The Chronicle: Issue 2011-50, December 13, 2011
What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology, an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog.
- The Future of Independent Brokers: Serendipity and Social Media
Greg Purdy, managing partner of Pathway Partners Ltd., posed a provocative question on the LinkedIn group he manages, Canadian Insurance Broker Strategy Group: "Consumer choice – currently it looks like, buy over the phone, in person, or digital. Direct writers are harnessing digital, where is the broker channel going with this?" - Inside the Jury Room: High Bar, Hard Choices
The Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards (ICTA) jury has selected 9 finalists for the three ICTAs which will be presented in March. We were privileged to be a fly on the wall of the virtual jury room at its recent meeting where the finalists were discussed prior to a secret ballot.
Claims
ISB Partners with AFI International to Help Clients Fight Insurance Fraud.
Milton - December 05, 2011 - Responding to a rise in Canadian insurance fraud, ISB Canada, a leading source document company, is partnering with AFI International, an elite security firm that provides best-in-class insurance investigations. ISB clients will be able to take advantage of these investigative services at AFI, effective immediately.
IBC Reacts to Ontario Auditor General's Report.
TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2011 - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) applauds today's release of the Auditor General of Ontario's annual report which included a number of recommendations and comments about the rising cost of auto insurance in Ontario. The Auditor pointed to the alarming example of a 150 per cent increase in claims costs when the number of injury claims only increased 30 per cent in the same time period (2005-2010).
Guidewire ClaimCenter® to enable Cal State Auto Group to standardize claims management across lines of business and geographic locations.
SAN MATEO, Calif., November 29, 2011: Guidewire Software®, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty insurers, today announced that the California State Auto Group, a leading provider of AAA-branded insurance, has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter as its new claims management platform. California State Auto Group will standardize its claims operations on ClaimCenter for all of its lines of business and across all of its business locations.
Distribution
Manulife Financial Makes Travel Insurance Convenient and Easy.
December 5, 2011 - Waterloo - Today, Manulife Financial announced a new mobile website and travel app that will make it easy and convenient for customers to purchase travel insurance. The new mobile website and app allows customers to purchase the newly created CoverMe Travel Single Trip Emergency Medical plan at an affordable daily flat rate, directly from their smartphones.
Technology
IBM Labs: Researchers Demonstrate Future of Computing with Graphene, Racetrack and Carbon Nanotube Breakthroughs.
WASHINGTON - 05 Dec 2011: Today at IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, IBM (NYSE: IBM) scientists unveiled several exploratory research breakthroughs that could lead to major advancements in delivering dramatically smaller, faster and more powerful computer chips.
Business of Insurance
Travelers Launches CyberRisk in Canada to Protect Against Increasing Threat of Cyber Exposures.
TORONTO, Ontario: December 8, 2011 - Travelers Canada today unveiled CyberRisk, a new product from Travelers Financial and Professional Services dedicated to limiting client cyber exposures and managing associated risks. All types of businesses are exposed to cyber risks regardless of size, industry or track record,Some businesses mistakenly believe that if they do not conduct their business online then they do not have any exposure to cyber risks.
Sun Life Financial announces an industry first in Canada with the introduction of longevity insurance.
TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2011 - Sun Life Financial has introduced an innovative solution designed to lessen life expectancy risk for companies that offer defined benefit (DB) pension plans to employees. Longevity insurance provides plan sponsors with protection from the extra pension costs that arise if their plan members live longer than expected - something that is a growing phenomenon.
Aviva Canada and Hagerty Silver Wheel Plan to Debut in January 2012.
December 8, 2011 - TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. & TORONTO, Ont. - Aviva Canada Inc., one of Canada's leading providers of home, auto and business insurance, and Hagerty Canada, LLC, a subsidiary of Hagerty Insurance Agency, the world's leading provider of classic vehicle insurance, are proud to introduce the Hagerty Silver Wheel Plan.
Aite Group Report: Mergers and Acquisitions in the P&C Insurance Ecosystem: Preparing for the Turn.
Boston, November 30, 2011 - A new report from Aite Group examines the mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) activity that has reshaped the North American property and casualty (P&C) insurance landscape in 2011. Based on September to November 2011 Aite Group interviews with 18 stakeholders in the North American private equity investment community, representing P&C insurers, agency and brokerage firms, and insurance IT services and software providers, the report also defines the P&C insurance ecosystem by market segment.
PwC's 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey finds economic crime continues to increase.
London and New York, 29 Nov 2011 -- More than a third of businesses and other organisations around the world were victims of economic crime in the last 12 months, according to respondents to PwC's 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey released today. And nearly a quarter of victims said they were subject to cybercrime -- the use of technology as the main element in the economic crime.
Our People
InsuranceWorks.ca Holiday Specials
December 6, 2011- Until December 31st we are offering the following discounts on job posting & resume search packages. Buy now and post any time and stock up for your 2012 recruitment needs:
Consumer Information
PC Financial Launches On-The-Go Travel Insurance for Canadian Seniors.
(Toronto, Ontario - December 5, 2011) - Calling all Canadian snowbirds! Starting this month, PC Financial® Travel Insurance to Go is available for seniors looking to make a worry-free escape from winter's freezing temperatures. Expanding its current offering to include Canada's active seniors, PC Financial® Travel Insurance To Go now provides up to $1 million dollars in emergency medical travel coverage for seniors aged 60 to 74* in one easy package.
Allstate Canada Reports that Theft ranks second in Canadian insurance claims.
TORONTO - December 6, 2011 - 'Tis the season to make expensive gift purchases and be out of the house celebrating the holidays. According to Allstate Insurance Company of Canada's data it's also the season for robberies-with theft as the second most common claim made during the winter months. With that in mind, Allstate Canada wants to remind Canadians of ways to reduce the risk of theft and also make sure their valuables are properly protected by reviewing their insurance coverage this holiday season.
Manulife Bank: Canadians continue to miss easy-to-implement opportunities to reduce their personal debt faster.
WATERLOO, ON, Dec. 6, 2011 - Manulife Bank of Canada's most recent consumer debt survey found that, despite a record number of Canadian homeowners putting a high priority on becoming debt-free (77%), many Canadians continue to miss a variety of easy-to-implement opportunities to pay down their debts faster. These missed opportunities have led, in part, to more than six in 10 (61%) Canadians struggling to reduce their debt over the past year -- either increasing their debt (25%), seeing no change in their debt (15%), or reducing their debt, but by less than they expected (21%).
Our People
Great-West Life: Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health issues 'clarion call' to leaders in workplace mental health.
TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2011 - Today Canadian employers gained access to another important online tool designed to help employers improve mental health in the workplace with the launch of Managing Emotions. Developed by leading Canadian mental health researchers, Managing Emotions is the newest, evidence-based assessment tool of emotional intelligence in the workplace commissioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the WorkplaceTM (the Centre) and funded by Great-West Life through its national corporate citizenship program, Stronger Communities Together.
from Doug:
Yesterday we visited my father and my mother-in-law, both of whom happen to live in the same city an hour or so drive away. The weather was gorgeous here in the Toronto area. It was a late fall day - I won't call it an early winter day for fear of breaking the run of good weather we have had. My father-in-law was a Doctor. He also kept a lot of stuff - not a hoarder but a bit of a packrat, like many of us. Since he passed away over a year ago, we have been gradually clearing away more of his things. It has been a challenge trying to find a home for the things which could be of value to others - the community, university and hospital archives and museums for example. Yesterday another car load came back with us. Now all we have to do is hope that the people who said they would like to have those items will actually take them - it has been a bit of a challenge to make sure our too-small condo does not become a storage room for his stuff as well as ours!