The Chronicle: Issue 2011-39, September 27, 2011
Policy and Product Management
The Dominion Licenses OneShield Dragon® for Modern Policy Management.
WESTBOROUGH, MA--(August 18, 2009) - OneShield, Inc., the developer of OneShield Dragon®, an innovatively modern, rules- and tools-based, data-driven policy management solution, is pleased to announce The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (The Dominion), one of Canada's oldest insurance companies, has licensed OneShield Dragon to handle the company's growing policy management needs.
Distribution
Applied Systems honors insurance carriers for communication excellence.
Orlando - September 20, 2011 - Insurance technology company Applied Systems today continued its tradition of honoring insurance carriers for excellence in communications with agencies and brokerages. Ten carriers received the Applied Systems Interface Partner and Innovation Leadership Awards.
eBusiness and Technology
Guidewire Software Integrates IBM Cognos to Expand Business Intelligence Capabilities.
SAN MATEO, Calif., September 22, 2011: Guidewire Software®, a provider of core system software to Property/Casualty (P/C) insurers, today announced the availability of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence (BI) software as a pre-integrated reporting option with Guidewire InsuranceSuite™ systems for underwriting and policy administration, claims management, and billing. Guidewire customers have the option to use the embedded Cognos solution or to work with another BI solution of their choosing.
IVANS: Underwriting Solutions, Consumer Portals Among Top Technologies Carriers Are Investing In to Maintain Growth and Create Market Differentiation.
Stamford, CONN. - September 19, 2011 - IVANS, Inc. the largest insurance data exchange in the country, announced that the top five technologies carriers are investing in or planning to implement over the next 12 months are: underwriting solutions; policy administration systems; consumer portals; predictive analytics/business intelligence; and mobility/virtualization.
Social Business
Sun Life's new site invites Canadians to share ideas about money, health and family.
TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2011 - For many Canadians, the search for answers about finances, health and family often begins with websites or social media networks to get advice from people who have experienced the same issues. Sun Life Financial has joined the conversation with the launch of BrighterLife.ca, a site that provides useful tips and tools to help consumers share ideas about the topics that matter to them.
Marketing and the Market Place
eMarketer: Facebook Dominant Social Network for SMBs.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 - When it comes to online marketing, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have their work cut out for them. Time- and money-strapped, SMB marketers often receive light budgets and minimal staff to help them promote their business and generate leads across a variety of formats ranging from social media to search marketing.
Insurance-Canada.ca Mini-Survey
Insurance in Canada and Social Media: With Whom do you Communicate?
In late July Insurance-Canada.ca asked people involved with insurance in Canada the question "With whom do you communicate using Social Media?". This report presents the results overall and then compares the three groups who responded in numbers: P&C Brokers/Agents, P&C Insurers and Suppliers. The survey was conducted between July 12 and August 3, 2011. Thanks to those who took the survey.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Overall Customer Satisfaction with Auto Insurance Companies in Canada Improves Notably in the Western and Ontario/Atlantic Regions, Despite High Rates of Premium Increases.
TORONTO: 15 September 2011 - Despite widespread premium increases, customers in the Western and Ontario/Atlantic regions of Canada are notably more satisfied with their auto insurance company, compared with 2010, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Canadian Auto Insurance StudySM released today. The study, now in its fourth year, measures insurance customers' experiences with their primary insurer.
Industrial Alliance makes improvements to ATTITUDE portfolios,the investment solution that evolves according to group pension plan members' life cycle and investor profile.
QUEBEC CITY, Sept. 19, 2011 - Industrial Alliance is pleased to announce improvements to its ATTITUDE portfolios, the investment solution that combines two essential elements: life cycle and investor profile. Thanks to these improvements, group pension plan members have access to an enhanced turnkey option - one of the best on the market.
Claims
IBC: Goderich tornado costs $75 million in insured damage.
TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports that the estimated insured damage caused by a tornado that struck Goderich, Ontario in August amounts to at least $75 million. The $75 million is a preliminary estimate reported by Property Claim Services Canada (PCS-Canada), a service that tracks insured losses arising from catastrophic events in Canada.
Reference and Statistics
Towers Watson Survey: Commercial Insurance Prices Show Small Increase.
NEW YORK, September 13, 2011 - In an indication that the market may be hardening, commercial insurance prices in aggregate increased by nearly 1.5% during the second quarter of 2011 the first time since the fourth quarter of 2003 that all standard commercial lines showed an uptick in pricing according to global professional services company Towers Watson's most recent Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS).
Business of Insurance
Towers Watson Survey: Financial Performance and Rate Inadequacy Among Driving Forces for P&C Insurers.
NEW YORK, September 21, 2011 - While North American property & casualty (P&C) insurance chief financial officers (CFOs) said financial performance, capital base and rate inadequacy are the driving forces of the market, their views on those factors differ based on their overall market outlook.
Insurance in the Community
The Co-operators: Sustainability conference wraps up with a commitment to bring about change.
GUELPH, ON, Sept. 19, 2011 - The second edition of a conference that brought 165 Canadian students together with sustainability experts from business, non-governmental organizations and academia, wrapped up today with a commitment from participants to use their knowledge, skills and passion to build a more sustainable world. IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership was a unique four-day event held in Guelph, Ontario, where students formulated ideas for more sustainable practices geared to ten systems including energy, water, food and transportation.
Consumer Information
TIRF to develop comprehensive vehicle safety education program.
TIRF is pleased to announce its collaboration with Toyota Canada Foundation to develop a comprehensive vehicle safety education program that links the use of vehicle safety features to safe driving practices. The goal of this national public education program is to provide the public with consistent, contemporary, research-based knowledge and understanding of vehicle safety features, and how these features relate to safe driving practices.
TD Insurance survey reveals one-third of young renters without renter's insurance.
TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2011 - As Canadian post-secondary students unpack their laptops, clothes and other possessions in their dorm rooms this fall, renter's insurance may be the last thing on their minds as they prepare for lectures and life away from home. But according to a new survey by TD Insurance, 38% of Canadian renters under the age of 35 are putting their possessions and personal finances at risk because they don't have renter's insurance.
SGI: Wildlife Federation predicts increase in vehicular collisions with moose.
Sept. 9, 2011 - With the coming of the moose rut, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) is expecting the number of vehicular collisions with these large animals to increase. During the latter stages of September and throughout October moose are on the move, seeking mates. Often, bulls will travel great distances in their single-minded search for cows.
PCI: Is Your Home Physically Prepared for Wildfire Season.
September 8, 2011 - SACRAMENTO, California ? As dry conditions, lightening strikes and high temperatures persist throughout California, now is a crucial time to look around your home and make sure your property and family are physically prepared for a wildfire, says the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC).
from Doug:
Fall has arrived, but not really. Several of the last few days have been good for early-morning bike rides (now somewhat later after the sun rises). I enjoy working in my office with the balcony door open. The people one floor below us have a large terrace, and they have just finished major construction of a barn-like gazebo-line structure (the posts seem as large as some of the beams in the barn when I grew up), a deck and a planter/arbour, now planted with shrubs and flowers. Gives new meaning about how to spend one's money - I wonder if they will use it more than a half dozen times before winter? So many of the balconies and terraces around us seem very seldom used, but then we are guilty too.