Issue 2009-05 -- February 3, 2009

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.




Policy and Product Management

Genworth Financial Canada Implements DMTI Spatial's Location Hub Software to Improve Address Management.
Markham, ON Canada - January 07, 2009 - DMTI Spatial (DMTI), Canada's leading provider of Location Intelligence solutions, has announced that Genworth Financial Canada (Genworth), a leading financial services company, has successfully implemented the Location Hub® Master Address Management software within their Automated Underwriting System.

Distribution

Rogers Stieg Transportation Insurance Ltd.
CALGARY, Jan. 27 2009 - Lee Rogers, President of Rogers Insurance Ltd. of Calgary, and Walt Stieg, President of Stieg & Associates Insurance (Canada) Ltd. of Billings Montana are pleased to announce that their respective firms have reached an agreement, effective December 31, 2008 whereby they will become joint equity partners to operate the largest transportation insurance brokerage in Alberta. The brokerage will be called Rogers Stieg Transportation Insurance Ltd. ("RSTIL").

Group companies are finding voluntary benefits an important part of their sales according to a new report by Eastbridge Consulting Group.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (January 14, 2009) - Over the past ten years, group companies have entered the voluntary market in increasing numbers. When Eastbridge first studied the strategies of group companies in 2004, most of those in the market still saw voluntary as a "one off" to their traditional group product strategy. "The market has changed dramatically over the past few years," say Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge.

CGI UK : Account Reconciliation Centre Welcomes New Insurers To Ditigal Age.
London, England, January 23, 2009 - CGI, a leading IT and business process services company, today announced the addition of two new insurers to its award-winning Account Reconciliation Centre (ARC). The electronic collections tool, developed by CGI in a partnership with Norwich Union and Allianz, streamlines the accounts reconciliation process, eliminating the previous paper-based system.

Claims

ICLR releases major study on 2003 Kelowna wildfires.
TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2009 - On January 28, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) released a major study evaluating the measures taken by the City of Kelowna, British Columbia to mitigate the impacts of the September 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire (OMPF) and prevent a repeat of such an event in the future.

eBusiness and Technology

Gartner Presents CIO Resolutions for 2009.
Egham, UK, January 6, 2009 - Gartner, Inc today presented its 10 'CIO resolutions for 2009' designed to help CIOs excel and deliver better personal and team outcomes beyond their core IT agenda.

IT Spending in Financial Services: A Global Perspective - Report Published by Celent.
Celent estimates that global information technology spending by financial services institutions will reach US$353.3 billion in 2009, representing a decline of 1.3% over 2008. This figure is substantially lower than the 4.5% growth achieved in 2008. Although the next couple of years will be challenging, Celent expects global spending on IT products and services to grow to US$364.5 billion by 2010, a mere 0.9% CAGR from 2008 to 2010.

IBM, RIM Mobilize Business With Lotus Software and Developer Tools for the BlackBerry Platform.
ORLANDO, FL - 19 Jan 2009: LOTUSPHERE -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM) (TSX: RIM) today unveiled new Lotus collaboration software and developer tools on the BlackBerry(R) platform that will bring collective intelligence to BlackBerry smartphones. The new features will help customers find expertise, form teams, share information, and stay in touch in real time making them more effective and productive while on the move.

Product Announcements

BCAA Insurance launches "Green House" program.
BURNABY, BC, Jan. 26 2009 - A fire-blackened home can turn shades of green under a new insurance program being introduced by BCAA Insurance. BCAA's "Green House" program offers two separate incentives to encourage homeowners to build, re-build or renovate with the environment in mind.

Reference and Statistics

Ontario Auto Insurance Rates for the Fourth Quarter of 2008: FSCO.
Rate applications approved during the fourth quarter of 2008 (October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008) averaged +2.57%, based on the entire market. In the fourth quarter of 2008, for the 69.37% of the market that had rate changes approved, the average rate change was +3.71%, when weighted by market share.

Business of Insurance

Manulife Financial launches Personal Benefits.
WATERLOO, ON, Jan. 29 2009 - Employers who provide benefits plans can now introduce their employees to portable Life and Critical Illness Insurance coverage through Personal Benefits, just launched by Manulife Financial Group Benefits. Portable coverage is unique in the group marketplace in that Manulife contracts directly with the employee, which allows employees to retain their coverage, regardless of the status of their future employment.

Marketing and the Market Place

How Important Is Search to Users?:eMarketer.
JANUARY 27, 2009 - The percentage of Internet users who are searching online varies by study, but its popularity is undeniable. According to the TNS "Digital World, Digital Life" report, 81% of Internet users worldwide used search engines in 2008—which raises the question, what are the other 19% doing?

Sun Life Financial study finds nearly half of Canadians will be working past age 65.
TORONTO, Jan. 28 2009 - According to the country's first ever "Unretirement(TM) Index" released today by Sun Life Financial, many Canadians now expect to work longer for positive reasons, such as remaining mentally active and enjoyment of career, but they are also concerned about their financial readiness for retirement. These findings signal a departure from how Canadians have been retiring in the last few years and will have important implications for families, employers and society.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Dalbar's Defined Contribution Pension Plan statements results.
Monday, 29 December 2008 - Sun Life Financial has been ranked number one in the financial services industry by DALBAR's 2008 Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trends and Best Practices, a study evaluating which company's pension plan statements most effectively meet investors' information needs.

Manulife Investments awarded highest certification for excellence in quality from National Quality Institute.
WATERLOO, ON, Jan. 28 2009 - Manulife Financial's Canadian Individual Wealth Management Operations, which serves Manulife Investments and Manulife Securities International businesses, has been recognized for excellence in leadership, people, customer service and processes with Level Four Certification, the highest certification under the National Quality Institute Progressive Excellence Program (NQI PEP(R)).

from Doug:

Dad and Mom, who live in Guelph, about 40 km west of Toronto, said that they had a total of three hours in January when the temperature crept above zero Celsius - a rather brief January thaw. No wonder I am entertaining thoughts of Spring.


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