Issue 2010-10 -- March 9, 2010

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.




Policy and Product Management

Golden Bear Insurance Company Goes Live with WebWriter Enterprise from ISI.
Toronto, Canada and Stockton, California - March 2, 2010 - Insurance Systems Inc. (ISI), a leading provider of web-based enterprise solutions for the property/casualty insurance industry, is pleased to announce Golden Bear Insurance Company (Golden Bear) has successfully implemented WebWriter Enterprise to handle complete insurance processing for all of the company's personal lines business.

eBusiness and Technology

2010 US Insurance CIO Survey: Pressures, Priorities, and Practices: Report Published by Celent.
In a new report, 2010 US Insurance CIO Survey: Pressures, Priorities, and Practices, Celent highlights business issues and IT priorities reported by property/casualty and life/health CIOs. Findings include allocation of resources for new initiatives, year-to-year changes in IT budgets, and the anticipated evolution of technology platforms over the next three years.

Forrester: 2010 Software Spending Devoted To Existing Systems More Than Emerging Technologies.
Cambridge, Mass., February 17, 2010 . . . More than half of IT software budgets in 2010 will go toward ongoing operations and maintenance of existing applications as opposed to implementing new software solutions, according to a recent survey by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). The survey of nearly 2,200 IT executives and technology decision-makers at enterprise and small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) in North America and Europe is part of Forrester's Business Data Services (BDS) series, which helps Vendor Strategy professionals profile their target market's budget allocation and technology adoption.

Claims

IBM and FINEOS team up to offer enhanced capabilities to improve the citizen-centric experience.
Dublin, Ireland, March 1, 2010 - FINEOS Corporation, a global provider of innovative enterprise software solutions for insurance and government, today announced that its software has been validated for the IBM Government Industry Framework. The Framework is a unified software platform that enables government agencies to quickly deploy comprehensive solutions with industry-specific extensions at a lower cost, without compromising on flexibility or choice.

Disaster Kleenup Canada Ltd. Expands into Nanaimo & Port Alberni, BC and London, ON.
Mississauga, ON - March 1, 2010 - Disaster Kleenup Canada Ltd. has expanded its national network to serve even more communities across Canada. The addition of two new members reinforces the organization?s position as the country?s leading network of restoration professionals.

Distribution

Edward Jones can now refer their clients to Manulife Bank products to help clients become debt-free sooner and build savings.
WATERLOO, ON, March 1 2010 - Edward Jones, a leading Canadian financial services firm, has formalized an association with Manulife Bank of Canada to integrate innovative debt-management and banking solutions into the financial plans of their clients. Now, Edward Jones advisors can refer their clients to the revolutionary Manulife One account, an all-in-one account designed to help homeowners become debt-free sooner and improve their overall financial plan.

New report from Eastbridge Consulting Group looks at administrative practices in voluntary market.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (February 18, 2010) - Mastering the basics of billing, policy and plan administration, and speedy and accurate claims paying are essential in the voluntary market. Lack of excellence in these areas leads to employer and employee dissatisfaction and can cost a carrier big dollars in terms of lost business and minimal profits.

Business of Insurance

Changes to Automobile Insurance Regulations in Ontario: FSCO.
With this Bulletin, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is highlighting a number of automobile insurance reforms that will become effective on September 1, 2010. These reforms are the result of the first Five Year Review of Automobile Insurance. They include a new Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule ? Effective September 1, 2010 (new SABS), and various other regulation amendments that were filed by the Government of Ontario with the Registrar of Regulations.

Manulife-Sinochem Expands Again in China with two new licenses.
TORONTO, March 4 2010 - Manulife-Sinochem (MSL) announced that it has been granted two new licenses from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to operate in Linyi, a city of 10 million people in Shandong province and Yancheng, with 8 million people in Jiangsu province. The new licenses bring MSL's total to 41 - creating one of the largest insurance foreign-invested joint venture networks in China.

CIGNA International Adds 4,000 New Hospitals and Clinics to Network in Russia.
CLAYMONT, Del., February 15, 2010 - CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB), a world leader in group health benefits for expatriates, has expanded its international network in Russia by adding 4,000 new hospitals and clinics. The network in Russia includes health care professionals located in areas with a high concentration of expatriates such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. CIEB offers access to a network of more than 120,000 global health care professionals outside the United States, delivering unparalleled access to care for globally mobile employees and their family members worldwide.

Marketing and the Market Place

Small Biz Doubles Social Media Adoption: eMarketer.
MARCH 1, 2010 - A difficult economy has helped spur small businesses to adopt social media marketing in greater numbers, according to "The State of Small Business Report" from Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Social media usage increased to 24%, from 12% the year before.

Great-West Life Benchmark Report: Despite economy, Canadian employers contributing more, and more employees contributing the maximum, to their group retirement plans.
WINNIPEG, March 2, 2010 2010 - Canadian employers are increasing contributions to their group retirement plans and more employees are maximizing their contributions to get full employer matching contributions, according to the 2009 Capital Accumulation Plan (CAP) Benchmark Report.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

DALBAR Announces Its 2009 Service Award Winners in Financial Services.
(Boston, MA. - January 12th, 2010) Today DALBAR released the 2009 winners of its annual Service Awards. For twenty years, DALBAR has conducted rigorous testing of service delivery and, each year, identified those mutual fund, broker/dealer, annuity, life insurance and retirement plan providers that are able to deliver industry-leading service to their customers.

Consumer Information

SGI rewards learner drivers.
February 25, 2010 - During driver education sessions all learner drivers are asked to record their in-car hours in a practice log. SGI recommends that a learner driver log a minimum of 36 hours under different driving conditions over their nine-month learning period.

Rising EI costs may kill 200,000 jobs and cause future surplus to soar: CFIB.
Toronto, February 17, 2010 - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has released a study projecting a return to much higher Employment Insurance (EI) rates and surpluses up to the year 2020. CFIB's projections go five years beyond the government's own estimates.

from Doug:

From our conference into the fire. As we try to downsize (rightsize?) and after shedding many household items either to others we know or to the dump, we have decided we still have too much "stuff". This is the week we move a big load of "extra" but not dispensable (interpret that to mean things we can't yet decide to part from, or don't want to take the time and effort to make that decision) items into temporary storage.


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