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.




Merry Christmas

We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. If you do not celebrate Christmas, but have other special times around this period in the year, we wish you a wonderful celebration.

In lieu of cards and appreciation for you our readers, and a special thanks for you our advertisers, Insurance-Canada.ca has made a donation to one of the insurance-related charities.

To all, we wish a happy and healthy finale to 2007, and the best in 2008.

 *   Sally Praskey   *   Marlene Pike   *   Sophie Kwong   *
*   Mette Griffin   *   Dave Gibbons   *   John Wyndham   *
*   Patrick Vice   *   Doug Grant   *

The Christmas tree was popularized in England only in the nineteenth century, by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's German consort. Son of the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a duchy in central Germany), Albert had grown up decorating Christmas trees, and when he married Victoria, in 1840, he requested that she adopt the German tradition. The famous English engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their tree in 1848. That tradition was soon adopted in North America. (Illustrated London News).

Victorian Christmas Tree

NOTE: The newsletter will take a year-end break. The next issue is scheduled for January 8, 2008.




Claims

FINEOS to Provide Canada's Largest Bank with Insurance Claims Management Solution for Disability Insurance.
DUBLIN, IRELAND, December 12, 2007 - FINEOS Corporation, a global provider of innovative enterprise software solutions for insurance, bancassurance, and social insurance, today announced that Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has put FINEOS Claims(R) in place for its disability insurance business.

Guidewire ClaimCenter® brings business value to Montana's largest workers' compensation insurer.
HELENA, MT and SAN MATEO, CA, December 12, 2007 - Montana State Fund (MSF), the state's largest workers' compensation insurer, and Guidewire Software®, a leading provider of solutions to property and casualty and workers' compensation insurers, today announced that Montana State Fund has successfully deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter® for its end-to-end claims handling needs. ClaimCenter has replaced MSF's in-house developed legacy claims system and has delivered significant sustainable business benefit to MSF.

Policy and Product Management

Carrier Reaps the Rewards of MSB's Enterprise Decisioning Solution.
New Berlin, WI - December 10, 2007 - How do you know when a technology solution makes a true impact in your business? Perhaps when the measured benefits turn out to be far greater than anticipated, as MSB, the leading provider of home replacement cost data and underwriting information solutions recently demonstrated.

Product Announcements

Kanetix adds ACA Assurance's Tour+Med travel insurance product to online quote comparison service.
TORONTO, Dec. 11, 2007 - Kanetix, Canada's insurance marketplace announced the addition of ACA Assurance's Tour+Med travel insurance, best known to snowbirds across Canada, to its online insurance quote comparison service. With the addition of ACA Tour+Med, snowbirds now have more choice and variety when shopping for their travel insurance coverage needs through kanetix.

The Co-operators introduces protection against growing risk of real estate title fraud.
GUELPH, ON, Dec. 10 - Real estate title fraud costs Canadians as much as $300 million a year, according to the Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders. With this in mind, The Co-operators announced recently that it has made arrangements with First Canadian Title to offer residential title insurance protection for existing homeowners.

Distribution

First Canadian Title Unveils Lender-Lawyer Connect Mortgage Platform.
Oakville, Ontario - Dec. 3, 2007 - First Canadian Title, Canada's leading provider of title insurance, is revolutionizing the way in which mortgages are processed through the introduction of a no-cost technology solution that allows lenders and lawyers to collaborate in real-time. Lender-Lawyer ConnectT provides a user-friendly platform that transforms mortgage closings from a compartmentalized series of starts and stops into an integrated, open and dynamic process offering greater control and efficiency.

The Co-operators forms Alliance with AGCO Corporation to Offer Commercial Property and Casualty Dealer Insurance.
GUELPH, ON, Dec. 11, 2007 - The Co-operators has formed an alliance with AGCO Corporation to offer a comprehensive package of commercial property and casualty insurance to AGCO's agricultural equipment dealers. AGCO Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO has one of the largest global distribution networks worldwide, including more than 200 independent dealers in Canada.

eBusiness and Technology

IBM Reveals Five Innovations that Will Change Our Lives Over the Next Five Years.
Markham, ON, November 29, 2007 -- Honouring 90 years in Canada, IBM Canada celebrated its past and looked to the future today in offices across the country. International Business Machines opened its first office in Canada in 1917 and was the first country to use the name 'International Business Machines' and the acronym 'IBM'. Today, it is one of Canada's largest R&D investors and 19,000 Canadian employees join a globally integrated workforce of more than 355,000.

Software as a Service (SaaS) Will Impact Partnering Landscape, According to a New IDC Study.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., December 10, 2007 - A recent IDC survey offers clear indications that partners believe Software as a Service (SaaS) is a key area of opportunity with the potential to dramatically change the partnering landscape. Survey respondents identified perceived revenue annuity as the factor making SaaS a particularly attractive long-term strategy.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Standard Life launches Retirement checkup.
MONTREAL, Dec. 11, 2007 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada announced today the launch of the Retirement checkup, an innovative retirement projection tool designed to engage group plan members in taking action in their retirement plans. The new tool is an integral part of the award-winning Plan for life program Standard Life launched in April 2007.

Industrial Alliance Launches Your Retirement Tracker: A personalized Tool for Members of Group Retirement Plans.
QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 12, 2007 - Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of a new financial planning tool for members of its group retirement savings plans. The Your Retirement Tracker tool breaks new ground because it gives members a simple and clear analysis of their financial situation for the amounts accumulated with Industrial Alliance in their group retirement plan, and for the savings accumulated outside of the plan, including public pension plans.

Three-quarters of Canadians want integrated health resource; Manulife Announces Health Service Navigator.
WATERLOO, ON, Dec. 12, 2007 - In a survey for Manulife Financial, a decisive 74 per cent of Canadians who responded said they would be interested in an integrated, reliable service that provides information and assistance on the variety of health care services available and how to access them. To meet this need, Manulife Financial Group Benefits, a leader in Canadian group life and health insurance, is offering Health Service Navigator(™), a new service launched today to help group plan members and their dependants access health information to cope with a critical, chronic or occasional health event.

Reference and Statistics

MIB Life Index Reports North American Life Insurance Activity off Slightly in October.
Westwood, MA. - (December 3, 2007) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down slightly in October, off -0.9% year-over-year according to the MIB Life Index ?. Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -2.9% compared to the same ten months last year.

Business of Insurance

Industrial Alliance penetrates the individual disability and health insurance market by acquiring L'Excellence Life Insurance Company and the brokerage companies associated with it.
QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 13, 2007 - Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. is pleased to announce the conclusion of agreements to acquire all the shares of the holding companies controlling L'Excellence Life Insurance Company, a company specializing in individual disability and health insurance, as well as the brokerage companies with which L'Excellence is associated: Michel Rhéaume & Associés and Beaulne & Rhéaume Assurance Ltée. This transaction gives Industrial Alliance an entryway for its development in the individual disability and health insurance sector.

Gartner Says Cost Remains Primary Factor When Organisations Enter into Outsourcing Relationships.
Egham, UK, November 20, 2007 - Companies that outsource services purely to cut costs are likely to set themselves up for short-term gains and long-term criticisms from management, according to Gartner. Gartner research continues to show that reducing cost remains one of the primary drivers for outsourcing, but placing too much emphasis on cost reduction usually leads to dissatisfaction because many savings are either unsustainable or never achieved.

Consumer Information

December a "hot" month for candle fires, warns BCAA Insurance.
December is one of the hottest months of the year when it comes to candles and fire hazards, warns BCAA Insurance. According to Fire Prevention Canada, December generates 20 times the average monthly number of candle-related incidents, and between December 15 and 30 alone, candle-related fires increase by a whopping 140 per cent.

I.I.I. Offers Holiday Safety Tips.
NEW YORK, December 11, 2007 - Candles, lights and decorations are an essential part of the holiday season. Unfortunately, they also increase the risk of fire and injury. Each year fires occurring during the holiday season injure nearly 3,000 individuals and cause over $900 million in damage.

Marketing and the Market Place

Canadian E-Commerce Is Heating Up: eMarketer.
DECEMBER 5, 2007 - For a number of years no one paid much attention to Canadian B2C e-commerce. There simply wasn't much of a market there. Now all online retailers are looking to the north.

from Doug:

Baron Frederick-Adolphus Riedesel was commander of a group of German soldiers sent by the Duke of Brunswick to help defend Canada during the American REvolution. Riedesel and his family were taken prisoner during the disastrous British offensive in northern New York in 1777. They were not released until 1780, when they returned to Sorel, one of the refugee camps in Quebec.

The Christmas tree made its first appearance in North America on Christmas Eve 1781, in Sorel, Quebec. The baroness Riedesel hosted a party of British and German officers. She served an English pudding, but the sensation of the evening was a fir tree in the corner of the dining room, its branches decorated with fruits and lit with candles. After what the family had suffered over the past two years, the baroness was determined to mark their return to Canada with a traditional German celebration.

May you and yours too enjoy Christmas, and make a special memory.


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