The Chronicle: Issue 2013-47, December 3, 2013


What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?

A Unique Broker Opportunity: Technology, Customization, and Zero Distance
Increasingly, consumer-facing organizations are using technology to offer a customized experience to their customers. It is part of a trend referred to as mass customization aimed at delivering products and services reflecting customers' individual tastes and preferences, at prices that translate into superior value.

Insurance Marketing Word of the Year
Oxford Dictionaries has just announced its word of the year. We would like to nominate this for the Insurance Marketing Word of the year as well. The word is “selfie” – a “photograph one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam, and uploaded to a social media website.” What does this mean for insurance marketing? It tells us that insurance clients not only want to be in the picture, they want control over how the picture is taken. We need to take heed.

The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog
The Intersection

an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog


Technology

MARCON: Transit in the new mobility landscape
In this country, transit is one of the rare visionary industries that are laying the groundwork required to seize the opportunities that the new mobility landscape (accompanied by autonomous vehicle technology and connectivity) will present. Asked whether autonomous vehicle technology will be on our roads in the foreseeable future, more than three quarters of the delegates in our well-attended session at the Canadian Urban Transit Association conference raised their hands.

InEdge introduces iterative-incremental implementation approach to maximize the value of insurance analytics
Recognizing the challenges facing insurers undertaking Analytics initiatives, InEdge, the Insurance Analytics specialist, is proposing the Iterative-Incremental Approach to deliver on the expectations of Insurance Analytics projects, thus ensuring that needs and requirements are fulfilled with a laser focus on providing business value at each step.

Marketing

Technology, customization, zero distance and the broker channel, by Catherine Kargas, MARCON
Consumer-facing organizations are using technology to offer an increasingly customized experience to customers, part of a trend referred to as mass customization. Companies' adoption of mass customization is driven by heightened customer expectations and the quest to develop and sustain competitive advantage. New technologies are facilitating a new way of thinking about marketing strategy and enabling organizations to “connect” with their customers in creative ways, differentiating them from the competition. It is in fact, a trend toward “zero distance”: a new proximity to the customer.

Business of Insurance

Sun Life Financial will make home and auto insurance available to Canadian customers through belairdirect
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and Intact Financial Corporation have announced a referral arrangement to provide Sun Life's customers in Canada with access to belairdirect's home and auto insurance offerings through their websites and call centres.

Hellman & Friedman to acquire Applied Systems
Applied Systems, Inc., a leading provider of software that powers the business of insurance, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by investment funds advised by Hellman & Friedman LLC. The transaction is subject to customary conditions to closing and is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Towers Watson: Global Insurers increase mergers & acquisitions activity, anticipate trend to continue
Global insurers are regaining their appetite for mergers and acquisitions, according to a survey of senior insurance M&A executives conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson in conjunction with global intelligence provider Mergermarket.

PwC: Canadian financial institutions struggle with long-term innovation strategies
The Canadian financial services industry is lagging behind its global counterparts when it comes to innovation, with nearly a third of board-level respondents indicating it's “very challenging” to build an innovative culture. According to the Global Innovation Survey released by PwC today, even though innovation is viewed as an important driver of success by 83% of banks, insurers, wealth managers and other financial services leaders, they see a number of unique challenges in getting innovation right.

Consumer Information

IBC: Mandatory carbon monoxide detectors one step closer in Ontario
The Insurance Bureau of Canada congratulates the Ontario legislature for passing Bill 77, MPP Ernie Hardeman's bill to make carbon monoxide detectors mandatory in homes across Ontario. In recent months, IBC has donated more than 300 carbon monoxide detectors to fire departments in Mount Forest, Stratford, Trenton and Cobourg. These departments then distribute the detectors to local residents. Everyone is at risk as 88% of all homes contain something that poses a carbon monoxide threat.

Kanetix partners with Blue Cross to offer health insurance quotations for Quebecers
Kanetix is excited to announce the addition of health insurance quotations for consumers living in Quebec; with the addition of Blue Cross as its new partner in the region. Quebecers can take advantage of the new Health Insurance coverage that Kanetix offers French and English consumers; by simply entering their information in the quotation form to find the coverage that suits their lifestyle.


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