The Chronicle: Issue 2015-16, April 21, 2015


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

Core Systems Replacements Redux
We were having lunch with a consultant colleague last week, and the subject turned to core systems modernization & replacement. It seems that a significant percentage of North American initiatives are running longer than planned, or higher than budget, or narrower in scope. Some are encountering more than one challenge. We scratched our grey heads – we recalled seeing this movie before – and wondered if our industry has a pattern that needs to be repeated every couple of decades. We have a theory of why this might be.

Is Agile Outdated?
I don't usually get into the substrata of technology in this space, but recent posts on several tech sites suggest that the Agile development approach might not be meeting all the needs of software development. If true, this could cause some real disruption well beyond IT developers. Agile was created in 2001 by software professionals who were seeking an alternative to long, delayed, expensive, frustrating development projects; it has a simple ‘manifesto.’ Insurer technologists have become evangelists for the agile methodology, and most major software suppliers – along with a large number of internal development operations – have adopted its principles and practices.

The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog
The Intersection

an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog


Technology

Gartner says security analytics may be key in breach detection
Although security spending is at an all-time high, security breaches at major organizations are also at an all-time high, according to Gartner, Inc. The impact of advanced attacks has reached boardroom-level attention, and this heightened attention to security has freed up funds for many organizations to better their odds against such attacks.

IBM opens threat intelligence to combat cyber attacks
IBM has announced it is making its vast library of security intelligence data available via the IBM X-Force Exchange, a new cyber threat intelligence sharing platform powered by IBM Cloud. This collaborative platform provides access to global volumes of actionable IBM and third-party threat data, including real-time indicators of live attacks, which can be used to defend against cyber crimes. The X-Force Exchange builds on IBM's tremendous scale in security intelligence, integrating its powerful portfolio of deep threat data research and technologies like QRadar, thousands of global clients, and acumen of a worldwide network of security analysts and experts from IBM Managed Security Services.

Opta launches Commercial Peril Score for the Canadian insurance marketplace
Opta Information Intelligence, Canada's leading provider of property intelligence and innovative technology solutions, is proud to introduce technology that embraces the industry trend toward predictive analytics while allowing insurers to take their commercial portfolio underwriting to a new level of sophistication with the launch of Commercial Peril Score™. This powerful and unique tool provides the ability to identify commercial properties more at risk for claims frequency and severity by geo-coded address.

TEI/IET Mobility Newsletter: Collaborative Technologies are Reinventing Businesses
Mobility has seen a great number of innovations in the past few years with the adoption of smartphone technology by drivers and passengers. Most information technology features that previously needed expensive specialized hardware and infrastructure no longer require them. Who needs an onboard GPS now that you can use your smartphone? With millions of apps offering concierge, taxi or even food delivery services, smartphone technology has forever transformed mobility models. The collaborative economy has been more and more popular in the last five years, thanks to its use of internet and smartphone technologies. By mastering tools to match supply and demand in an instantaneous manner (Uber, BlaBlaCar, etc.), it has radically changed the way people use transport services. Collaborative economy services respond to the need for an immediate solution in an original, transparent, simple and structured way that reassures users.

Business of Insurance

EGI Financial to rebrand as Echelon Insurance
EGI Financial Holdings Inc. has announced plans to rebrand the company. It will now operate under the trade name Echelon Insurance, aligning its corporate and retail operations under one brand. EGI Financial Holdings Inc., the publicly traded holding company, will change its name to Echelon Financial Holdings Inc., subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting of the Company on May 7, 2015. In addition, Echelon General Insurance Company, an OSFI regulated insurance company, has received regulatory approval to change its name to Echelon Insurance.

Guy Carpenter launches new public sector specialty practice
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has announced the launch of the Public Sector Specialty Practice. This global team is focused exclusively on the unique risk management needs of governmental agencies and entities. Unfunded exposure to uninsured property, health, life and employment losses extends well beyond natural catastrophes and includes disasters stemming from man-made and other emerging risks. Cyber-attacks, infectious disease, and environmental accidents are just some of the areas in which public entities are expected to respond despite fiscal constraints.

Claims

Guy Carpenter launches new G-CAT Canada Flood Model
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has launched its new G-CAT® Canada Flood Model. In creating the first ever probabilistic flood model for Canada, Guy Carpenter has enabled insurers to assess their exposure to flood, Canada's most frequently occurring natural hazard. Large areas of Canada experience flooding, with a number of damaging events occurring in recent years, such as the June 2013 Alberta floods, which were among the worst in Canadian history.

Consumer Information

The Co-operators and FMRP partner on applied research network to advance flood resiliency
The Co-operators and Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan have announced the creation of the Partners for Action (P4A) Network at the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Environment. The two founding partners have invested significantly in the new applied research network, which will work to advance flood resiliency in Canada in the face of a changing climate.

Intact Insurance debuts Lifestyle Advantage home insurance coverage
Intact Insurance has unveiled Lifestyle Advantage, a new type of home insurance coverage which will give experienced homeowners the flexibility to rebuild their lives the way that they want, in the event of a total loss to their home or any loss to personal property. Intact Insurance is Canada's largest provider of home, auto and business insurance protecting over four million customers.

In The Community

WICC to host exclusive Cancer Society relay event
Women In Insurance Cancer Crusade is pleased to announce that it is once again supporting the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life events across Ontario. WICC is also teaming up with the country's leading cancer charity to hold its first-ever insurance industry-exclusive Relay For Life event. Downtown Toronto will be the backdrop for this event that will take place on Friday, June 12th on the Garrison Commons at Fort York.


Subscribe here or view past issues.