The Chronicle: Issue 2011-32, August 9, 2011
Claims
Bottomline Technologies: Three steps to reducing your claim legal spend.
In this soft market, it's critical to eliminate every unnecessary expense and keep claim legal costs under
control. That is easier said than done, though, because once a claim enters the litigation process, it
becomes almost impossible to manage. Unless you have a plan.
Xactware: Make your smartphone even smarter with XactScope.
Please join us for a bonus Xactware Webcast featuring Xactimate project manager Dave Luse. Dave will discuss how you can use your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Blackberry to scope a loss, take photos, record voice notes, communicate with Xactimate, and much more.
FINEOS Claims Goes Live With The Thornton Group.
Dublin, Ireland, August 03, 2011 - FINEOS Corporation, a market leading provider of claims management software solutions, today announced that the Thornton Group, one of Ireland's largest loss adjuster firms, has gone live with FINEOS Claims for all its lines of business. The implementation of FINEOS Claims is the result of a detailed assessment of the current and anticipated needs of Thornton's clients.
Novarica Research Finds Property Casualty Carriers Investing In Claims Solutions, Profiles Claims Administration Software Providers.
July 28, 2011 (New York, NY) - Claims administration systems are being replaced at an increasing pace in the insurance industry according to research from Novarica, a division of Novantas LLC that provides technology-related research and advisory services to financial institutions.. While many carriers have already upgraded and others are in the middle of a claim replacement project, the majority of carriers are in the planning phase for a core claims system replacement.
NICB Names 10 Most Stolen Vehicles for 2010.
August 2, 2011 - DES PLAINES, Ill. – The National Insurance Crime Bureau today released Hot Wheels — its list of the 10 most stolen vehicles in the United States. The report examines vehicle theft data submitted by law enforcement to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and determines the vehicle make, model, and model year most reported stolen in 2010.
Consumer Information
IBC congratulates Ontario government for its commitment to crack down on fraud.
TORONTO, July 29, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) congratulates the Ontario government for taking an important step in the fight against fraud. Acting on a 2011 Budget commitment, today the government announced the composition of an Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force, noting that its work is already underway.
Distribution
IBAO Applauds SGI Canada, Mastercom and Zycomp's Declarations (Dec) Page Attachment Initiative.
Aug. 4, 2011 (Toronto, Ontario) - Today, the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) is applauding the SGI Canada, Mastercom and Zycomp recent initiative which successfully completed a download transaction providing a no-touch inclusion of a declaration (Dec) page attachment. SGI Canada is the first insurer in Canada to support this new technology. IBAO is encouraging other insurance companies to follow suit.
Social Business
Applied Systems launches Web Blog.
University Park, Illinois, Aug. 1, 2011 - Insurance professionals have a new online spot for engaging in conversation about insurance, technology and related topics, as Applied Systems provides a forum with its recently launched blog at http://blog.appliedsystems.com.
eMarketer: How Professionals Use LinkedIn.
August 5, 2011 - A month after its debut as a public company and eight years after its launch, LinkedIn in June 2011 passed Myspace to become the No. 2 social networking site in terms of visitors, according to comScore.. Marketers can gain perspective on how best to reach LinkedIn?s profession-focused networkers by analyzing how they use the site and where they interact.
eBusiness and Technology
Gartner says Consumerization of BI Drives Greater Adoption.
STAMFORD, Conn., July 20, 2011 - Less than 30 percent of the potential users of organizations' standard business intelligence (BI) tools use the technology today, according to Gartner, Inc. This low takeup is due to the fact that longstanding tools and approaches to BI are often too difficult to use, slow to respond or deliver content of limited relevance. The consumerization of BI technologies could benefit organizations by delivering a better fit and broader user appeal.
Progressive's new mobile services put car insurance in the palm of your hand.
Mayfield Village, Ohio — July 25, 2011 — Progressive® Insurance unveiled its newest mobile offerings, giving consumers even more ways to buy and manage their car insurance policies and driving habits, wherever they are, whenever they want.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
eMarketer: The Value of Organic Search Rankings.
August 2, 2011 - Search has changed over the years, from results page redesigns to algorithm tweaks. But for digital marketers search remains their most important focus, at least measured by spending, and is a critical tool to drive traffic to marketer websites. Research from SEO services firm Slingshot SEO gives marketers new benchmarks for the click value of high-ranking keywords.
Policy and Product Management
Celent: Policy Administration Systems for General Insurers in Europe 2011.
In a new report, Policy Administration Systems for General Insurers in Europe 2011, Celent looks at policy administration systems available to general insurers in Europe. Since the first report in 2005, activity has remained high among both insurers and policy administration system vendors. In the two years from January 2009 to January 2011, over 130 insurers had licensed a new policy administration system.
Business of Insurance
Foresters Life/Communication Workers Friendly Society Merger Completed
Toronto, ON, August 5, 2011 – Communication Workers Friendly Society (CWFS) merger into Forester Life, the United Kingdom (UK) operations of ForestersTM, has been completed.
Insurance in the Community
The Co-operators provides $115,800 to support Canadian co-operatives.
GUELPH, ON, Aug. 2, 2011 - Today, The Co-operators announced $115,800 in grants to 11 emerging Canadian co-operatives. The funding is provided through The Co-operators Foundation Co-operative Development Program that supports the development of new and expanding co-operatives across the country.
from Doug:
We decided to take a bit of a break. Now in Ottawa since Sunday, we have visited two sets of friends whom we have not seen in far too long, and viewed the Caravaggio exhibit at the National Gallery. Another visit with friends this evening, and maybe I will try and remove myself further from work the next couple of days before returning home.