Issue 2006-19: May 9, 2006

Policy and Product Management

Desjardins Financial Security Goes Live with SunGard's iWORKS.
TORONTO, May 1, 2006 - Desjardins Financial Security today announced that it has completed the implementation of SunGard's iWORKS COMPASS, SunGard's enterprise group benefit administration system.

Distribution

CompuOffice Software Inc. enhances QuotesOnTap.
QuotesOnTap, Canada's leading software module for use with PDA devices to quote and compare life insurance products offered by various insurers, was enhanced again in April with the inclusion of Detailed Underwriting Evidence Requirements for each product. This enhancement follows an earlier QuotesOnTap enhancement to provide year-by-year quantitative product detail for each product.

Consumer Information

IBC News Release - Insurers: Beware of phony auto insurance.
Toronto - April 26, 2006 - With news of today's arrest in Toronto of eight people involved in an insurance scam, Canada's home, car and business insurers are reminding consumers that there are still many unscrupulous people out there trying to trick them into buying phony auto insurance coverage.

Insurance Bureau of Canada launches workshops to help businesses and non-profits get the most for their insurance dollar.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada is launching a series of half-day educational workshops across Atlantic Canada to help commercial businesses and non-profit organizations get the most for their insurance dollar.

Marketing and the Market Place

New brand name for The Empire Life Insurance Company.
(Kingston, ON - May 1, 2006) -- The Empire Life Insurance Company announced plans today to use the brand name of Empire Life, effective May 1, 2006. The change in marketing identity is another step in clarifying the position of the Kingston, Ontario based company as a leading insurance and investment provider to consumers and newer distribution partners. Empire Life replaces Empire Financial Group, the brand name used by the company since the late 1980s.

Product Announcements

CFIB and Sun Life Financial launch group insurance products for self-employed workers and SMEs in Quebec.
MONTREAL, April 20, 2006 - Richard Fahey, Quebec Vice-President, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and Claude Leblanc, Vice-President, Market Development, Group Benefits at Sun Life Financial, are pleased to announce the launch of two new group insurance products designed especially for self-employed workers and owners/operators of small- and medium-sized businesses.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Standard Life Launches New Service for Group Retirement Plan Members.
MONTREAL, May 4, 2006 - Standard Life today announced the launch of Portfolio Risk Management, the latest innovation to its wide range of on-line tools and services. This exclusive service shows plan members their investment risk and enables them to monitor and maintain their preferred risk/return position.

eBusiness and Technology

Information Builders Unveils WebFOCUS Power Painter to Set New Standard in Business Intelligence Usability.
New York, NY and Orlando, FL - April 25, 2006 - Information Builders, the enterprise business intelligence (BI) standard of choice for organizations around the world, announced the launch of WebFOCUS Power Painter, a first of its kind innovation that produces powerful reporting and analytics in a thin-client environment. Until now, Web technology has lacked the capability to deliver a truly robust interface similar to the desktop.

2006 Secor/Commerce Internet Index: Desjardins Financial Security Web Site Still Best in Quebec.
Levis, April 20, 2006 -- For the second year in a row, Desjardins Financial Security's Web site ranked first among the top 25 Quebec consumer sites, and received the Award of Excellence from the Secor/Commerce Internet Index, the most comprehensive Web evaluation index in Quebec. The Desjardins Group web site came in third.

New Version of KANA IQ Delivers Unprecedented Translation Support; Facilitates Regulatory Compliance.
MENLO PARK, Calif. - April 18, 2006 - KANA Software, Inc. (Pinksheets: KANA.PK), a world leader in multi-channel customer service, today announced significant enhancements to KANA IQ, the company's award-winning solution for enterprise knowledge management and customer service optimization. KANA IQ 9.1 features new workflow capabilities for managing the process of translating and maintaining knowledge-base content in multiple languages.

Open Source is Becoming an Essential Part of Services Portfolios for Major Services Players, IDC Reveals.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., May 1, 2006 - According to a recent IDC study, open source is becoming a fundamental aspect of services portfolios for IBM Global Services, HP Services (HPS), Unisys, Novell, and other major services providers. The study also reveals that open source is moving up on the investment agenda of companies worldwide, as services providers (mostly services arms of technology companies) have formalized support, training, and certification services to encourage adoption of open source (principally Linux) on their products.

Gartner Says Fewer Outsourcing Megadeals Were Signed in 2005, But Market Will Continue to Grow.
STAMFORD, Conn., April 26, 2006 - As companies attempt to implement more multisourcing agreements, the number of megadeals awarded to a single service provider has declined, according to Gartner, Inc. Megadeals are characterized as being worth more than $1 billion. In 2005, 11 outsourcing megadeals were awarded, a decline from 12 in 2004 and 16 in 2003

Business of Insurance

Lloyd's reports strong performance despite worst hurricane season on record.
04 June 2006 - Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance market, today reported the market's financial result for 2005.

USA Commercial PC Rates Hold Flat or Drop Slightly For First Quarter 2006 Renewals, CIAB Survey Shows.
WASHINGTON - April 19, 2006 - Commercial property/casualty rates were flat or fell slightly during the first quarter of 2006, with renewal premiums for half of all account sizes holding steady or dropping between 1 and 10 percent in the first three months of the year. In the latest commercial p/c market survey by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, 15 percent of the brokers responding said small accounts received premium quotes at renewal that were between 10 and 20 percent lower than similar quotes received during fourth quarter 2005.

Nation's Health Leaders View Spiraling Health Care Costs as USA Industry's Biggest Challenge, New Accenture Survey Finds.
WASHINGTON; April 17, 2006 - Top health care executives consider escalating costs their industry's biggest challenge, according to the results of a survey released today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) at the 3rd Annual World Health Care Congress.

Claims

III: Catastrophe Losses Will Double About Every 10 Years, Says Leading Catastrophe Modeling Expert at PCS Conference.
BALTIMORE, April 25, 2006-With last year's record catastrophe losses of $58 billion still fresh in listeners' minds, a leading catastrophe modeling executive warned property/casualty claims professionals they face "a 5 percent chance we'll have losses greater than Hurricane Katrina in 2006."

from Doug:

Our second son has now successfully completed his second year at Carleton and is working for me for the summer again. It appears that he managed to earn another year of his scholarship, which helps his finances considerably. However as we pay for his accommodation, the apartment in Ottawa sitting empty all summer is not the best value proposition I have seen in a while.
Our nephew in New Orleans has completed the repairs to his home. His brother and Dad are still working there off and on at other houses, and the stories of the shortage of labour and materials are something else. A neigbour had a lineup of taxis in front for several days while the drivers moonlighted as drywallers - I wonder who does the quality assurance!


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