed under Simcoe's orders in 1793. We set out to vote in our municipal elections yesterday. Although we live in a new condo, we were most pleasantly surprised to find a polling station in the lobby.
For this election, all mayoral candidates promised change, and the mayor-elect promised more change than the others. As is the case after most any election, it will be interesting to see how much the big ship will turn during this next term of office when promises contend with reality.