The Chronicle: Issue 2015-45, November 10, 2015
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What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?
What role will insurance play in the Sharing Economy Theatre? |
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Business of Insurance
Economical initiates demutualization process
Economical Insurance has announced that its board of directors has formally decided to proceed with demutualization, launching the process to convert the company from a mutual to a stock company with shareholders. "Today marks a pivotal milestone for Economical," said Gerald Hooper, chairman of Economical's board of directors. Economical's policyholders will play an important role throughout the demutualization process, including serving on committees to negotiate the method of allocation among eligible policyholders and any other persons they determine.
Guy Carpenter survey: New products biggest growth opportunity for (re)insurers in 2016
New products represent the biggest growth opportunity for (re)insurers in the year ahead, according to a new survey by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC). The fourth annual survey polled insurance and reinsurance executives at the 2015 Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) Annual Meeting, held in Hollywood, Florida. Designed to identify what (re)insurance professionals believe to be the leading opportunities and threats to growth, this year's survey examines which areas are most in need of innovation as well as the emerging risks respondents believe will impact their plans for growth in 2016.
Aite Group: Ridesharing & opportunities for insurers
Ridesharing companies, including Uber and Lyft, have enjoyed rapid expansion in the United States but still have plenty of room to grow. Aite Group expects that their revenue will expand almost fivefold between 2015 and 2020 as these companies benefit from an organic increase in cars-for-hire demand, take more passengers away from taxis and mass transit, and compete with personal cars.
CAA-Quebec introduces The No-Stress Policy
CAA-Quebec and Prysm General Insurance Inc., a subsidiary of Industrial Alliance Auto and Home Insurance, are pleased and proud to announce a partnership under which they will market new CAA-Quebec-branded automobile insurance and home insurance products. With The No-Stress Policy®, destined for its 1.3 million members, CAA-Quebec is delivering concrete and competitive benefits.
Distribution
The Co-operators acquires Bando & Brown General Insurance
Co-operators General Insurance Company has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary has purchased Bando & Brown General Insurance in London, Ontario. The brokerage's portfolio includes personal and commercial insurance policies. Current clients of the brokerage will be notified of the change in ownership and their existing insurance coverage will remain in effect with no changes to their premiums or coverage for the current term of their policies. As current policies expire, clients will be offered comparable policies from The Co-operators.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquires Christie Phoenix (Victoria) Ltd.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced the acquisition of Christie Phoenix (Victoria) Ltd. and affiliate Discovery Insurance Services Ltd. located in Victoria, British Columbia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Technology
Dufferin Mutual Insurance Company celebrates 6 months in the cloud with technology partners MCCG and iVedha
On March 30th, Dufferin Mutual Insurance Company implemented a cloud-based solution for their complete business operations. After a seamless transition and more than 6 months of worry-free usage, Dufferin is celebrating their success with their technology partners in this project, MCCG and iVedha. Working together, MCCG and iVedha relocated Dufferin's entire IT environment onto iVedha's cloud infrastructure platform, including their Insurance Business Solution (IBS®).
Claims
InEdge: Claim managers should view analytics from a different perspective
When undertaking to improve analytics, to leverage legacy systems, or to integrate new sources of data into a current system, it is tempting to view these challenges as technological issues. But claim managers should instead take a look at these from a business perspective.
Benchmark IME: Claims handling security risks – document management
Each year, computers, operating systems, and the associated software that is running on them become more and more sophisticated. However, the unfortunate reality is that individuals and groups with malicious intent are equally sophisticated, and in some respects data handled in a traditional manner is less secure now than it was even two years ago. This challenge is not restricted to smaller companies with less IT knowledge and fewer security resources.
J.D. Power releases 2015 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study
While satisfaction with the auto insurance claims process is lower among Gen Y – also known as "Millennials" – claimants than among their older counterparts, their satisfaction is improving, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. The study measures customer satisfaction with their most recent automobile collision claim. Depending on the complexity of the claim, claimants may experience some or all of the following areas measured in the study: first notice of loss; service interaction; appraisal; repair process; rental experience; and settlement.
Jobs and Careers
The Power of Strengths and Weaknesses, by Michelle Straka, Givelos Partners Search Inc.
Throughout childhood we are told that we can be anything, do anything. Current child-rearing strategies involve exposing kids to as many different things as possible to ensure they are good at everything regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. We put our efforts into making a child better at their weaknesses instead of focussing on their strengths. Are you good at math but weak in history? Let's spend countless hours making you a better historian. Hours that are spent at the expense of taking your math skills to the next level.
Policy Management
Majesco announces new Majesco DigitalConnect
Majesco, a global provider of core insurance software, consulting and services for insurance business transformation, has announced the release of Majesco DigitalConnect. Majesco DigitalConnect is the only industry solution that offers a single platform with ready to deploy portal and mobile solutions for customers, agents, alternative distribution channels, and group benefits / employees. Five Majesco customers are currently implementing DigitalConnect.
OneShield Market Solutions adds self-service portal to its core products for agents and insureds
With the goal of extending self-service capabilities, 24/7 availability and ease of use to agents and insureds, OneShield Market Solutions, the newly acquired solution of OneShield Inc., has introduced a cloud-based portal for insurers to rapidly handle submissions, quoting, incident intake and general policy and claim inquiries. The portal specifically enables individuals to take charge of their insurance needs, while also offering a wide variety of benefits to both agents and insureds.
Consumer Information
IBC calls on Canadians to install and check carbon monoxide alarms
To help launch Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is once again urging families to protect themselves by installing a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. As part of its commitment to raising awareness, IBC has donated more than 5,000 CO alarms to fire services in communities across Ontario.
SGI and police to focus on safe winter driving throughout November
Ready or not, winter is coming – and every year it seems to catch drivers by surprise. With snow and colder temperatures on the horizon, throughout November police will be on the lookout for people driving too fast for road conditions. From November 2013 to March 2014, driving too fast for road conditions was cited as a contributing factor in 1,511 collisions in Saskatchewan, resulting in seven deaths and 617 injuries. Police will also be on the lookout for other unsafe winter driving behaviours, including failing to clear windows of obstructions such as snow or frost, and neglecting to ensure the proper use of headlights and taillights in low visibility conditions.
State Farm's new Telematics app can help make you a better, safer driver
Are you tired of debating whether or not you're a better driver than your spouse, mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or friends? Telematics, our latest mobile app can help put that argument to rest, save you money on your auto insurance, and, for a limited time, gives you a chance to win some great prizes.
Marketing
eMarketer: Health and fitness spurs wearables adoption
Consumer intention to be more active and lose weight is spearheading the adoption of wearables, an August 2015 survey shows. According to Rock Health, more than two-thirds of respondents said they purchased a wearable device to be active, and almost half of US wearable device owners invested in one with the intent to lose weight. While 25% of respondents purchased a wearable as an experiment and 14% bought one because of social reasons, health is one of the main factors that's driving growth.