Issue 2010-34 -- August 24, 2010

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




Featured Report

Insurance Claims Technology: Moving off the Expense vs. Customer Satisfaction Tightrope onto Firm Ground: TowerGroup,
Insurance claims organizations are under tremendous pressure to find new ways to contribute to the improvement and stabilization of bottom-line corporate financial results. This has always been the case, but the convergence of unprecedented economic and business pressures requires new solutions.

Claims

Xactware Releases New Product for Smart Phones.
OREM, Utah - Aug. 10, 2010 - Property professionals can now scope home damage and estimate rebuild costs on their smart phones using a revolutionary product called XactScope Developed by Xactware, the leader in technology solutions for the property industry, XactScope is a sleek, intuitive application that contractors and insurers can use to scope room dimensions, search line items and estimate property losses ? all from their smart phones.

Deepwater Horizon Disaster Not a Watershed Event for P&C Insurance Market, According to Towers Watson
NEW YORK, August 2, 2010 - The Deepwater Horizon disaster will not be a major event for the property & casualty insurance industry, according to global professional services company Towers Watson Based on available, published information, Towers Watson estimates that net commercially insured losses will be between $4 billion and $6 billion, a fraction of the total economic loss that is currently estimated to be $35 billion.

Hurricane Katrina Five Years Later; PCI Highlights Positive Developments that Emerged from the Storm.
CHICAGO - As we near the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is releasing a white paper that highlights not only the unprecedented damage caused by Katrina throughout the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast region; but also how insurers are more effectively managing catastrophic risks and helping the public to be better prepared in the future.

SAS collaborates with European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network.
CARY, NC (Aug. 13, 2010) - SAS, the leader in software and services, will collaborate with the European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network (EHFCN) to spread information about detecting and preventing health care fraud. The collaboration will expose Belgium-based EHFCN to a broader European audience and identify SAS and the SAS® Fraud Framework for Health Care as a "privileged technical resource" for health care providers and insurers.

Policy and Product Management

Modern Technologies and Legacy Systems: A role for the old and the new - by Dan Sobotincic, Sapiens.
In the world of core P&C systems the most common approach to modernization has historically been the 'big bang' replacement. The goal was to replace the entire legacy system in one aggressive move and one large project in the hopes of solving all of the legacy woes. While the intentions were good, the results weren?t always as expected. The gap between the objective and reality has too often left the project in ruins and sponsors licking their wounds.

eBusiness and Technology

Pitney Bowes Business Insight Introduces Industry's Most Comprehensive Location-Based Data-as-a-Service Offering.
Troy, NY - August 04, 2010 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight today introduced the Geosk(TM) Platform, the geospatial industry's first location-based Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering. The Geosk Platform boasts the most comprehensive geospatial data catalog and delivers it via an easy-to-use, cloud-based portal that lets customers pay as they go.

Aite Group - As the insurance industry recovers, so too will spending on portfolio systems; vendors waiting for the rebound have been enhancing their offerings.
Boston, MA, August 4, 2010 ? A new report from Aite Group profiles select portfolio management and accounting ("portfolio systems") vendors with an established presence in the insurance market. The third in a series of Aite Group reports on portfolio systems, this report defines the unique attributes of insurance portfolio systems.

Distribution

Western Financial Group Increases Ownership Position in Falkins Insurance.
High River, Alberta - August 3, 2010 - Western Financial Group ("Western") announced today that it has increased its ownership position in Falkins Insurance Group from 20% to 40%. Falkins is south central British Columbia's largest brokerage with locations in Cranbrook (2), Creston, Elkford, Fernie, Fruitvale, Golden, Kaslo, Kimberley, Salmo and Sparwood, B.C.

Marketing and the Market Place

Standard Life wins eight 2010 I.F.C.A Awards.
MONTREAL, Aug. 19, 2010 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada stands out again by winning eight awards in the 2010 Insurance and Financial Communicators Association (I.F.C.A.) Annual Awards Competition. This program recognizes excellence in marketing and communications creativity, design and writing in the North American insurance and financial services industry.

Canadians are most concerned about having sufficient income and leading a healthy lifestyle in retirement, according to latest Russell Financial Health Index.
TORONTO, July 30 - It appears that Canadians have been paying close attention to Europe over the past few months. Not particularly as a potential summer vacation destination, but as a catalyst for market volatility. Investor uncertainty has stemmed from the potential impact of Greece's debt situation on the global economy.

Email, portals stay ahead of social networking -- at least on mobile devices: eMarketer
AUGUST 13, 2010 - Social networking has become such a staple of online activity in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in second, took up less than half as much time.

Business of Insurance

Tenfold increase in extreme rainfall in East London, UK: Lloyd's.
Fri 30 Jul - A new study from Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance market, shows that East London has experienced a tenfold increase in extreme daily rainfall since 1960 and warns that the closing of meteorological stations is resulting in incomplete data, impairing future analysis.

TIRF releases new report entitled, "The Implementation of Alcohol Interlocks for First Offenders: A Case Study".
Alcohol ignition interlocks are a proven tool to effectively monitor impaired driving offenders and reduce recidivism. Today, almost all U.S. jurisdictions have implemented an alcohol interlock law targeting repeat and even high-BAC offenders. More recently, at least 12 jurisdictions have moved to also include some or all first offenders in alcohol interlock legislation and several others are considering such laws.

Our People

LOMA Offers "Accelerator" to New Insurance Professionals.
ATLANTA - August 10, 2010 - Entering the world of life insurance and annuities can sometimes be a daunting experience. The vast array of complex products, functions, and terminology can be difficult to understand – let alone master. Managers and credentialed professionals new to the business need a proven way to assimilate industry knowledge and quickly become effective in their new role.

from Doug:

With the time-consuming move more or less behind us now, I need to start back into an exercise routine. Yesterday I managed a half hour bike ride - took longer than that to find all the gear that had been stashed in a variety of places, get more air for the tires etc. It did feel good to get once around one of the old trails. It is different from here though - a few blocks of city riding before the off-road trails, and from a different starting point, a new pattern of rides will have to be developed. Now if I can just keep at the outdoor rides while I start an indoor program with the reasonable gym they have here in anticipation of the inclement weather.


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