The Chronicle: Issue 2015-10, March 10, 2015

What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?

Application Currency: A Modernization Parable, by Peter Symons, Mariner Innovations
It's been a long and expensive journey replacing those core business systems, but finally, the Big Three – Policy, Claims and Billing – are all running on the latest systems. But then your “System Problem Escalation Bat Phone” rings ... It turns out your recent retiree John was the only developer in your shop who knew the application that gathers and transforms the data from your nice new shiny Policy system into the Broker commission statement system. And no commission statements have been produced for 3 days! Worse, it turns out the system, small and seemingly insignificant, is written in VB6. Not only was John the only VB6 guy in your shop, but Microsoft no longer supports VB6. What next!?

Innovation in Analytics and Customer Service are the Hallmarks of the 2015 ICTAs
This year, Insurance-Canada.ca received direction for our annual technology awards from two sources: from the jury and from you, the people. One thing is clear from both sources: customer-focused innovation and effective technology implementation is alive and well in Canada. We had a record twenty-seven nominations for the awards this year, and the two themes that carried through were customer-centricity and analytics.

The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog
The Intersection
an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog

13th Annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference

Welcome and thank-you to our 2015 conference sponsors:

RSA as a Conference Supporter.

With the conference drawing to a close today, we extend our thanks to everyone who attended ICTC2015 and whose hard work contributed to making this event a success.

Congratulations to the 2015 ICTA winners!

13th Annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference
ICTC2015
“The Digital Customer Experience”
March 9-10, 2015

Technology

Gartner: How does IoT impact your information management strategy?
The opportunity of the Internet of Things (IoT) has everything to do with data. By distributing and diversifying data, IoT architectures will dramatically impact analytics, stakeholders and infrastructure. Analytics are highly distributed in an IoT architecture, meaning that distributed management and data use must become the norm for information managers. Some IoT scenarios will rely on highly centralized collection and processing of data in traditional on-premises environments or cloud-based repositories and compute platforms. Frequently, these scenarios will overlap and may create interesting side effects.

IBM enhances Watson's deep learning capabilities with acquisition of AlchemyAPI
IBM has announced it has acquired AlchemyAPI, a leading provider of scalable cognitive computing application program interface (API) services and deep learning technology. The acquisition will accelerate IBM's development of next-generation cognitive computing applications. The acquisition also significantly expands the Watson ecosystem, welcoming 40,000 developers that have innovated on the AlchemyAPI platform to the IBM Watson developer community. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Telematics

Unica and IBRI launch commercial auto insurance telematics product
Unica Insurance and Independent Broker Resources Inc. (IBRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO), are pleased to announce the launch of a commercial auto insurance telematics offering that will deliver significant benefits to Ontario business owners and brokers. fleetadvisor® is a revolutionary customizable fleet management solution that uses telematics devices installed in commercial vehicles that allow fleet managers to effectively manage fleet risk and reduce operating costs.

IMS: North America's first road usage charge program begins in the state of Oregon
Sanef ITS, the operator of intelligent transportation solutions, and Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS), a leading connected car company, have announced that they have been awarded a road usage charge contract by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Debuting on Oregon's roadways in July 2015, this distance-based road usage charging program is North America's first implementation of a mileage-based charging solution.

Policy Management

EIS Group enables omnichannel insurance interactions with new digital experience platform
EIS Group, a provider of core software systems to insurers, has announced the availability of CustomerCore™ DXP, a new digital experience platform that adds omnichannel capabilities to the company's EIS Suite™ software solution for policy, billing, claims and customer engagement, at the 2015 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference.

Distribution

Totten Insurance Group acquires Quebec-based wholesaler NBS
Totten Insurance Group, a leading national insurance managing general agency, has announced that it has acquired the shares of National Brokerage Services S.C.N. Inc. (NBS), a Montreal, Quebec-based commercial insurance wholesaler. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. This strategic acquisition expands Totten Group's footprint in the Canadian marketplace and further defines its specialization in providing exceptional underwriting service in key industry segments.

Marketing

Industrial Alliance and Subsidiaries debut new logo, website
Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. and its subsidiaries have a new look. This includes the launch of the iA brand, a new logo and a new website. Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. and its subsidiaries have adopted a new look and a new brand: iA. Going forward, Industrial Alliance will market its products and services under the name iA Financial Group.

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