INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Global Insurance Market Index For Q1 2020
Marsh has released its Global Insurance Market Index for the first quarter of 2020. The increase, the largest since the index was launched in 2012, comes despite the minimal impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on pricing in the quarter. Read more.

Few Organizations Ready To Scale A.I.
Element AI, a global developer of AI-powered solutions and services, is pleased to announce it has published the AI Maturity Framework tool and whitepaper to provide in-depth insights on how organizations can become AI-ready and address a knowledge gap in the AI industry. Read more.

Coalition Launches Cyber Offering In Canada
Coalition, the leading cyber insurance and security company in the US, is pleased to announce it is expanding its offering to Canada-based companies, providing proactive cybersecurity products and services and best-in-class cyber and technology error & omissions insurance to help keep businesses safe. Read more.

Messagepoint Launches Rationalizer
Messagepoint Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Rationalizer, an AI-powered software solution that accelerates the migration of legacy customer communications and content to modern environments, while also enabling the optimization of that content. For the first time, due to market demand, Messagepoint has updated the solution to enable end users and other service providers to license and independently leverage the technology. Read more.

Cloud, APIs Becoming Table Stakes
While core transformation projects are challenging for insurers, the benefits of successful projects are clear. But a complete policy administration replacement can require significant investment and attention. A new report by Novarica provides an overview of the available policy administration systems and suites, with profiles of 43 vendor solutions. Read more.

Shift, Snapsheet Partner On Fraud Detection
Shift Technology and Snapsheet are pleased to announce a strategic partnership between the two companies, enabling users of Snapsheet's claims management platform to receive notification of suspicious claims directly from Shift's Force fraud detection technology. Read more.

UV Insurance Launches Electronic Application
UV Insurance is proud of the successful launch of My Universe, its new individual insurance technology platform that includes new illustration software, an electronic application and an advisor and client portal. A simple, quick and intuitive solution that is greatly appreciated by its partners. Read more.

Health Care, Wellbeing Programs Enhanced In Response To Pandemic
Companies are making enhancements to their health care, wellbeing and leave programs, according to a new Willis Towers Watson survey examining the business impact of the pandemic on health benefits. Nearly half of respondents are enhancing health care benefits, and while some companies are reducing costs in other ways, many are preserving their wellbeing plans at a time when employees are facing significant challenges. Read more.

Hub Acquires Vestas Financial Services Firm
Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Montreal-based Vestas Financial Services Firm Inc., an independent firm providing commercial and personal insurance with a particular focus on construction and design professionals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

CSIO Launches Three New eLearning Courses
CSIO is pleased to announce the release of three new eLearning courses to its Digital Broker eLearning program. Brokers can now earn up to six hours of Continuing Education (CE) credits through CSIO's free, accredited, online courses. The eLearning program offers on-demand courses in addition to webinars that are scheduled regularly throughout the year. Read more.

CFOs Double Down on People Cuts
In May and June, the number of companies furloughing staff, as well as cutting salaries and workforce, will have more than doubled since the end of March, according to a Gartner Inc. survey of finance executives. Read more.

CFC Launches Licensing Agreement Liability Product
Specialist insurance provider CFC has announced the release of its bespoke insurance solution for licensing agreements. The new product expands on the company's robust suite of media and intellectual property insurance products. Read more.

Visa Token Service Adds 28 New Partners
Visa Inc. is pleased to announce that 28 new partners will be joining Visa Token Service as credential-on-file token requestors. These new partners will help make digital transactions more secure by tokenizing both one-time and recurring payments made with Visa credentials. Tokenization replaces a cardholder's Visa account number with a token that only Visa can unlock, protecting the underlying card number from fraudsters. Read more.

Canadians Wary Of Hands-On Healthcare
As Canadian provinces and their economies slowly begin to re-open, a survey on consumer attitudes towards use of healthcare services reveals hesitancy to return to pre-pandemic behaviour without a COVID-19 vaccine. It also reveals a rapidly increasing interest in virtual healthcare services that eliminate physical interaction between patient and health provider. Read more.

Webinar: Automating Broker-Insurer Transaction to Improve CX

Join Insurance-Canada.ca and the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada this Thursday, May 21, at 12pm Noon (EDT), for an update on IBAC's Data Exchange initiative, featuring:

• Peter Braid, CEO, IBAC
• Kim Opheim, Broker Technology and Innovation Leader, IBAC
• Gina McFetridge, President, Archway Insurance; Leader, IBAC Technology Committee
• Graham Haigh, VP - Broker Distribution, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance
• Michael Loeters, SVP - Commercial Insurance & Risk Management, PROLINK Insurance
• Host: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

Sign up now or learn more.

Featuring:

We asked some of the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto for their outlook on the industry...

Q: How are young people changing the work force and what impact will it have on companies?

A: Young people – especially Millennials – have a reputation for switching companies quite often. This affects companies' ability to retain talent. Turnover erodes financial resources as well as the time used to train new staff. This impact is causing companies to look at reasons why employees are leaving. Understanding what areas need to be improved (such as leadership skills, relationship building, growth plans and culture) aids employee engagement and increases their inclination to stay. Some employers have it wrong and believe that a game room and free snacks might keep staff – but what Millennials want is a feeling of importance and trust. Emphasize the importance of continually improving leadership skills so that they can be better at building relationships with their direct reports and implementing a radically candid environment where employees can trust one another and grow as a team.

From Doug Saturday's Globe and Mail discussed dozens of ways the pandemic may change our world. Where did you work before? Will you return there in future, or will you work more from home? Now that crowding on public transit has become taboo, will driving and parking change? Will there be a shift to walking and biking? If there is an office, what will it look like? Is shared, open office space doomed? What of office towers in urban centres if people stop travelling to work? Nature can surprise us. After decades of managing climate change with little more than a “thumb in the dike,” we find ourselves forced to accelerate our response to more recent, rapid impacts. But nothing like COVID-19. Might the pandemic help us tackle climate change? Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca