The Chronicle: Issue 2011-03, January 18, 2011
Claims
Guidewire ClaimCenter selected by Insurance Corporation of British Columbia for Claims Management.
SAN MATEO, California, January 11, 2011 - Guidewire Software, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty insurers, today announced that the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), a provincial Crown corporation and sole provider of universal compulsory auto insurance in BC, has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter as its new end-to-end claims management system.
ASSI: Woodstock Collision Reporting Centre To Open January 17, 2011.
January 12, 2011 - The Woodstock Police Service and Accident Support Services International Ltd. (ASSI), facilitators of Collision Reporting to the Insurance Industry, are pleased to announce the opening of the Woodstock Collision Reporting Centre on January 17, 2011.
Distribution
Canada Life now offering CITS-approved business-to-business inforce data feed.
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2011 - Canada Life is now offering a new Canadian Insurance Transaction Standardization (CITS)-approved "inforce" data feed to managing general agencies (MGAs) and national accounts that do business with the company.
The Co-operators launches online quoting system for term life insurance.
GUELPH, ON, Jan. 12 2011 - The Co-operators has launched an online quoting system for term life insurance through its corporate website, www.cooperators.ca. The addition of term life online quotes means that consumers will be able to easily obtain quotes for the three most popular individual insurance products - auto and home insurance are already at www.cooperators.ca.
Zurich and CME announce strategic alliance to offer manufacturers more coverage.
TORONTO -- January 12, 2011 - Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and Zurich Canada today announced a strategic business alliance that will help Canadian manufacturers and exporters thrive during the fragile economic recovery. Canada's leading trade and industry association and Zurich Canada are joining forces to provide CME members with a wide suite of products.
The Co-operators expands in Gaspésie with acquisition of local insurance brokerage.
MONTREAL, Jan. 14 2011 - Co-operators announced today that it has acquired, along with an investment partner, the personal lines insurance operations of a brokerage based in Caplan, in the Gaspésie region of Quebec. Assurances Claude Paquet's personal lines operations will begin operating as the newest Co-operators office, with Nathalie Paquet as Co-operators representative, on January 17, 2011.
Marketing and the Market Place
Manulife Investor Sentiment Index: Canadians' focus on debt reaches highest point in five years.
WATERLOO, ON, Jan. 11 2011 - More Canadians say their top priority is to tackle their debts as they head into the New Year, according to the latest national poll for Manulife Financial, Canada's leading insurance and wealth management company. Those who say their top financial priority is to pay down credit cards, lines of credits and mortgages hit a new five-year high in Manulife's poll, conducted in mid-December by Research House, an Environics Company.
eBusiness and Technology
Forrester: Mixed Economic Outlook Shifts Technology Demands.
Cambridge, Mass., January 10, 2011 . . . Global IT purchases will rise 7.1 percent in 2011 to $1.7 trillion, according to new forecast data from Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). While the 2011 global tech market will look similar to the 7.2 percent market growth experienced in 2010, there are significant differences between the two years in terms of both products and geographies.
Gartner Says New Relationships Will Change Business Intelligence and Analytics.
Egham, UK, January 6, 2011 - Business intelligence (BI) and analytics leaders need to embrace four trends that are set to challenge traditional assumptions about these technology areas, according to Gartner, Inc.
Gomez: Compuware Publishes New White Paper "Application Performance Testing: From Conception to Gravestone."
DETROIT January 11, 2011 - Paper Authored by Performance Testing Expert Scott Barber Examines Performance and Load Testing as Integral Parts of the Application Lifecycle Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company, has published a new white paper that focuses on performance and load testing as integral parts of the application lifecycle.
Policy and Product Management
Celent Report - Tomorrow's Leading European General Insurer: Four Elements for a Winning Strategy.
Zurich, Switzerland - December 31, 2010 -- In a new report, Tomorrow's Leading European General Insurer: Four Elements for a Winning Strategy, Celent recommends that insurers focus their attention on four strategic dimensions if they want to gain competitive advantage: refocusing distribution efforts, applying manufacturing techniques, positioning the brand and proposition, and applying customer science.
Duck Creek selected by Legal & General's general insurance business to transform its future product development.
London, January 11 - 2011 Duck Creek's "best of breed" underwriting and billing solution has been selected by Legal & General's general insurance business to revolutionise their product and pricing capability. Legal & General will use the Duck Creek solution to improve efficiency through more sophisticated pricing and to respond more quickly to business demands to offer a broader product range, across its various distribution channels.
Camilion's ProductAuthority® Now Automatically Integrates ISO Electronic Rating Content™ with Any P&C Policy Administration System to Provide a Cost Effective, Less Risky Solution to Full Policy Admin Replacement.
Toronto, Canada - January 11, 2011 -Camilion™ Solutions, a leading provider of insurance product development solutions and modern P&C policy administration systems that create enterprise product agility, announced today that ProductAuthority® now provides full integration to ISO Electronic Rating Content™ (ERC) for commercial and personal lines.
What's Going Through The Intersection, an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog.
- Tablets are coming. Oh, Wait ... they're here
No matter what measure is used, it is clear that tablets are capturing the imagination of business professionals, including insurance professionals, in ways previously unthinkable. - Math lesson: Is there ROI for Core Systems Replacement?
A sharp IT professional recently argued with his colleagues that there is no cost-based return on investment argument that favours replacement for core insurance administration systems. His contention was that there are lots of good reasons, but none that are cheaper than maintaining the old beast.
Reference and Statistics
Kanetix: Fourth quarter auto insurance rates higher in Ontario; lower in Alberta and Quebec.
TORONTO, Jan. 12 2011 - Kanetix® has tuned up its quarterly auto insurance rate review and has today released the results. Personal auto insurance was 9.5 per cent higher in Ontario in Q4 2010 while 4.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent lower in Quebec and Alberta respectively as compared to Q4 2009.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
Dalbar releases study of Investor Statement Preferences.
TORONTO, Jan. 5 2011 - Dalbar's U.S. 2010 Investor Statement Preferences study identifies the elements of the investor statement that are deemed most valuable by customers. The recently released study assists firms in finding additional opportunities to enhance their investor statements.
NexJ's Integrated Agent Desktop will become the primary access point for the day-to-day business activities performed by all agents and customer service representatives of US' American Family Insurance.
Toronto, January 11, 2011 - NexJ Systems Inc., a leading provider of enterprise CRM solutions for the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries, today announced that American Family Insurance, the third-largest mutual property/casualty insurance company in the United States, ranking 344th on the Fortune 500 list, has selected NexJ Contact for Insurance to deliver an Integrated Agent Desktop to all its agents and customer service representatives (CSRs).
Business of Insurance
Guy Carpenter Finds Reinsurance Rates Decline at January 1, 2011 Reinsurance Renewals For Second Consecutive Year.
New York, December 30, 2010 - For the second consecutive year, global reinsurance property catastrophe rates on line for most lines of business declined at the January 1, 2011 renewals, according to a report published today by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a member of Marsh & McLennan Companies.
from Doug:
An empathetic doctor at Mom's long term care centre put her on the waiting list for a hospice which is located much closer to where Dad lives in a seniors' residence. While Dad and a neighbour were visiting Mom last Thursday, a call came from the hospice that a bed was available but they needed to know that day. Within two hours Mom's belongings were packed up and she was delivered by mobility taxi to her new home. She, the staff and Dad are all adjusting now. Perhaps it is the quiet relaxing atmosphere, or her reaction to the change, or the progress of he ailments; in any case she has slept a great deal since arriving. Mom is in the same room as my father-in-law occupied last Sept for two weeks - as Yogi Berra said "Deja vu all over again".