INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Economical Rolls Out New Broker Platform
Vertafore is pleased to announce that its Canadian-focused operation, Keal Technology, worked in partnership with Economical Insurance to support its Vyne strategy aimed at easing the way of doing business between brokers and Economical. Read more.

MCCG Partnership To Enhance Business Intel
Mutual Concept Computer Group Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with BizXcel, a Qlik Solution Provider with a certification in insurance specialization, to introduce business intelligence solutions for mutual insurance companies. Read more.

Markers Launches Medical Cannabis Insurance
Markers Insurance is introducing Canada's first guaranteed-issue insurance product for individuals providing coverage for medical cannabis prescriptions, to launch by August 15, 2018. Read more.

Unica Launches Small Business Protection
Unica Insurance is proud to announce the launch of SPARK™, a comprehensive solution for protecting small businesses, designed specifically to cover Contractors and Professional Office segments, which provides best-in-class protection at competitive rates for small business owners. Read more.

Manulife Grows Canadian Insurance Business
Manulife will further strengthen its leadership position in the Canadian insurance market with the launch of Manulife Par participating whole life insurance product and an artificial intelligence algorithm that will transform the underwriting process. Read more.

Manulife To Transform Its Canadian Business
Manulife has announced a plan to digitize and consolidate back-office functions, retrain and hire employees with digital skills, and refocus its customer experience across all business lines to continue to serve the evolving needs of its customers. Read more.

Wawanesa Launches Ontario Innovation Outpost
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company has opened an Innovation Outpost lab in Kitchener. This vibrant new space is a part of the Communitech Hub, an industry-led innovation centre that supports a community of tech companies commercializing innovation and technology. Read more.

U.S. Independent Agents Using Digital Technology
Independent insurance agents in the United States have made significant advances in awareness and use of digital technologies to improve the customer acquisition and service experience, according to a new survey by Insurance Digital Revolution. Read more.

Enhanced Business Overhead Expense Product
Neil Paton, president and chief executive officer of The Edge Benefits, is pleased to announce the launch of significant enhancements to their Business Overhead Insurance product for existing and new policyholders. Read more.

Western Financial Group Acquires Axion Insurance
Western Financial Group Inc. is proud to announce that Axion Insurance Services of Ontario has joined its growing network of insurance brokerages across Canada. The acquisition will add ten Ontario locations and approximately 60 insurance experts to Western's existing network. Read more.

Quadient Inspire R12 Availabile
Quadient is pleased to announce the general availability of its newest release, Quadient Inspire R12, designed to give customers and partners greater control over the systems and processes used to drive consistent communications across all channels with an emphasis on digital experiences. Read more.

SSQ Insurance Selects Acquia
SSQ Insurance has launched its new website in collaboration with digital experience company Acquia, provider of an all-in-one Digital Experience Platform that enables SSQ Insurance teams to focus on content, innovation and value-added services for its clients and members. Read more.

“The Digital Future of Insurance: Is Risk Passé?”

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

We welcome X by 2 as a gold sponsor for #ICXF2018. Most of us are exploring how to harness artificial intelligence; Ahsan Siddiqi, X by 2's Director of IT and Data Strategy, Architecture, will look at success factors from successful journeys to highlight what worked and what didn't.

Early-bird rates in effect until July 20.

Register today or see complete details.

From Doug It was a cool, wet summer weekend in Toronto. Living in the heart of a large city, the closest I get to the sort of farm community I grew up in is the local flower garden and the weekly farmers' market. The farmers told me in no uncertain terms how dry it has been this spring. As one said, irrigation (artificial rain) just isn't the same as real rain. Hopefully this weekend helped them out. Irrigation is enabled by technology and is probably struggling through its own tech evolution today. A decade ago, I took my first ride on a hands-free, self-driving tractor. From outside agriculture, such a thing seems like a quiet revolution; even to insurance it seems like a non-event from the outside, at least compared to the potential disruption of the autonomous car. Broadly speaking, agriculture is in the same technology-driven (r)evolution as insurance. The impact of AI, blockchain, and other new technology is conspicuous across industries. These are interesting times. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca