INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Insurance Trends 2021: Globe & Mail
Congratulations to Apollo Insurance, Coalition and Onlia – all featured in the Globe's June 2021 Insurance Trends special report. These organizations represent innovation in Canadian insurance and have all received Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards. Read more.

Novus Health & Goose Enhance Travel Services
Novus Health is pleased to announce that they will be powering the Goose Insurance app with enhanced travel services and content that will help protect Goose members when travelling abroad via their Novus Health, Travel Navigator and Near Threat programs. Goose is an industry leader for enabling consumers to purchase individual insurance products on its mobile app in seconds. Read more.

Budweiser Insurance To Launch This Summer
Canada's number one selling beer will soon be making its foray into the Canadian insurance industry. Budweiser – widely recognized for encouraging people to “enjoy life responsibly” – will be doubling down on this commitment through the launch of Budweiser Insurance. Offering a new, modern take on classic insurance plans, Budweiser Insurance will provide unique coverage opportunities that have been designed around meaningful insights about customer experiences. Read more.

Transformative Post-COVID Mega-Trends
Frost & Sullivan's latest report finds that COVID-19 has brought significant changes in the behaviour of consumers, compelling them to perceive home as a hub for work, wellness, and entertainment, with connectivity as the key enabler. As consumers strive for safer, contactless and connected environments, technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) will take center stage in the post-pandemic era. Read more.

NCSF Taps Breathe Life Hybrid Platform
Breathe Life, the leading provider of hybrid life insurance distribution solutions, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with the National Catholic Society of Foresters to deliver a modern purchasing experience for NCSF insurance products. Read more.

Cyber Consortium Launches CyberAcuView
Leading cyber insurers have announced the formation of CyberAcuView, a company dedicated to enhancing cyber risk mitigation efforts across the insurance industry. Through the collective expertise of its members, CyberAcuView will compile and analyze cyber-related data to enhance value and service to policyholders and help ensure a competitive market for cyber insurance. Read more.

Billyard Group Launches Oshawa Branch
Billyard Insurance Group is pleased to announce the opening of an additional branch office in Ontario: BIG Oshawa is now open and ready to serve local residents with reliable and affordable insurance products, including auto insurance, home insurance, business insurance, travel insurance, and life insurance. Read more.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Excess Underwriting
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is pleased to announced the acquisition of Excess Underwriting Company. Founded in 2008 and based in Markham, Ontario, Excess Underwriting Company is a property/casualty MGA and Lloyd's broker serving insurance brokers and their clients across Canada. The team specializes in commercial and residential property and liability, and errors & omissions coverage solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Brokerlink Acquires Lackner Mclennan Insurance
BrokerLink is pleased to announce it has acquired Ontario-based Lackner McLennan Insurance Ltd. (formerly Lackner McLennan Insurance and Erb & Erb Insurance Brokers), effective June 1st. This acquisition will enable BrokerLink to expand and serve customers in more communities in Southern Ontario. Read more.

Robson Restoration Joins EMRG Network
EMRG Canada Inc. is pleased to announce a valuable new addition to its membership ranks: Robson Restoration, located in London, Ontario. Read more.

Woodhouse Acquires Flood Restoration Services
Woodhouse Group is proud to announce the acquisition of Flood Restoration Services Inc., a local emergency response and construction company based in Waterloo Region since 2009. Read more.

Beneva Partners With MedHelper
Beneva is pleased to announce it is launching a pilot project with MedHelper Inc., a health technology company. The project, to be spearheaded by SSQ Insurance this fall, promotes the insurer's ability to innovate with respect to general health and demonstrate to its insureds the importance of taking their medication. Read more.

CBN members are independent. Some say fiercely independent.

Through CBN guiding principles of innovation, collaboration, and commitment to growth, our members leverage the tremendous value of independence into best possible value propositions for clients, employees and insurer partners.

CBN is a proud sponsor of the 2021 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Slice Labs Inc.
Slice Labs is the insurance engine leading tomorrow's cloud-based, on-demand digital services ecosystems for the new economy. Using AI, machine learning, and Ph.D. behavioral science expertise in the Slice Insurance Cloud Services (ICS) platform and Slice Mind capabilities, the company is enabling insurers, technology companies, and other service providers to build truly intelligent and intuitive pay-as-you-go digital insurance products protecting the insured anytime and anywhere. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

From Doug The Potential of Embedded Insurance In auto insurance, an insurer's app which monitors driving is increasingly valuable. It may be offered initially to earn discounts on auto insurance premiums, but the functionality can be extended to provide driving feedback. Adding gamification can increase customer engagement – which can boost loyalty. There is a race between auto manufacturers and insurance companies to capitalize on this loyalty. As recipients of car-generated data, auto manufacturers may have the upper hand. Some are already offering embedded insurance. A similar path may unfold for homes. Could those who offer tools to help manage assets and reduce the risk of loss (smart sensors, etc.) expand their role to recommending or even offering insurance as well? Conversely, can the insurance provider take the lead in offering connected loss prevention tools such as water detection sensors, and then leverage the offerings to improve loyalty? More digital / IoT services are being developed for homes. One race is to interconnect these services to reduce the number of points of management. As with the auto category, this cross-industry digital ecosystem for homes is both a threat and an opportunity for insurance. Will the insurance companies come out as winners, or as participating partners, or will they be absent from the table? Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca