The Chronicle: Issue 2012-28, July 10, 2012
What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology, an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog.
- Regulation and Consumer Satisfaction: A Tale of Two E-Commerce-in-Insurance Reports
The insurance consumer was in the spotlight of a couple of reports recently. A discussion paper issued by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) on regulation of electronic commerce in insurance has met its goal of stimulating discussion. Meanwhile, a report by J.D. Power on consumer satisfaction with insurance put forth some interesting data around the impact of technology in insurance sales and service. We'd be interested in your comments on either or both. - Applied's Compu-Quote Acquisition: Survey Says ... It Depends
Shortly after the announcement of the acquisition of Compu-Quote by Applied Systems, Insurance-Canada.ca conducted on on-line poll to sample reactions. The results of this poll indicate that brokers overall are taking a wait and see approach on the effects of the acquisition. However, there appear to be stronger feelings within subgroups defined by which products are currently used. We'd like your thoughts on the results.
Business of Insurance
Accenture Selected by Mountain States Insurance Group to Replace Legacy Policy Administration and Billing Systems.
NEW YORK; July 2, 2012 - Accenture announced that Mountain States Insurance Group has selected the Accenture Duck Creek property and casualty (P&C) policy software suite to help the insurer accelerate its product development processes and enhance customer service.
Economical appoints chair, vice-chair of Family Insurance Solutions.
Jul 03, 2012 - David Crozier, senior vice president of operations at Economical Insurance, has been appointed as the new chairman of Family Insurance Solutions. Philip Mather, Economical's chief financial officer, was appointed as Family's new vice-chairman.
ISO/PCI: P/C Insurers' Profits and Profitability Rose in First-Quarter 2012, Propelled by Improvement in Underwriting Results.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 27, 2012 - The improvement in underwriting results is primarily attributable to a drop in net losses and loss adjustment expenses (LLAE) from catastrophes.
Aviva chairman announces new strategic plan.
Jul 06, 2012 - John McFarlane was appointed as UK-based Aviva plc's new chairman on July 1 and on July 5, he issued a message to shareholders that outlines the insurer's new strategic plan which includes exiting nearly a third of its business.
Claims
Guidewire Solution for Claims Management Selected by Intact Financial Corporation.
TORONTO, Canada and SAN MATEO, Calif., June 27, 2012: Guidewire Software, Inc., a provider of core system software to property/casualty (P/C) insurers, announced today that Intact has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims management system.
Insurance in the Community
SGI CANADA and Tree Canada partner to plant trees in Saskatchewan.
July 3, 2012 - A new partnership between SGI CANADA and Tree Canada will result in the planting of more than 2,600 trees across Saskatchewan.
Consumer Information
SGI expands online MySGI service.
Jul 03, 2012 - MySGI, Saskatchewan Government Insurance's online service that allows insureds to manage their auto insurance, has
expanded.
Manulife Financial - New InsureRight website makes it easy for Canadians to protect what is most important.
WATERLOO, ON, July 4, 2012 - A new Manulife website aims to help Canadians understand that having insurance isn't just about protecting what they own, it's also important to protect their ability to earn an income in the event of an emergency or crisis.
IBC - Why are Auto Insurance Rates so high in Ontario?
This is not the message you expect to hear from the insurance industry but I'll say it anyway -- auto insurance rates in Ontario are too high!
LoJack : Ontario drivers confused about stolen vehicle coverage.
Jul 06, 2012 - Canadians are concerned about having their car stolen, but according to a new survey, many don?t know what to do in the even that they become a victim and some are engaging in behaviour that might make their vehicle more attractive to thieves.
CAA : Your guide to travelling with kids.
THORNHILL, ON, July 5, 2012 - Summer is the highly anticipated season for family travel, but travelling with kids doesn't always feel like a vacation.
Distribution
WealthServ consolidates Hub International's life and investment business.
June 4, 2012- Hub Financial today announced they will be extending their usage of WealthServ, currently used for their life insurance processing, to also process their segregated fund and mutual fund business.
Custom Software Solutions and Peace Hills Insurance Announce Launch of Real Time Transaction Solution .
July 3, 2012, Edmonton, AB and Virden, MB - Peace Hills Insurance is pleased to announce the launch of the first phase of the web based Peace Hills Insurance Exchange (PHIX) transaction engine utilizing Custom Software's (CSSI) I-Company solution.
Marketing and the Market Place
SAS - Three in four Canadians expect customized offers in return for their personal information.
Toronto, 3 July, 2012 - The vast majority of Canadians (73%) say that when they give a company personal information, such as their age, email address, income or birth date, they expect the company to tailor offerings and deals in return.
Technology
Smartphone Survey
The trend in both work and technology appears to be moving to a very mobile environment. More and more people are working either from home or from 'the road' and fewer and fewer people occupying fixed office spaces with desktop computers. We are asking you to participate in a short (less than 5 minutes) survey about Smartphone usage for business. This survey will run until July 15 and results will be published on our website week of July 23.
From Joe:
Doug is taking some well deserved vacation, meeting with his old classmates and making sure the Candian Rockies are standing proud as they should (if not - he'll straighten them out). I'm a new face on the Insurance-Canada.ca front and you will see more of me in the Newsletter and Survey area. We will be making some small changes to the format of the Newsletter but hopefully the content will provide the same information as before. I don't pretend to be Doug so please be patient as we move along with these changes – more next time