Issue 2005-25: June 21, 2005

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.




Distribution

CoVirt Announces Equinox Financial chooses VirtGate to replace their agency management system.
TORONTO, June 13, 2005 - CoVirt Inc. (Canada), the Canadian leader in Internet-based life insurance administration services for Managing General Agents (MGAs), announced today that Equinox Financial Group, Inc., service provider to one of Canada's largest network of independently-owned insurance agencies, has chosen VirtGate to replace their agency management system for Equinox network-member Marketing Centres.

CCIR and CSIR Consultation Paper "Relationships Between Insurers and Sales Intermediaries" Released.
June 3, 2005 -- The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) are pleased to release a consultation paper entitled Relationships Between Insurers and Sales Intermediaries. The consultation paper is being released today for review and comment by all stakeholders and other interested parties.

Financial Relationships between Insurers and P&C Brokers in Ontario: RIBO Survey.
June 3, 2005 Ontario - RIBO has essentially completed a survey of the P&C Brokers in Ontario in response to a request from national regulators. Two documents with results from that survey have been posted at the RIBO web site.

Product Announcements

Markel Launches Lawyer Referral Service for Canadian Trucking Carriers Seeking U.S. Transportation Lawyers.
TORONTO (June 16, 2005) - Markel Insurance Company of Canada today announced the launch of Markel LEGALinkTM, a US lawyer referral service, available to all Markel policyholders who need the expertise of transportation lawyers in specific US jurisdictions.

Policy and Product Management

SOLCORP / INGENIUM 6.6 Released to Provide Insurers With High-Performance, Full-Function Policy Administration.
TORONTO, June 14, 2005 -- EDS-SOLCORP, a leading provider of software solutions to the life insurance and financial industries, today announced the release of version 6.6 of the SOLCORP / INGENIUM(R) policy administration system. In addition to UNIX and mainframe systems, the new version is also available on the recently announced .NET platform, providing insurers with more choices for their preferred platform.

Policy Administration Systems 2005: P/C Commercial Lines Vendors Report Published by Celent - Detailed Profiles and Comparisons of 24 Commercial Lines Systems.
Boston, MA, May 5, 2005. Since 2003, the landscape has changed significantly for P/C policy administration systems. First year TCO has dropped significantly in lockstep with a major influx of newer technologies such as .NET, Java, SOA, Web services, and ACORD XML. Implementation times have grown shorter as vendors make use of new technologies and their own improved experience levels. A number of vendors have cropped up in the last few years that have survived and even thrived. The majority of solutions are considerably better today at what they do today than they were two years ago.

Claims

Automated Benefits Corp. Announces Symbility Launch with ServiceMaster of Canada Limited.
WATERLOO, ONTARIO -- June 8, 2005 - Automated Benefits Corp. is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Symbility Solutions Inc., has launched a software pilot program with ServiceMaster of Canada Limited ("ServiceMaster").

Shumka Craig & Moore Adjusters Acquires Custard Canada.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(June 14, 2005) - Shumka Craig & Moore Adjusters Canada Ltd. ("SCM") announced today that it has acquired Custard Insurance Adjusters Canada Inc. ("CIA"), one of Canada's strongest regional firms with 11 branches in Ontario.

Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia named tops in North American safety advertising.
NEW ORLEANS, LA, June 16, 2005 - The American Association of State Compensation and Insurance Funds (AASCIF) named the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) of Nova Scotia Best in Show for its "Work Safe. For Life." social marketing campaign at its annual conference in New Orleans.

Renewing the Vows: Claims and IT Work Together To Implement Core Systems: Report Published by Celent.
San Francisco, CA, June 1, 2005. A property/casualty insurance company's core claims system is a major determinant of whether it can settle claims quickly and fairly - thereby safeguarding its financial position and creating positive experiences for claimants. The replacement of a core claims system is a daunting prospect. The good news is that implementing a new system provides the opportunity to improve (almost) everything - the bad news is that large scale changes are difficult and bring their own set of operational and control risks.

Reference and Statistics

2005/2006 Canadian Life & Financial Services Directory: Stone & Cox.
The 2005/2006 Canadian Life & Financial Services Directory from Stone & Cox is now in preparation.

Consumer Information

Desjardins General Insurance Group: Water damage is no fun at all!
LEVIS, Quebec, June 17 - "Water damage is no fun" is the theme chosen by Desjardins General Insurance for a major operation it has launched aimed at preventing water damage to homes and apartments.

Environment Canada reminds Atlantic Canadians To Prepare For Severe Summer Weather.
HALIFAX, JUNE 6, 2005 - Environment Canadahas designated June 6-10th as Severe Summer Weather Awareness Week in the Atlantic provincesto remind people about the potential dangers associated with severe summer storms and other extreme summer factors. This year's theme is "Know what to do before, during and after a storm". Severe Summer Weather Awareness Week in Atlantic Canada coincides this year with the Canadian Environment Week.

ICBC proposes no increase to basic insurance rates for 2006; optional insurance rates set to decrease later in June.
ICBC is proposing no increase in basic insurance rates for 2006. Optional insurance rate reductions will be announced before the end of June.

Marketing and the Market Place

eMarketer Report: B2B Ain't What It Used to Be.
Most marketers today probably don't know that in 1926 Gertrude Eberle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Almost 80 years later, cross-channel means coordinating television, print, direct and online marketing � and there is not a B2B marketer out there who isn't getting into the swim of that.

eBusiness and Technology

ACORD Launches ROI Tools at Forum. New Member Benefit For Analysis.
ORLANDO, FL - May 23, 2005 - Helping members better analyze and report their returns on standards investments, ACORD (www.acord.org) released their new Return on Investment (ROI) analysis tools at the 2005 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum. Through the tools, members can examine and report, in numbers and graphs, the overall benefits and savings from ACORD data standards implementations.

Information Security Tops List of CFO Concerns: CSC Survey.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 9, 2005 -- Information security topped this year's list of concerns in the seventh annual Technology Issues for Financial Executives survey. The survey was conducted by Computer Sciences Corporation, in association with the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), the research affiliate of Financial Executives International (FEI).

Insurance in the Community

Neil Squire Society's Employ-Ability Program To Expand To Rural New Brunswick: The Co-operators.
MONCTON, NB, June 14, 2005 - The Neil Squire Society today received a $20,000 grant in support of the Employ-Ability program, which provides employment skills development to people with disabilities. The grant, presented as part of The Co-operators Community Economic Development Fund, will be used to expand the program to rural New Brunswick.

from Doug:

Eldest son (and Mom and Dad too) had one of life's transition experiences over the last week. Saturday he graduated from Systems Design Engineering at U. of Waterloo. He made us extra pleased as recipient of one of the awards. Four grandparents proudly shared the day with us.
On Sunday we moved the last load of things he needs into an apartment in Kitchener, where he started work yesterday, after six weeks or so of "R&R". His comment as we departed after dinner was "I guess that's the end of my vacation" [and the beginning of a whole new phase].


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