Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter Archive

Issue 2004-34:   Sept 14, 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.




Announcement

Insurance-Canada.ca is pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Stone & Cox to include a new section in our newsletter called CI E-NEWS. This section will provide our readers with direct links to selected news items in the Stone & Cox CI E-NEWS on a weekly basis. In 2005, Stone & Cox will be celebrating their 100th year as Canada's oldest and most trusted insurance publisher. Publications include Canadian Insurance magazine, the General Insurance Register and the Canadian Life and Financial Services directories (in print and online), Canadian InsurancE-NEWS, Canadian Insurance Law service, Brown Chart of provincial results and the Special Insurance Markets directory.

Policy and Product Management

BMO Life Chooses GeniSys to Provide Policy Administration Services for its Term Life Insurance Product, DirectTerm.

BMO Life Insurance Company (BMO Life) today announced that it has chosen business-process outsourcing specialist, GeniSys, to provide administrative services, including the underwriting and issuance of new policies, billing, claims and ongoing policy service for both new and existing BMO Life DirectTerm policies.

AVIVA UK road-tests revolutionary new motor insurance.

Motor insurance is set for a shake up with Norwich Union's pilot scheme of "Pay As You Drive™ insurance. Hundreds of motorists are now road-testing revolutionary technology that could mean insurance premiums in the future are calculated on how often, where and when people drive their cars.

People and Skills

Insurance Broker/Agents win fight for lost jobs.

Employers can't hold a gun to their employees' head and force them to make "life-altering decisions" about whether to accept changes to their terms of employment, Ontario's highest court has ruled, saying workers must be given time to see if they can live with the new regime.

Reference and Statistics

IBC Perspective, September 2004: A quarterly analysis of economic trends in Canada's P&C insurance industry.

A quarterly analysis of economic trends in Canada's P&C insurance industry This issue of Perspective looks at some structural changes in the industry, varying rates, claims frequency and how it is changing and financial preparations for disasters.

Business of Insurance

Newfoundland Government releases study on homeowner, commercial and marine insurance.

Government Services Minister Dianne Whalen today released the Study of Homeowner, Commercial Property, Liability and Marine Insurance completed for government by an independent actuary.

Insurers reject actuarial report on insurance in Newfoundland.

The Study of Homeowner, Commercial Property, Liability and Marine Insurance, commissioned by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, is based on erroneous assumptions and reaches incorrect conclusions, Insurance Bureau of Canada said today.

Conning Research: Life Insurers' Gross Investment Returns Fall Sharply.

Life insurers suffered a steep decline in gross investment returns over the last five years, led by falling interest rates, corporate defaults, and rating agency downgrades, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting, Inc. Gross investment income returns for 1999 to 2003 dropped by 1.3 percentage points from 8.1% in 1999 to 6.8% in 2003. However, the investment expense ratio somewhat cushioned the blow, improving each year during the study period.

eBusiness and Technology

DALBAR Recognizes the Best Web Sites in Life Insurance & Annuities.

Industry leaders Fidelity Investments, New York Life, Mass Mutual and Lincoln Life are the best at supporting the needs of their online customers, according to Dalbar's latest quarterly ranking of Life Insurance & Annuity Web sites. These four sites were the only ones out of over 200 Web sites evaluated to earn Dalbar's highest honor, the "Excellent" Web site designation.

Marketing

Applications and Consumer Electronics to Drive Home Network Growth, According to IDC.

For consumers that haven't installed a home network yet, chances are good that they will have a home network in the future. IDC expects the worldwide installed base of households with a network to grow from 37 million in 2003 to nearly 111 million in 2008.

From CI-ENEWS

CI – 4th Annual IBC Regulatory Affairs Symposium.

The IBC today announced it will be holding discussions on the development of a framework for risk-based market conduct, and on privacy issues with panels of senior industry executives and others. The luncheon speaker will be The Hon. W David Angus, member of the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.

SOLCORP to hold User Group Event in Niagara Falls.

CI – SOLCORP, a leading provider of software solutions to the life insurance and wealth management industries will host workshops, presentations and discussion groups in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

FITCH: $2B-$10B in Insured Losses for Hurricane Frances.

CI – In a special report issued today, Fitch Ratings expects Hurricane Frances will likely represent a material loss to the insurance industry in the range of $2 billion to $10 billion.

Consumer Information

Be The Head of Your Class in College! Manage Your Finances as Well as Your Courseload -- The I.I.I. Offers Tips to Pass Financial Tests.

NEW YORK, August 31, 2004 – As college students start the academic year, there are lessons to be learned that go beyond the classroom. One subject students can't afford to fail is Personal Finance 101, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

Back to School for Students, Drivers: ICBC.

VICTORIA – The provincial government and police are urging motorists to exercise extra caution in school zones as summer holidays come to an end for children across the province, Solicitor General Rich Coleman said today.

Young drivers targeted by auto thieves and vandals: Manitoba Public Insurance.

Young drivers between 18 and 24 appear to be at greatest risk of having a vehicle stolen, vandalized, or broken into and something stolen, according to a Manitoba Public Insurance survey.

from Doug:

The Life Distribution seminar went reasonably well yesterday with some really good content. A technical glitch and a presentation which ran long took us into overtime - my apologies to Michael Brown from Solcorp who, being in an awkward spot, covered his material in record short time.