INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Allianz Launches 2018 Risk Barometer
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has announced findings from its annual Allianz Risk Barometer, based on insight from 1,911 risk experts from 80 countries. Read more.

Insurers Struggle To Fund Digital Transformation
Insurance decision-makers say rising customer expectations are the top driver behind digital transformation, according to a new study commissioned by Ensono. Read more.

Emerging Tech Deployment Poised For Growth
In its latest report, Novarica tracks deployment and pilot plans across a dozen emerging technology areas: artificial intelligence, augmented & virtual reality, big data, blockchain, chatbots, drones, mobile, predictive analytics, robotic process automation, sensors & telematics, smart home, and wearables. Read more.

Top Ten Lists From CES2018
CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) has become the biggest tech event in the world. CES2018 is so massive that there could probably be fifty different Top 10 lists. Read more.

Betterview Partners With Munich Re
InsurTech Drone Startup Betterview has announced an agreement to offer drone imagery, analysis and reporting to Munich Re's insurance company clients. Read more.

Xpertdoc Announces New Insurance Customers
Xpertdoc, a leader in customer communication management solutions, announces it has added six new insurance clients to its customer roster, including three based in Quebec. Read more.

Guidewire, Plug and Play Partner For Innovation
Guidewire Software has joined Plug and Play's ecosystem as a Corporate Partner to advance P&C insurance innovation and collaboration. Plug and Play is a global startup ecosystem specializing in the development of technology startups in 12 verticals. Read more.

Co-operators Launches Flexible Health Plans
Co-operators Life Insurance Company has introduced ContinYou GOLDEN, a new way for Canadians to plan for the escalating costs related to health and dental care in their retirement. Read more.

iA Financial Adds Individual Travel Insurance
iA Financial Group is proud to partner with TuGo to offer travel insurance and provide its clients with TuGo's recognized quality customer service and expertise. Read more.

Duliban Acquires Fisher Stevenson Boehm
Duliban Insurance Brokers Ltd. has acquired Fisher Stevenson Boehm Insurance, Inc., established in 1979. All FSB employees will be retained with the Duliban team. Read more.

Edge Mutual, MASTERCOM Endorse eSlips
CSIO is pleased to announce that Edge Mutual Insurance Company and vendor integration partner MASTERCOM Consulting Ltd. have endorsed its eDelivery solution to send consumers their personal and commercial policy documents and auto liability cards (eSlips) electronically. Read more.

CSAA Selects EIS Group Platform
EIS Group has announced that CSAA Insurance Group has selected the EIS® Digital Experience Platform™ to support customer interaction and engagement and extend the insurer's successful deployment of EIS policy and billing systems. Read more.

Commonwell Mutual Selects Guidewire Products
The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group has announced it has selected Guidewire Core and Data products to modernize its systems and transform the way it does business. Read more.

Leadership Changes At Aviva Canada
Aviva announces that Greg Somerville has stepped down and Colm Holmes – currently CEO of Aviva UK General Insurance and Chairman of Global Corporate & Specialty – will succeed him, effective March 1. Read more.

New Distracted Driving Resources Available
The Canadian Coalition on Distracted Driving has launched a new web-based information hub to help governments and interested stakeholders develop effective strategies to reduce distracted driving. Read more.

Water Damage: Covered Or Not?
From overflowing rivers to unwanted sewer back-up, Insurance Bureau of Canada has developed a new interactive online animation tool to help consumers see water damage more clearly and prevent the headaches it causes. Read more.

ICTA NOMINATIONS

Benecaid Extends Digital Service
With the launch of Honeybee, Benecaid became the first company in Canada to offer a 100% digital defined contribution benefits plan. Read more.

Kanetix Adds Value With Machine Learning
Kanetix.ca leveraged the digital marketing expertise of Kanetix Digital to triple their client acquisition margin by apllying offline data integration and machine learning to their digital advertising. Read more.

Josslin Offers Better CX – Digitally
Josslin Insurance and Client Desk developed a client interface that provides convenient access to common insurance-related services and integrates with the Power Broker BMS to provide a robust client experience. Read more.

HTM Builds A Better Quoting Experience
HTM worked with MCCG to develop an Online Quoting Solution with an easy-to-use, customer-centric web-based quoting tool for the consumer and a lead generator for the sales distribution channel. Read more.

Webinar: Data Management For
High-Performance Analytics
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 10am & 2pm

In order to achieve great results from high-performance analytics, you need outstanding data management practices.

Register now to learn about the data management building blocks needed to succeed with high-performance analytics – and how self-service data prep enables cross-organizational collaboration.

Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference
Feb. 27-28, 2018 — Toronto

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly and being applied to all parts of the insurance value chain. Lawrence Wong, Director of Application Development at Munich Re, will present Case Studies in AI.

Looking upward, Michael Cohen, CEO of Industrial Skyworks, will examine how AI and Drone Technology together will change the way the industry approaches traditional onsite data and claims processes.

Register now or see complete details.

From Doug Drones began to drift from sci-fi storytelling and military use into the commercial and public spheres almost a decade ago, and the technology has evolved dramatically since. Their uptake in insurance has centred around property inspections for claims, underwriting, and loss control. Drones can capture pictures from high in the air and gather data in dangerous circumstances, providing valuable information that might otherwise have proven impossible to obtain for analysis. Drones were used after the hurricanes in the US in mid-2017 and in the fight against BC wildfires. These working situations help to develop the rules and procedures, and ultimately the real value of the technology. As drones are operationalized, related technologies add to the value proposition, such as the integration of AI image analysis for determining damage. Although drones may be a niche technology within insurance, AI – like analytics before it – could blend into and transform the services provided by any new technology. For more about the technologies influencing the evolution of insurance, join us at ICTC2018. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca