Issue 2006-30: July 25, 2006
Claims
Farmers Alliance Insurance Reports Success with MSB's Tele-Estimating™ Services.
LOS ANGELES and McPherson, KS July 18, 2006 Marshall and Swift / Boeckh (MSB), the leading worldwide provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry, along with Farmers Alliance Insurance (Farmers Alliance) of McPherson, Kansas, announce a successful campaign of MSB's Tele-Estimating Services™ (TES).
Distribution
EDS SOLCORP Releases Latest WealthServ Insurance v4.1.
Collingwood, Ontario - EDS SOLCORP today announced the availability of WealthServ Insurance v4.1, a web-based enterprise system that supports all the back- and front-office administration needs of insurance distributors in Canada.
Annual Eastbridge study finds several voluntary product lines with double-digit growth in 2005.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (July 11, 2006) - No product line saw dramatic growth in 2005, but several did have double-digit increases according to the worksite carriers surveyed in Eastbridge's annual study on worksite sales. Hospital indemnity and limited benefit medical plans have seen the most growth over the past several years. Critical illness and term life also saw double-digit growth, according to Eastbridge's U.S. Worksite Study.
Business of Insurance
Financial Services Commission of Ontario - Statement of Priorities.
June 2006, Toronto -- The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is a regulatory agency established under the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act, 1997 (FSCO Act). Section 11 of the FSCO Act requires FSCO to deliver to the Minister of Finance and publish in the Ontario Gazette (by June 30th of each year), "a statement setting out the proposed priorities of the Commission for the fiscal year in connection with the administration of this Act and all other Acts that confer powers on or assign duties to the Commission or the Superintendent."
Triad Guaranty Inc. Announces Its Intent to Enter the Canadian Mortgage Insurance Market.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 15, 2006 -- Triad Guaranty Inc. (Nasdaq: TGIC) today announced that it is filing a formal notice of its intention to submit an application to incorporate a Canadian subsidiary to begin operations in Canada. This is the first formal step prior to submitting an application to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) in Canada. Pending regulatory approvals, operations could start in Canada sometime in 2007.
Sun Life Financial Signs Distribution Agreement with China Everbright Bank.
TORONTO, July 17, 2006 - Sun Life Financial signed today an agreement with the China Everbright Bank to distribute pensions and protection products throughout China.
Conning Research: Insurance and Banking Enter Next Phase of Integration.
(Hartford, CT) July 12, 2006 - Though Citigroup's recent sale of Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife may appear to indicate that the "financial supermarket" idea of full-scale mergers is an untenable working model, banks and insurers continue to find ways to integrate their services, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc.
Consumer Information
BCUC confirms rates for basic auto insurance - Rising cost of injury payouts continues to be a concern: ICBC.
July 13 - The BC Utilities Commission has released its final decision on 2006 rates for basic, compulsory auto insurance. The Commission confirmed a rate increase of 6.5 per cent, which came into effect on an interim basis on March 15, 2006 . "ICBC is committed to keeping auto insurance rates low and stable," said Donnie Wing, ICBC's senior vice president of insurance, marketing and underwriting, "but the fact of the matter is that the cost of claims is rising, particularly payouts for injury claims. Rates are increasing to cover those rising costs."
IIHS researchers have found that Electronic stability control (ESC) could prevent nearly one-third of all fatal crashes.
ARLINGTON, VA - An extension of antilock brake technology, electronic stability control (ESC) is designed to help drivers retain control of their vehicles during high-speed maneuvers or on slippery roads. Previous research found significant effects of ESC in reducing the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes. Using data from an additional year of crashes and a larger set of vehicle models, researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have updated the 2004 results and found that ESC reduces the risk of fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 32 percent.
I.I.I. Hurricane Readiness Index: Coastal Homeowners from Texas to Maine Only Half-Prepared to Recover from Major Storm.
WASHINGTON (July 6): Average insured homeowners throughout Gulf and Atlantic coastal communities have taken just half the steps which would best position them to recover from a major storm, according to a new Hurricane Readiness Index released today. The Index is based on a survey which asked individuals whether they had taken eight key preparedness steps, including whether they have an inventory of their possessions, whether they feel they have enough homeowners or federal flood insurance, and whether they have critical documents ready to go in case of evacuation.
Marketing and the Market Place
Private insurance represents 13% of health care spending in Canada - twice the OECD average: CIHI.
June 26, 2006 - Canadians pay a larger portion of their health care bill through private funding than the OECD average, according to data released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Private funds-including mostly private insurance and out-of-pocket payments-represented 30% of Canada's overall health care spending in 2004, compared to the OECD average (27%).
eBusiness and Technology
Health Industry Insights' Study Reveals $3.7 Billion Increase in IT Spending for Electronic Health Record Market: IDC Reports.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., July 20, 2006 - In a report published today by IDC's Health Industry Insights, the research and advisory firm forecasts total information technology (IT) spending for the electronic health record (EHR) market in the United States to increase to $4.8 billion in 2015. The study reveals a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8% in the EHR market over the next ten years, with current spending in that market estimated at $1.1 billion in 2005.
The Popularity Of Notebook PCs Will Help Close The Digital Divide Between Society's Technological Haves And Have-Nots, Says Ipsos Insight Study The Face of the Web.
July 14, 2006 - New York, NY - Growing availability to low cost, high-speed and often wireless Internet service appears to be propelling laptop and notebook sales around the world, helping close the so-called "digital divide" between technology's haves and have-nots, say researchers from Ipsos Insight in their annual The Face of The Web study of global Internet trends.
Gartner Survey Shows that Corporate Wireless LAN Deployment is Increasing, But Security is a Major Concern.
STAMFORD, CONN., July 5, 2006 - As enterprises seek to reap the benefits of mobility, 64 percent of businesses intend to increase wireless local-area network (WLAN) deployment during the next 12 months, according to a new survey by Gartner, Inc.
Gomez Unveils Gomez Performance Network 6.5 Featuring First Intelligent Diagnostic Capability for Web Performance Problems.
Lexington, Mass., June 21, 2006 - Leading Internet application performance management company Gomez Inc. today unveiled the Gomez Performance Network (GPN) 6.5, featuring new "Performance Analyzer" technology that provides automated intelligent diagnostics for web applications and web site performance problems. Performance Analyzer provides unparalleled diagnostic insight and for the first time prescribes specific, real-time actions for restoring peak performance in web-deployed environments.
from Doug:
Each summer I help organize a one-day bus trip in August. With weekends all planned between now and then, I spent Saturday driving northwest of Toronto into the rolling hills of southern Grey County, an area I had not explored before. It was a beautiful day, going through towns rich in history, if you look a bit, and good-looking farmlands. With my farming youth long behind, it is always fascinating to see second-cut haying well along, the first very few wheat fields newly combined and corn fields just in tassel. I didn't miss terribly the memories of dust and sweat in haying and harvest season; nonetheless lots of good memories too.