Issue 2004-39: Oct 19, 2004
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.
Consumer Information
Aviva Canada “Autograph” Program Enables Drivers to Align Driving Habits with Lower Auto Insurance Premiums.
Testing will begin in early 2005 on a new auto insurance program that enables drivers to track their daily driving habits to gain premium discounts of up to 25 per cent. Aviva Canada, one of the nation's largest Property & Casualty insurance groups and the largest auto insurer in Ontario, has exclusive rights to this innovative program in Canada and will begin testing in Ontario in early 2005.
Motorcycle crash study shatters myths and highlights increased risks: MPIC.
Manitoba motorists continue to subsidize motorcycle insurance premiums despite a decade of steady increases in motorcycle rates, a study released by Manitoba Public Insurance confirmed yesterday. The analysis refutes all arguments made by motorcycle groups that what they pay is unfair. It concludes that if motorcyclists were to pay their fair share of claims costs, insurance premiums would increase by 37 per cent.
Nova Scotians will pay less for their Auto Insurance in the Coming Year.
(From Canadian Insurance ENEWS:) The Nova Scotia Insurance Review Board posted their rate filing decisions today (October 8th). The majority of filings are decreases. The new rates will affect about 63 per cent of the auto insurance market in Nova Scotia, or about 321,000 drivers.
Distribution
CoVirt announces that Three More Brokerages Choose VirtGate.
CoVirt Inc. (Canada), the Canadian leader in Internet based life insurance administration services today announced three new brokerage clients are now in production: Audis Canada Ltd., (Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary), TermSure.com Inc., (London), and Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers Ltd., (Kitchener).
RBC Insurance Expands Product Portfolio for Career Sales Force Clients.
RBC Insurance today announced the expansion of the product offering of its career sales force to offer clients enhanced access to RBC Royal Bank personal banking and lending products.
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week ending October 15: North Waterloo Mutual is now in user acceptance testing for Ontario Property rates.
Grenville Mutual was not on our list previously for Ontario Property, but is now in user acceptance testing.
CSIO will have a booth at the Ontario Broker Convention this week.
The number of brokers integrated to the portal has increased by five from last week to 111.
Business of Insurance
Walking the Tightrope Survey Reveals Life and Annuity Insurers Face High Pressure to Grow Market Share While Reducing Costs: Solcorp.
SOLCORP, a leading provider of software solutions to the life insurance and financial industries and a subsidiary of EDS, today highlighted key findings from its survey of executives at North American life insurance and annuity companies, and announced that full results will be made available at a Webinar on October 27. The survey, entitled Walking the Tightrope: Improving Profitability while Reducing Costs, was conducted in conjunction with partner companies Whitehill Technologies, Inc. and DSPA Software Inc.
eBusiness and Technology
Information Builders at the Forefront of Operational BI, Extending the Power of Decision-Making Across the Enterprise.
Information Builders, the leader in enterprise business intelligence (BI) and real-time operational reporting, today announced it has further solidified its position as the leader in operational business intelligence with the release of WebFOCUS 5.3. At the foundation of this latest release are performance and functional features that will help organizations extend business intelligence to encompass operational data and engage users from across the enterprise.
ACORD Advocacy Campaign Challenges Leaders to Look Anew at Data Standards.
ACORD, the global leader in standards for the insurance and financial services industries, is launching an advocacy campaign that features original print and web advertising that takes a humorous look at a world without standards.
Policy Management
Mutual Fire Insurance Company of B.C. finds the right technology solution in AIS from Garvin-Allen.
August 25, 2004, Halifax, NS, Canada -- A win for Halifax-based Garvin-Allen Solutions Limited was recently secured when the company's software, Advanced Insurance System (AIS) was purchased by Mutual Fire Insurance Company of British Columbia.
Product Announcements
Transamerica adds Estate Preservation Strategy to the MONARCH Series.
TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2004 - The Estate Preservation strategy is the newest insurance solution to form part of Transamerica Life Canada's MONARCH Series. The MONARCH Series is an end-to-end program tying life insurance strategies, products and administrative support, together with a consultative approach. The series, launched in August 2004 strives to provide independent insurance advisors with tailored client solutions that are optimized throughout every stage of the client's life.
Marketing
Manulife Bank poll finds most Canadians worried about their debts if interest rates keep rising.
WATERLOO, ON, Oct. 13, 2004 - Almost seven out of 10 Canadians are concerned about how they'll handle their mortgages, credit card and other debts if interest rates keep rising, according to a national survey for Manulife Bank of Canada.
HUB International Launches Branding Strategy.
(From Canadian Insurance ENEWS:) HUB International has grown rapidly since its creation in 1998 to a current revenue base of approximately $400 million in North America. Approximately three quarters of HUB's revenues are derived in the United States, versus less than 3% in 1999. Beginning this month, its retail subsidiaries will incorporate “HUB International” into their names.
Claims
FSCO Survey Shows High claims satisfaction for Ontario auto insurers: IBC.
Auto insurers in Ontario have once again been given a sterling grade by customers making a claim. The annual Auto Claims Satisfaction Survey, issued by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) today, shows that 84% of consumers who had to make an auto insurance claim last year were satisfied with the way it was handled.
OPP Anti-Rackets Host International Conference on Identity Theft.
(From Canadian Insurance ENEWS:) Identity Theft is growing in Canada, costing the economy approximately $2.5 billion per year. In 2003, Phone Busters received more than 15,000 identity theft complaints from Canadians. The OPP's Anti-Rackets Section is hosting its second annual conference in Orillia this week, bringing together experts from around the globe.
Managing Relationships
Managing the High Net Worth: Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse: Report from Celent.
In a new report, Managing the High Net Worth, Celent examines the technology approach behind Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse's (MLBS) wealth management services and the latest steps taken by the bank to differentiate itself from the rest of Switzerland's financial organizations. The study shows how Merrill Lynch is using technology from vendor SAGE to enrich and more clearly define and manage internal business processes to better serve its clientele.
Insurance in the Community
Crawford's 10th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Raises More than $10,000.
A capacity crowd of Crawford employees and clients attended the event in Toronto's West end, where warm temperatures and a cloudless sky kept spirits up throughout the day. The tournament surpassed its goals and raised more than $10,000 for Crawford's charity, Crawford Cares, benefiting The Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC).
from Doug:
I am organizing and running a thrice-annual board/management group meeting for a volunteer heritage organization this weekend with thirty people from across the country attending. What a challenge to try to make it a meaningful and productive day with meaty topics. It will be fun....more next week, if I make it through the weekend!
Unlike Shakespeare's Henry VIII, which we quite enjoyed at Stratford on Sunday, a President of such a volunteer group has little regal power; I guess persuasion will be the best I can muster.