Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter Archive
Issue 2004-9: March 2, 2004
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.
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week ending February 27: Gore Mutual has moved into User Acceptance Testing for Ontario Property rates. The alpha/beta testing brokers continue
Distribution
RBC Insurance Makes Offering Long Term Care Insurance Easier.
RBC Insurance is pleased to announce the launch of its new leading-edge long term care insurance (LTC) underwriting guide, designed for use by RBC Insurance representatives.
IVANS Study Finds Insurance Agents Prefer Carriers That Are 'Aggressive' With New Technology.
IVANS Inc., the market leader in providing network and real-time solutions for the insurance industry, today released a new study detailing the current state of insurance agent adoption of technology in the United States. The study, which received responses from more than 435 independent agents, revealed that an overwhelming majority of insurance agents (84.3%) prefer to work with insurance carriers that they consider aggressive in their use of new technology.
Marketing and the Market Place
Canadians RRSP Contributions: Poll by Ipsos-Reid.
According to a recent telephone poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of the Bank of Nova Scotia, almost one-half (47%) of Canadian adults do not intend to contribute to an RRSP for the 2003 tax year. This proportion includes both Canadians who chose not to make an RRSP contribution and those who are not eligible for these contributions due to their age or for other reasons.
Insurance Products and Pricing
Insurers announce five-point action plan to lower auto insurance rates in response to New Brunswick government pressure and public outcry.
Responding to government pressure and public outcry over the high cost of auto insurance in New Brunswick, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) today announced an action plan to bring premium rates down quickly throughout the province. The long-awaited initiative will also provide long-term relief to New Brunswick drivers.
SGI Rewards Saskatchewan Businesses.
Saskatchewan businesses that own and operate motor vehicles will soon be rewarded for their safe driving with insurance discounts under SGI's Business Recognition program, being implemented May 1st.
Risk Management and Reduction
IBC urges better preparation to deal with natural disasters.
In response to the Filmon report on the BC mountain fires, Insurance Bureau of Canada is recommending coordinated efforts to help lessen the impact of disasters.
Claims
NeCST Sets the Standard for the Electronic Health Record in Canada.
Today the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) are pleased to announce that the National e-Claims Standard (NeCST) is one of the first projects in the world to receive official recognition under the most recent and advanced version three of Health Level Seven (HL7 v3), the worlds most successful messaging standard. In addition to money already invested, Canada Health Infoway recently signed an agreement to further invest $1 million in the NeCST project.
Standard Autoglass Makes A Strategic Move with All-Mobile Offering.
Belron Canada, Canada's largest auto glass retailer, announced today that it is committed to a major change by offering consumers in the Greater Toronto Area and on the Island of Montreal a world-class mobile service for two of its banners, Standard AutoGlass and Lebeau Vitres d'auto. The company now intends to replace auto glass directly where the consumer's vehicle is located, at home or at work.
Business of Insurance
Manulife welcomes strong endorsement from John Hancock shareholders on proposed merger.
Shareholders of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. overwhelmingly endorsed the union with Manulife Financial Corporation today, marking a major milestone in the process leading to the merger of these two leading insurance companies.
Statistics and Reference
Swiss Re in Canada's "review": A review of the Canadian insurance industry in 2003.
The January issue of Swiss Re in Canada's monthly technical newsletter "review" looks at trends in the Canadian insurance industry in 2003. Included in the review is recap, a synopsis of current insurance-related news both in Canada and around the world. recap includes information on such areas as "Mergers, acquisitions and industry updates;" "Liability, court awards and settlements;" "Accidents and natural catastrophes;" plus other notable industry developments.
Munich Re's analysis of natural catastrophes in 2003: Economic and insured losses continue to increase at a high level.
Munich Re records and analyses all reports on natural hazard events that cause material or human losses anywhere in the world. Right up until the last days of the year, 2003 was marked by a series of severe natural hazard events, with the number of fatalities far exceeding the long-term average. In view of the deteriorating risk situation, the insurance industry must continue to act rigorously -- for example, by agreeing on limits of liability and risk-adequate premiums.
Directors & Officers Liability Insurance Premiums Up 33%: Tillinghast.
Directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance premiums increased approximately 33% on average from 2002 to 2003, according to the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin's 2003 Directors & Officers Liability Survey. While employee lawsuits were significant for all types of respondents, entities with more than 500 shareholders saw most of their claims come from shareholders. Despite record premium increases during the year, the 2003 D&O Premium Index indicates that the market started stabilizing toward the end of 2003 with premium increases beginning to level off.
Technology
Insurance Software Deal Trends 2001-2003: by Celent.
Insurance software deals are typically announced, published in the trade press, posted on vendor Web sites, and quickly forgotten by industry observers. No single source consolidates records of insurance software technology deals, leaving analysts, marketers, and technology buyers to attempt to reconstruct trends from diverse sources, individual conversations, and hazy memories. Celent's new reports, Insurance Software Deal Trends, 2001-2003, present analysis of real data about deal flow in insurance between 2001 and the first half of 2003.
from Doug:
What a gorgeous spring weekend, bright sunshine, melting snow.. and March came in like a lamb here in Toronto. Why do I feel that Nature is setting us up - spring in late February, early March is too much to expect!