INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Walnut Partners With Neo Financial
Walnut Insurance, a digital-first insurance platform and technology company, is pleased to announce their latest partnership with Canadian fintech giant company, Neo Financial to support their recently launched subscription-based credit card reward Bundles. The partnership connects Walnut to Neo's customer base of over 1 million users through their API-driven embedded insurance offerings that are integrated with the Neo Card™ Bundles. Read more.

Kent & Essex Selects Guidewire To Automate Business Processes, Accelerate Growth
Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company, the fifth largest Ontario-based mutual insurer, and Guidewire are pleased to announce that Kent & Essex Mutual selected Guidewire to automate and streamline business processes to drive its growth strategy. Guidewire will be implemented across all of Kent & Essex Mutual's lines of business concurrently. Read more.

CEP Forensic, LRI Engineering Consolidate
CEP Forensic Inc., a premier national forensic engineering provider, is pleased to announce the merger with LRI Engineering Inc., a leading company in Canada for fire protection engineering and building code consulting services. Supported by BDC Capital – Growth Equity Partners, the shareholders have joined to create a leader in the field of risk management and technical services. Read more.

Manulife, Shoppers Drug Mart Collaborate To Help Manage Serious Medical Conditions
Manulife is pleased to announce it has enhanced its industry-leading Specialty Drug Care program with the addition of a new collaboration with Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada's leading pharmacy retailer. Read more.

Hurricane Fiona Insured Damage Total Revealed: IBC
According to initial estimates from CatIQ, Hurricane Fiona is the most costly extreme weather event ever recorded in Atlantic Canada and the tenth largest in Canada in terms of insured damages, surpassing the 2011 Slave Lake wildfire. Hurricane Fiona resulted in tragic loss of life as well as violent winds, torrential rainfall, large waves, storm surge, downed trees and widespread power outages. Read more.

Forward Insurance Managers Launch Professional Liability Package
Forward Insurance Managers Ltd. is pleased to announce the launch of their Professional Liability package products. Read more.

Fortress Insurance Enters Agreement With INIC
Fortress Insurance Company is pleased to announce it has entered into a strategic partnership with U.S.-based Indemnity National Insurance Company. The partnership includes an equity investment in Fortress by INIC, and a plan to provide Fortress with the resources and expertise to offer specialty surety products in Canadian commercial insurance markets through a comprehensive underwriting and re-insurance agreement. Read more.

How To Insure All Significant Investments Under One Roof
Investments in commercial properties have traditionally been a desirable choice for business owners and investors seeking solid capital growth, a consistent monthly income, and greater security than stocks and shares. But substantial hazards accompany substantial advantages. Read more.

Expert Advice For A Safe Halloween
On Halloween, we get to dress up, have fun, eat candy, and spend time with family, neighbours, and the community. But along with thrills and chills, this night is often associated with a drastic spike in insurance claims. Billyard Insurance Group is sharing some tips to enjoy this spooktacular time of year safely. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

SideDrawer
SideDrawer is a mobile and online solution for customers and Professional Service Providers (PSPs) in which customers have the ability to securely keep their personal, financial and important records and organized for life, allowing PSPs to collaborate and communicate with their clients through a single, living repository. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

From Doug I was always interested in how technology could be used for insurance business purposes - including that of brokers. Disintermediation was a thing then, begging the question about the future of broker intermediaries. Since then the number of brokerages has decreased dramatically, but headcount may well have increased. Efficiency improvements have been offset by the growing complexity of the insurance product set, better customer service and increased marketing. Brokers have proved their value based on service, personal advice, choice, advocacy and more. When “InsurTech” arrived, some promised to put another nail in the coffin of broker intermediaries. A recent post by Matteo Carbone notes – under the subheading “‘Innovators’ digested that agents and brokers are here to stay” – that “We had last year the famous trio (Lemonade, Hippo, and Root) do a U-turn from [trash-talking] brokers to using them for selling more policies (or selling them with a lower acquisition cost).” Good brokers are good at business, including managing as an InsurTech. Like any business, your future will be really challenging, but you have earned a place in it. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca