Issue 2008-48 -- December 16, 2008

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.

Featured Article

Success Virtually a Phone Call Away ... K&M Secretarial Services.
As an entrepreneur there is always some part of your business that you struggle with the most. For many small business owners and large corporations it seems to revolve around the administrative areas such as bookkeeping, data entry, transcription, following up with clients, s administrative work flow. That is why more and more of today's corporate executives, sales professionals and small business entrepreneurs are discovering that a partnership with a Virtual Assistant is a key part of their success strategy.

Marketing and the Market Place

42% of Canadians Over 40 Considering Deferring Retirement by Nearly 6 years: Desjardins.
Lévis (Québec), November 20, 2008 - Approximately 42% of Canadians over 40 are thinking about deferring their retirement by an average of 5.9 years. An annual survey on rethinking retirement carried out recently by Desjardins Group showed that more women (50%) than men (36%) feel this way.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Listening to customers awards Sun Life Financial three top honours.
TORONTO, Dec. 5 2008 - "I know you're listening, but do you really hear me?" Sun Life Financial's Group Retirement Services (GRS) customers can answer a resounding 'yes' to this question knowing that GRS has been awarded three prestigious industry awards based on listening to and acting on customer feedback.

Policy and Product Management

Allianz Uses eReinsure for Facultative Reinsurance,
Salt Lake City, November 25th, 2008 - eReinsure today announced that it has completed deployment of the eReinsure placing platform for Allianz SE's global operations. Allianz underwriters will use the internet based system to efficiently manage the procurement of facultative reinsurance worldwide.

eBusiness and Technology

IBM's 3rd annual 'Five in Five' foresees influential tech changes.
The third annual "IBM Next Five in Five" sees five innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years. The list relies on market and societal trends, as well as emerging technologies from IBM's labs around the world that can make these innovations possible.

Gartner Survey Finds 90 Percent of Respondents Expect to Maintain or Grow Usage of SaaS.
STAMFORD, Conn., December 2, 2008 - Nearly 90 percent of organizations surveyed expect to maintain or grow their usage of software as a service (SaaS), citing cost-effectiveness and ease/speed of deployment as primary reasons for adoption, according to a recent survey by Gartner Inc.

Insurance Data Mastery Solution Spectrum: Report Published by Celent.
The phrase "data mastery" covers a broad range of technology solutions, including data warehouses, data marts, extract, transform, load (ETL), customer relationship management, unified presentation layers, and business intelligence. Good data mastery will help a company find areas for increased efficiency and cost reductions. When all signs point to an increase in industry regulation, a good solution to view and understand data will be crucial for compliance.




2009 P&C Insurance Technology Conference: "Leadership: The Business-IT Imperative"

The seventh annual Insurance-Canada.ca P&C Technology Conference Monday 23 February 2009 in Toronto.

Speakers and Topics include:

  • Restructure, Refocus and Realign: Preparing for the Future of Insurance"
    Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst, Gartner - Insurance Industry Advisory Services
    This presentation will identify key challenges that insurers are facing, including shifting market conditions, economic stressors, and competition, and discuss methods to help companies use leadership, innovation and technology to compete in the future. More details.
  • Robust communication and collaboration tools: what's the real outcome?
    Ismail Pishori, Vice President, Financial Services Vertical, Telus
    "Outcome-oriented" communication and collaboration tools enable employees to support more customers in a more timely and effective manner, delivering a better customer and employee experience. More details.

For program information, event details and all sponsors, see the conference overview.




Consumer Information

Livestock insurance program coming for Alberta beef producers: AFSC.
December 3, 2008 - Edmonton... A livestock insurance program, the first of its kind in Canada, will soon be offered to Alberta beef producers to help protect their operations from fluctuating market prices.

Spending on health care to reach $5,170 per Canadian in 2008: CIHI.
November 13, 2008-Canada's health care spending is expected to reach $171.9 billion in 2008, or $5,170 per person, according to new figures released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). This represents an increase of $10.3 billion over estimated expenditures for 2007, or a growth of 6.4%. These figures are featured in National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975 to 2008, Canada's most comprehensive source of information tracking how dollars are spent on health care in this country.

Insurance in the Community

Manulife invests $500,000 in Nova Scotia mental health projects.
HALIFAX, Dec. 12 - Nova Scotians living with a mental illness will benefit from a $500,000 donation announced recently by Manulife Financial to support early-intervention programs and community-focused living residences.

Distribution

Aon Announces New Global Specialty Business.
CHICAGO and LONDON, Dec. 1 -- Aon Corporation today announced that it has created a new global specialty business unit - Aon Specialty - a strategic move designed to take advantage of the firm's decision earlier this year to pull together Aon's $5 billion in retail revenue, 26,000 colleagues and $54 billion in annual premium throughput into one global team designed to best serve clients.

Our People

Huge wage gaps favour public sector over private sector: CFIB.
December 2, 2008 - Toronto - Results from a new study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), reveal wages paid by the federal government to its employees are on average 17.3 per cent higher than what is earned in the private sector by those in equivalent occupations. The wage differential was derived from Census data representing more than 3.7 million full-time employees in 199 occupations, earning an average $60,924 annually in the federal government compared to $51,947 in the private sector.

Product Announcements

ACE Enhances Its Executive Assistance(SM) Services for International Business Travel and Study Abroad Programs.
TORONTO, Dec. 11 2008 - ACE Canada(SM), the Canadian-based operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, today announced it has expanded its International Executive Assistance(SM) Services to include emergency political evacuation and concierge services. Enhancements also include a new online portal for travel preparation information. In addition, political evacuation coverage now is provided automatically to reimburse an insured's covered costs up to a policy limit. These enhancements are available at no additional premium to Canadian-based companies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions with ACE Canada International Advantage(R) Package Policies.

Business of Insurance

Convergence of Negative Economic Factors To Severely Test U.S. Insurance Industry in 2009: TowerGroup.
NEEDHAM, MA, December 3, 2008 - The financial and housing crises, along with a prolonged soft market for insurance products, are converging to create a highly challenging environment for the US insurance industry in 2009. These factors will force insurance carriers to adopt new skills and business discipline in order to survive the economic turmoil, according to new research from TowerGroup that identifies key insurance trends for the coming year.

U.S. Tort Costs Up in 2007, According to Towers Perrin Study.
STAMFORD, CT, November 18, 2008 - Fueled by the first increase in automobile accident frequency since 1999, tort costs in the United States rose by 2.1% in 2007, according to the 2008 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends from global professional services firm Towers Perrin. The $5.1 billion climb from 2006 costs marks the first cost escalation since 2005 and comes on the heels of a 5.6% decline in 2006.

Reference and Statistics

U.S. Group Health Insurance Rates Continue to Increase: CIAB.
Nov. 20, 2008 - WASHINGTON - Employee benefits consultants report rates continued to increase for group medical insurance in the U.S. market at about the same pace as they did six months ago. According to the November Employee Benefits Market Survey by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, small, medium and large employers are struggling to contain rising health care expenses by shifting some costs to employees through higher deductibles and co-pays and increases in employees' premium share. A few are considering eliminating medical coverage altogether.

from Doug:

I have always found December and Christmas to be somewhat of a hectic time, with the combination of community events, planning for family gatherings and business year-end. The postman provides one of the breaks, when we take a few minutes and read the day's Christmas cards. Those with a note or letter let us catch up with business associates, friends and relatives, and trigger a memory or two. I hope you too are savouring the season.


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