Issue 2009-49 -- December 8, 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.




Claims

CDRG Welcomes A & R Services, White's Cleaning and Restoration and Meridian Group.
A & R Services offer 24 hour emergency fire, water & wind damage restoration. White's Cleaning and Restoration have built their company with two things in mind; providing quality customer service and supplying efficient response times. Meridian Group has been servicing the greater Montreal area since 1994 focused on residential and commercial fire and water losses.

Xactware 360Value Increases Number of Commercial Building Types for Replacement-Cost Estimates.
OREM, Utah and BOSTON-Nov. 10, 2009 - The latest release of 360Value® includes more than three dozen new commercial building use types to provide more options for insurers to calculate replacement-cost estimates. Additionally, 360Value's commercial module user interface has been streamlined to enhance ease of use. 360Value is a web-based tool developed by ISO subsidiaries Xactware and AIR Worldwide that provides replacement-cost estimates for residential, commercial, and agricultural properties.

TIRF releases new interlock primer.
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a new primer, Alcohol Interlocks in Canada - From Research to Practice. The primer was developed with the goal to inform Canadian practitioners about alcohol interlock technology, international research and program implementation in Canada.

Distribution

BlueSun And Winsoft Combine To Form Premier Wealth Management Software Supplier.
December 2, 2009 -- BlueSun Inc., a leading provider of front-office systems to the financial services industry, today announced a merger with Winsoft Software Inc., who provide back office systems to investment dealers and life insurance brokers under the WealthServ brand.

IBAO and Compu-Quote introduce My Insurance Shopper for individual broker websites.
November 30th, 2009 (Toronto, ON), Compu-Quote Inc. and Independent Broker Resources Inc. (IBRI), a for profit corporation wholly owned by the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario announce today their intent to offer an expansion of the My Insurance Shopper (MIS) service offering to insurance brokers.

Business of Insurance

Predictive Modeling for P&C Personal Lines Products Paves the Way for Commercial Lines, According to Towers Perrin Survey.
STAMFORD, CT, November 11, 2009 - When it comes to using sophisticated predictive modeling techniques to price products more accurately, more than three-quarters (76%) of personal lines carriers said they view the tool as essential, according to findings from global professional services firm Towers Perrin's inaugural predictive modeling survey.

SwissRe Sigma : 2009 Natural Catastrophe and Man-Made Disaster Losses 52B USD (24B USD Insured).
30 Nov 2009 - In 2009, natural catastrophes will cost insurers roughly USD 21billion, with man-made disasters triggering additional claims of approximately USD 3 billion. By way of comparison, total insured losses had soared to over USD 50 billion worldwide in 2008. The lower figure for 2009 resulted from the calm US hurricane season. Contrary to the US, Europe suffered above average insured losses.

Vaisala presents its contribution to climate change measurement during Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009.
(Helsinki, Finland, December 2, 2009) The need for extremely accurate, precise and representative information about atmospheric changes is fundamental in order to understand the dynamics of climate change. The key parameters of change need to be measured over multi-decadal timescales and on geographical scales ranging from local to regional and global.

Consumer Information

Assessment Rehabilitation Services Inc. and Managed Disability Resources Inc. Strategic Partnership.
Assessment Rehabilitation Services Inc. (A.R.S.) is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Managed Disability Resources Inc. (M.D.R.) effective December 1st, 2009. A.R.S. is a nationally established, industry-recognized provider of vocational rehabilitation and occupational medicine and solutions in Canada.

Saskatchewan Government passes cellphone legislation.
November 25, 2009 - Legislation banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, passed through third and final reading today and will become law Jan. 1, 2010. The new law prohibits all drivers from using hand-held cellphones to talk, text, email or surf the Internet while driving.

Ontario's WSIB announces final premium rates for 2010.
Toronto (November 5, 2009) - The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has decided to freeze rates for the majority of employers in 2010, while applying the usual rate-setting methodology for rate groups that have not achieved expected health and safety and return to work outcomes.

Sun Life employees take healthy living to a new level.
WATERLOO, ON, Dec. 3 2009 - Sun Life Financial has revealed the results of its HealthyRETURNS Fitness Challenge, an eight-week, Canada-wide wellness initiative that motivated employees to log over four million minutes of activity. The HealthyRETURNS Fitness Challenge inspired a 38 per cent participation rate among Sun Life employees, compared to a 20 to 25 per cent average participation rate for the same program offered to similar organizations.

Marketing and the Market Place

Traffic, public transit top IBM-commissioned survey of Canada's urban challenges.
TORONTO, ON, November 10, 2009: Almost half of all Canadians say that traffic and public transit are the biggest problems facing their cities today, according to a new Angus Reid survey commissioned by IBM [NYSE: IBM]. The percentage is much higher for those living in the nation's largest cities.

Social Media Marketers Declare Success: eMarketer.
DECEMBER 2, 2009 - The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has followed up on its 2007 and 2008 studies of social media usage by the Inc. 500. Adoption and awareness continue to trend upward, with 91% of firms using at least one social media tool in 2009 and three-quarters describing themselves as "very familiar" with social networking.

eBusiness and Technology

SAS intensifies in-database efforts.
CARY, NC (Nov. 16, 2009) - SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, is expanding efforts to directly integrate its business analytics framework and solutions into leading relational and nonrelational database management systems, as well as data warehouse appliances.

from Doug:

Just when our contractor gets to the point where he should be here this week to build a new deck, winter arrives. Now will come the fine balancing of do we, or don't we.
I finished raking leaves on Saturday, so maybe my Fall work is completed. Great to see the Christmas lights coming on now in greater numbers, and with the cooler weather which arrived late last week, things are beginning to feel a little more like Christmas. Now, where is that list anyway!


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