INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Carriers Must Review Underwriting Strategies
Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist, has completed its annual review of property & casualty (P&C) results and found that insurers’ operating environment is already very different than just a few short years ago. Read more.

First-of-its-Kind Digital Health Network Launched
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is making a significant commitment to help Canadians live healthier lives with the launch of Lumino Health, Canada's premier network of free health resources. The innovative Lumino Health digital experience offers information to help Canadians find a health care resource that fits their needs in seconds. Read more.

Emerging Tech In Personal Lines: SMA
Technology is advancing so rapidly that it is even difficult to define “emerging technologies.” SMA has been tracking 13 technologies that are broadly considered to be emerging – including autonomous vehicles, AI, the Internet of Things, and wearables – and five of these technologies have emerged as “power players” for personal lines insurers, based on the level of insurer activity and the potential for transformation. Read more.

Digital Maturity Levels Growing — Unevenly
Effective digital capability deployment involves every segment of an insurance operation. In a new study, Novarica examines insurers' digital capability deployment and pilot activity across dozens of functions that span marketing, distribution, underwriting, customer engagement, billing, and claims. Read more.

Blockchain Solution For The Sharing Economy
Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and innovative risk management solutions, has announced that it is collaborating with data security platform Evident to develop the first blockchain-based verification solution for clients in the fast-growing sharing and gig economies. Read more.

AXA XL Launches Cyber Policy On Slice ICS
Slice Labs Inc and AXA XL have launched a new cyber insurance policy specifically designed for small and midsize businesses. Powered by Slice Insurance Cloud Services, AXA XL’s cyber insurance solution provides U.S. small and medium-sized businesses with comprehensive cyber insurance protection along with real-time intelligence to proactively counteract cyber risks. Read more.

Health Insurance Coverage For Diabetics
Diabetes is a serious disease that results in the body's inability to produce and respond to insulin, which is required to regulate sugar levels in the blood. But what sort of coverage is out there for diabetic supplies? Do public healthcare programs like OHIP, AHCIP and MSI offer any coverage? And what sort of coverage can be had via private health insurance such as employee benefits and individual health insurance plans? Read more.

A Scientist's Guide To Insuring Flood
The risk of flood is prevalent all over the world, but although we can never fully protect ourselves, the insurance industry plays a critical role in working with governments, businesses, and families to build resilient communities while underwriting profitability. Read more.

Koïos Intelligence Unveils Digital Lifecycle
Koïos Intelligence, a Montreal-based developer of artificial intelligence tools designed specifically for the finance and insurance industries, is proud to announce the development of a new industry-leading insurance application: Olivo. With the potential to become the "Airbnb of Insurance," Olivo will be the first application to centralize and digitize the entire insurance lifecycle. Read more.

Peel Mutual Launches BrovadaOne Platform
Willis Towers Watson has announced that Peel Mutual Insurance Company has launched its BrovadaOne solution services, including Personal Auto and Property Policy and Billing Inquiry, new business upload and policy change functionality. Read more.

Hub Acquires Proteus Performance Management
Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Ontario-based governance and investment consulting firm Proteus Performance Management Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

On Side Restoration Acquires STRONE
On Side Restoration grows again in Ontario with the acquisition of STRONE. By joining forces with the STRONE team, On Side is well on its way to becoming even stronger in this Eastern market. Growth in other regions, such as in the Atlantic, is on the horizon as well. Read more.

Allianz Global Assistance Canada Appoints CEO
Allianz Global Assistance, a leading Canadian travel insurance and assistance provider, has appointed Chris Van Kooten as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Read more.

MGA Symposium
“Technology: The Heart of Your Enterprise”

Tuesday, November 27 — Malaparte, Toronto

InsurTech is the buzz; “disruption” is the threat – or opportunity.

How are MGAs positioned to be a part of it?

Find out “How MGAs Can Disrupt The Insurance Market” with Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager at Insly, who will discuss what disruption and innovation in insurance actually mean.

Register now, or for complete details, visit insurance-canada.ca/mga.

From Doug InsurTech startups are mostly digital, lean, collaborative, and CX-focused; they use modern technology. Insurance businesses from the pre-InsurTech era are adopting this approach and becoming InsurTechs too. A look back: The digital transformation period extended digital processes. This continues, enabled by the explosion in raw technology developments. Digital processes enabled innovation in all, areas from new products to customer engagement to faster, more efficient services; this too continues, accelerating ever faster. An InsurTech, then, displays these characteristics: • Increasingly digital processes and services; • A thirst to make use of new technologies; • A collaborative culture with the mantra “try, measure, learn, and repeat”; • A drive to improve the customer experience. It seemed an insurance business that took these to heart could disrupt and capture a segment of the insurance business. But disruption seldom comes from the direction anticipated. Question: As we wind down the threat that InsurTech posed, are we at the beginning of the end of the disruption threat, or is the surprise around the next corner and we are merely at the end of the beginning for disruption? Find some answers tomorrow at InsurTechTO. A few seats remain. Check out the top-notch content and faculty of industry-leading speakers – then register and join us there! Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca