The Chronicle: Issue 2011-49, December 6, 2011
What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology, an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog.
- Are Your Employees Bringing Their Own Networks to Work?
It seems that Bring Your Own Technology may not be restricted to iPads and Android Phones alone. There is increasing evidence that employees are bringing their own social networks in for both external and internal collaboration. - High Heels, Insurance Trends, and Predictive Analytics
Can a better understanding of trends in women's shoe heel height help predict insurance price and market direction? Beats me, but IBM is testing the use of predictive analytics to understand trends in stilettos which might offer approaches to better understanding directions in a multitude of business, perhaps including insurance.
Distribution
Brovada's NexExchange Launched by Lambton Mutual Insurance Company.
Watford, ON - November 25, 2011 - Later this month Lambton Mutual will begin rolling out real-time Policy, Billing and Claims Inquiry to its broker partners. This inquiry functionality will allow brokers to generate a 'snapshot' of the most-current data contained within Lambton's IBS Policy Administration System (PAS).
Custom Software Solutions Announces EDocs Functionality with SGI.
November, 2011 - Virden, MB - Custom Software Solutions (CSSI) is pleased to announce the addition of Electronic Document Transfer (EDocs) functionality with SGI CANADA, SGI CANADA Insurance Services Ltd., Coachman and ICPEI. EDocs is the ability to transmit documents seamlessly and electronically using Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) standards.
iClarify is now available to SCM PowerSoft brokers.
Toronto, ON November 28, 2011 - SCM Risk Management Services (RMS) is pleased to announce that iClarify is now available to PowerSoft brokers in Ontario, British Columbia, Québec and Atlantic Canada. This exciting development is the result of a partnership between RMS and PowerSoft to expand the distribution of iClarify services for PowerSoft customers across Canada.
Business of Insurance
Manulife Financial Extends Access to Comprehensive Health Care Resources.
ONTARIO, Nov. 28, 2011 - Manulife Financial announced today that it has expanded access to Health Service Navigator® to thousands more Canadians who hold health insurance and critical illness insurance through Affinity Markets. Offered at no additional cost to Affinity policyholders, Health Service Navigator provides users with important health news and tools to assist them in navigating the Canadian healthcare system, including online exclusive access and the ability to contact a call centre to discuss medical condition information.
Standard Life adjusts its product line-up to increase focus on its savings and investment activities.
MONTREAL, Nov. 29, 2011 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Standard Life") today announced three changes to its group and retail offering in order to continue sharpening its strategic focus on the long-term savings and investment market. Employers can now add socially responsible investment (SRI) funds to investment options for any Standard Life group savings and retirement plan. Retail customers now have access to new simplified Ideal Term Funds. Effective January 1, 2012, Standard Life will stop selling its individual life insurance and critical illness products but will continue to service its in-force block of life insurance business.
CSL Global Opens CSL Offices in Canada.
21 November 2011 - CSL Global is pleased to announce the opening of a new business operation in Canada. CSL Global (Canada) Ltd will operate initially from key offices in Toronto and Vancouver and with effect from January 1st, 2012 will be headed by Captain John Hosty. John is an experienced marine surveyor and business manager with over 25 years of specialist experience in marine, health and safety, hazardous materials management, emergency response and environmental protection.
IBC - Ontario's plan to fight insurance fraud headed in the right direction.
TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is pleased with the interim report of Ontario's Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force, which is aimed at fighting insurance fraud at its core. "To have a real impact on Ontario's efforts to eliminate insurance fraud, we need to address the underlying factors that contribute to the problem," said Ralph Palumbo, Ontario Vice-President, IBC. "The Task Force has accurately identified those factors, as well as other issues that require further examination."
Claims
SIMAC's President and CEO, Gloria Rajkumar, Wins RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
November 30, 2011 - RICHMOND HILL - At a gala ceremony in Toronto on November 28, Gloria Rajkumar, President and CEO of SIMAC Canada Inc., was presented the prestigious RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award in the Momentum Category. Gloria was among the 18 finalists from across Canada representing a diverse and impressive range of successful women-owned businesses.
Equitable Life Introduces BlackBerry Mobile App for Submitting Health and Dental Claims.
WATERLOO, ON, Nov. 28, 2011 - Equitable Life of Canada® just made submitting Health and Dental claims a lot easier and faster by developing the downloadable and free Equitable EZClaim™ Mobile App for BlackBerry® wireless devices. EZClaim for Apple wireless devices will follow shortly.
Technology
Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2012 and Beyond.
STAMFORD, Conn., December 1, 2011 - Gartner, Inc. has revealed its top predictions for IT organizations and users for 2012 and beyond. Analysts said that the predictions herald changes in control for IT organizations as budgets, technologies and costs become more fluid and distributed.
Novarica Report: Notes from the 2011 CIO Insurance Summit.
This report summarizes the informal discussions that occurred at the 2011 CIO Insurance Summit, an annual meeting of more than 40 insurer CIOs from across the industry. Throughout the report, we've included illustrative quotes by the delegates.
Consumer Information
Allstate Canada's Ontario Safe Driving Study: Frequency of Ontario car crashes.
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2011 - Allstate Insurance Company of Canada's latest Ontario Safe Driving Study shows Ontario drivers have improved over the past two years. Overall, Ontario's collision frequency rate had a seven percent decrease between 2007-2009 and 2009-2011. According to the data, Brockville had the lowest collision rate, while five GTA communities had the highest collision rates in the province. The Ontario Safe Driving Study looks at collision frequencies in 45 communities in the province and ranks them based on Allstate Canada claims data for 2009-2011 and also compares them to data from 2007-2009.
TD Insurance Winter Driving Poll reveals one quarter of Ontarians are anxious, scared or panicked when it comes to winter driving; preparation is essential.
TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2011 - When the thermostat drops and the snow clouds roll in, more than one third of Ontarians (35%) admit they avoid driving in Canada's winter wonderlands, according to the TD Insurance Winter Driving Poll and one quarter (24%) say they feel anxious, scared or even panicked when driving during winter.
IBC - Southern Alberta windstorm: what consumers should know.
EDMONTON, Nov. 28, 2011 - After a violent windstorm hit Calgary and much of southern Alberta yesterday, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is informing consumers about what they need to know if their property was affected. First and foremost, those affected should ensure they and their families are safe.
IBC congratulates RCMP for charges laid in insurance fraud case.
HALIFAX, Nov. 29, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) congratulates the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for its investigation that led to charges against four individuals involved in an interprovincial stolen vehicle and insurance fraud scheme. Organized insurance fraud is a big business. And when fraudsters cheat the system, honest policyholders end up paying in the form of higher premiums.
IBC launches online quiz to help meet financial literacy needs of Canadians.
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2011 - As Financial Literacy Month draws to an end, don't let insurance be an afterthought. Today, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) launched an online quiz to help Canadians learn more about home and auto insurance and its importance to good financial planning.
from Doug:
The Jury met in an online meeting last Thursday to help us determine the nine finalists for the Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards. It was a great discussion, with contributions by jurists who have run such award programs before, by those who have a good handle on technology in the insurance industry and by those who understand the Canadian P&C Insurance technology landscape. The jurists then had until Monday evening to vote on their choices. The votes will be soon tallied and after contacting them, the finalists will be announced, hopefully within the week.
The finalists will then be reassessed by the jury and the winner in each of the three categories selected, between now and the March 5 Technology Conference. It has, and continues to be, an interesting experience.
My hats off again to all the nominees - you represent great examples of the productive use of technology in this industry.