Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter: Issue 2002-29; July 23, 2002

Issue 2002-29: July 23, 2002

This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information mostly about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.

Distribution

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario Introduces on-line Licensing.

FSCO introduces the second phase of its Internet Application System, a project that supports the Ontario government’s e-business initiative. The Internet Application System (IAS) is fast, secure and convenient. Effective July 15, 2002, your staff will be able to sponsor new agents over the Internet, and prospective new agents will be able to apply for a licence on-line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Licences for qualified agents will be issued a few days later, after the completion of background checks. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/canada/FSCO200207.php

CSIO Insurance Portal

Week ending July 19: Testing and implementation continues on all fronts. The ISI rating function for the portal was loaded onto the portal last weekend and testing with it is now underway. More rates continue to be received and loaded by ISI.

ConsumerInfo

Parents’ driving matters most, say police!

"Do you believe that your teenage driver has only learned all of your good driving habits?" That’s how Chief William Morvay of the New Middletown, Ohio, Police department responded to a recent survey by the I Promise Program a teen safe driving initiative that is sweeping across North America. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfoauto/ipromsurvey.php

Policy Management

Kingsway Announces Approval of Ontario Private Passenger Rate Increases.

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. today announced that it has obtained approval from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (‘FSCO’) to implement increased rates and to eliminate certain rating classes for Private Passenger Automobile Business offered by Kingsway General in Ontario. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/canada/Kingsway200207.php

inreon Membership Grows by 100% Plus in Six Months.

Electronic trading in the reinsurance industry has gained a growing acceptance in recent months according to new membership statistics published by Internet-based trading platform inreon. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/other/ri3k200207.php

Marketing

Banks Have an Opportunity to Increase Life Insurance Sales, LIMRA Reports.

Banks can capture a larger share of the life insurance market, particularly among emerging-affluent customers. But first they need to show consumers that banks can meet their insurance needs, according to the results of a consumer survey by LIMRA International. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/limra200207.php

Manulife Bank of Canada offers competitive, lower fixed rate on Manulife One

Manulife One, Canada's first and only flexible mortgage account, will now offer significantly lower rates for its "fixed-rate" component. This innovative account, which uses a variable rate along with account holders' income to help dramatically lower mortgage interest costs, also enables them to lock in a portion of their mortgage at fixed-rates, if they're worried variable rates might climb. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/ManulifeB200207.php

Managing Relationships

Life Insurers Indicate the Need for Improved Disclosure and Increased Transparency of Financial Statements: Tillinghast Survey.

According to a just-released Tillinghast - Towers Perrin survey of life insurance CFOs, improved disclosure of key business risks and increased transparency of financial statements will be vital to restoring public confidence shaken by the recent financial difficulties and alleged incidents of improper accounting among high-profile companies. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/canada/Tillinghast200207.php

Sysinct Implements a Paperless Customer Service Environment at McGriff Seibels & Williams.

Sysinct was challenged with providing a technology solution that would eliminate the printing and filing of 40,000 policyholder documents each month, while simultaneously cross-referencing all policyholder information and making it available on the desktop. The solution should manage the documents throughout a policy's life cycle.

Technology & e-business

Progressive.com Named #1 Insurance Carrier Web site by Gomez for the Sixth Consecutive Period.

The evaluations are complete and the Web site ranked number one on the Second Quarter 2002 Gomez Internet Insurance Carrier Scorecard is progressive.com, making the site the only one to be named "#1 Insurance Carrier Web site" six consecutive times. Progressive.com is the Web site of the Progressive group of insurance companies. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/Progressive200207.php

Reference and Statistics

North American Life Insurance Activity Drops Slightly in June:MIB.

Consumer applications for life insurance in the U.S. and Canada were off 2 percent in June as compared with the same period last year. Activity among Canadian insurers increased 2.4 percent over June 2001 levels, however these gains were offset by declining activity in the U.S. of 2.5 percent, dampening overall results. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/MIB200207.php

Skills and Careers

Online Education Usage in Canada: e-marketer.

According to a Q1 2002 online education study from Ipsos-Reid, 25.3% of internet users in Canada have searched online for e-learning courses, though only 7.5% have actually taken an online course. Additionally, Ipsos determined that 23.8% have researched offline classes at traditional institutions online. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/humanres/canada/eMarketer200207.php

from Doug:

The hot days of summer continue and after along dry spell, about ten cm of rainfall over the last few days makes the lawns and gardens look better. Compared to too much of the country though we have little to complain about. We here at Insurance-Canada.ca hope you are enjoying your summer -- be safe, have fun!