Issue 2005-16: April 19, 2005
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
What's At Risk? Protecting Your Computer Assets And Information - Insurers Financial Group.
Their size, portability and value make laptops an easy target for theft. Laptops serve as beneficial tools in personal use, school, business and entertainment. Aside from their tangible market value, the stored confidential information is reason enough to allure both amateur thieves and sophisticated fraud rings.
Identity Theft Rated Primary Online Security Concern Among Canadians: AOL Canada (Maritz Research).
TORONTO, March 29, 2005 - Thirty-nine per cent of Canadians consider identity theft, such as having passwords and personal information stolen, to be their primary security concern online, according to a recent study commissioned by AOL Canada Inc., and conducted by Maritz Research. However, 64 per cent of Canadians surveyed were unable to accurately define the term "phishing" - the increasingly common practice of using fraudulent spam emails and fake corporate Websites to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data.
Ontario Fire Departments To Receive Money For Training And Equipment to Improve Fire Safety.
TORONTO, March 22, 2005 - The Ontario government is helping Ontario municipalities better protect residents by providing funding to municipal fire departments for training and equipment for the first time in more than 20 years, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter announced today.
eBusiness and Technology
InSystems Calligo Doc Services improves contract issuance at Horizon: Case Study.
April 2005 -- When Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. (Horizon) was faced with having to reissue over 46,000 contracts, New Jersey's largest health insurer decided to enhance its contract issuing functions. By transitioning manual processes to InSystems Calligo Doc Services in 2004, Horizon was able to reduce contract issuance time in half, realize over $1 million in staff and administrative savings within the first year of implementation, and lay the groundwork for a projected ROI.
Hyland Software Hosts Record Setting User Conference.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – April 8, 2005 – Hyland Software, Inc., developer of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, today announced record-setting attendance figures for the Minneapolis Regional OnBase Group of User Experts (ROGUE), which took place Thursday, April 7, 2005, at the Millennium Hotel Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SAS strengthens assault on BI market with enhanced offering.
PHILADELPHIA (April 11, 2005) – SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today announced it is shipping a newly enhanced version of the SAS® Enterprise BI Server, a major component of the SAS®9 Intelligence Platform, to users worldwide. SAS provides the industry's most comprehensive offering, complete with easy point-and-click reports, while at the same time delivering more breadth and depth than conventional BI vendors.
Marketing and the Market Place
Insurance-Canada.ca Celebrates 10th Anniversary.
TORONTO, April 14, 2005 – This year, Insurance Canada proudly celebrates a decade of serving insurance professionals and consumers through its Web site, www.insurance-canada.ca. The first Internet portal in North America devoted to the insurance industry, Insurance Canada remains the only site of its kind in this country.
What Do Shopping, Planning A Vacation And Filing Taxes Have In Common? That's Easy, Progressive Survey Says.
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — March 29, 2005 — What about life has become easier? A lot, according to a recent countrywide online survey conducted by The Progressive Direct Group of Insurance Companies. The survey found 63 percent of people say their personal/family life is getting easier and 42 percent say their professional/work life is getting easier. Technology — specifically the Internet (96 percent), desktop computers (92 percent) and cell phones (76 percent) — all rank high in helping to make people's lives easier.
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week beginning 18 April, 2005:
The number of brokers integrated is now 167, with 39 more in progress.
Wawanesa has gone live with hab quotes, and Bay of Quinte Mutual has sent rates for hab to ISI.
Distribution
Five more customers join Kinnect.
11 April 2005, London UK - Kinnect, the electronic platform which securely exchanges risk data and wordings between brokers and underwriters, has furthered its expansion in the Lloyd's market by enlisting five new customers.
Business of Insurance
The Co-operators Reports Solid Growth and Earnings, Membership Expansion.
REGINA, SK, April 13, 2005 - At its annual general meeting in Regina today, The Co-operators marked its 60th anniversary with a report of solid growth and earnings in 2004 and the addition of three new co-operative member-owners.
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS - PACICC: No New Insolvencies, Reviewing Preparedness.
In early 2005, a member survey to identify options for enhancing PACICC's financial capacity favoured raising the maximum allowable annual assessment rate to 1.5% of eligible direct written premiums.
Manulife-Sinochem begins operations in fourth China city: Ningbo.
NINGBO, China, April 9, 2005 - Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Canadian-based Manulife Financial, the world's fifth largest life insurance company, today opened its doors to business in the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province - site of the Company's third Branch office in China.
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS - U.S. P/C Industry's Net Income and Surplus Propelled to Record Highs.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Apr. 12, 2005 — Benefiting from a rare profit on underwriting and investment gains, the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry's net income after taxes rose 29 percent to a record $38.7 billion in 2004 from $30 billion in 2003. Reflecting the industry's income and unrealized capital gains on investments, its surplus, or statutory net worth, increased $46.5 billion, or 13.4 percent, to a record $393.5 billion at year-end 2004 from $347 billion at year-end 2003, according to ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
Insurance in the Community
Crawford Adjusters Canada Receives WICC's Lew Dunn Award.
KITCHENER, Ontario, April 13, 2005 -- Crawford Adjusters Canada is proud to announce that it was awarded the Lew Dunn Memorial Award last evening at the Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade's (WICC's) Ninth Annual Fundraising Dinner.
Munich Re – 125 years: Munich Re Foundation finances UN Chair and promotes international research, with focus on disaster prevention.
"In its 125–year history, Munich Re has developed a unique fund of knowledge, which we now want to utilise even more widely for the benefit of society. This accords with our understanding of social responsibility," said Nikolaus von Bomhard, Chairman of Munich Re's Board of Management, on the occasion of the company's anniversary.
from Doug:
Eldest son completes his University program Tuesday with his last final exam. A few weeks of R&R will follow before heading into his first full-time work environment. It will be an easier transition than some, due to eight co-op work terms, and his employer being the same as his last work-term. Now all the little things like a place to live, transportation, and insurance.
Second son has an exam on the last possible day and will be coming home for the summer on April 30; then the challenge of finding something gainful to do until September.