The Chronicle: Issue 2014-45, November 11, 2014

What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?

A New Era of Technology: Part 2 – Analytics
Big Data and Analytics are what drives organizations to make decisions – because the numbers don't lie. Technology is not only able to state actual data, it can also provide predictive analytics, looking at trends and buying patterns to give an organization direction on their best course of action. Companies can now create personalized promotion campaigns for every single customer.

Canadian Insurance Innovation: Can We Go From Inconsistencies to Opportunities?
Frankly, we have gotten a bit weary of the term ‘innovation.’ It seems that every second consultant, supplier, and blogger is beating the innovation drum, while reciting a litany of benefits ranging from improved profitability to better golf scores. It is a bit like dietary fibre: we all know we need more, but do we really need to hear about it before, during, and after every meal? Fortunately, some analysts approach innovation in a pragmatic manner that meets the needs of insurance executives and professionals. A recent report from Celent is a case in point.

The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog
The Intersection
an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog

Business of Insurance

Canadian Institute of Actuaries: Risk In Cyberspace – Insuring Against The Digital Danger
The threat posed by online criminals and fraudsters is worsening all the time. Companies have to protect themselves against a variety of risks, including data loss, fraud, website hacking, and theft of intellectual property or identities. They are increasingly turning to cyber insurance policies as a part of their enterprise risk management security strategy.

Celent: Innovation in Canadian Insurance 2014 – The Leadership Gap
Celent has been researching what practical steps insurance firms are taking to increase their innovation capabilities. Overwhelmingly, survey respondents reported that innovation is important or critical to achieving company strategy. However, innovation efforts are not receiving the management attention or investment required for success.

Technology

IBM and Twitter form global partnership to transform enterprise decisions
IBM and Twitter have announced a landmark partnership that will help transform how businesses and institutions understand their customers, markets and trends – and inform every business decision. The alliance brings together Twitter data that distinctively represents the public pulse of the planet with IBM's industry-leading cloud-based analytics, customer engagement platforms, and consulting services.

Xpertdoc webinar: Using Self-Service Portals to Control Costs and Meet Customer Expectations
Self-service portals can benefit insurers in significant ways. During this webinar, industry experts will thoroughly explore the value, benefits and tradeoffs of self-service and how Web-based self-service portals can be readily deployed.

Industrial Alliance launches secure website for group savings and retirement plan sponsors
Industrial Alliance has launched the new version of its secure website for group savings and retirement plan sponsors. Pursuant to its goal to always put the client first, Industrial Alliance has made it easier to manage group savings and retirement plans to allow plan sponsors to more easily perform tasks in line with their administrative responsibilities.

Silanis and IBM deliver best-in-class e-signature solution
Silanis Technology has announced that it has deployed its leading e-signature solution e-SignLive™ on the IBM Cloud, enabling the Canada-based electronic signature provider to give its clients in highly-regulated industries in-country access to data from IBM's cloud data center in Toronto.

Consumer Information

Medi-Quote launches online tool to reduce travel insurance risk for Snowbirds
Medi-Quote Insurance Brokers has launched an online tool that allows Canadian Snowbirds to track their medical history to reduce the risk of denied claims

Policy Management

Guidewire extends core functionality to Power Omnichannel Solutions for P&C Insurers
At the Connections 2014 User Conference, Guidewire Software, a provider of software products to Property/Casualty insurers, announced that its Mobile and Portals solution portfolio is experiencing strong momentum with eight customers in five countries implementing one or more of the Guidewire Mobile and Portals™ products.

Accenture simplifies implementation process with new version of life insurance platform
Accenture has released a new version of the Accenture Life Insurance Platform (ALIP), an advanced life insurance and annuity software suite. Announced at the Accenture Life and Annuity Software Client Advisory Board event this week, the latest version of ALIP includes new capabilities that help insurance providers streamline operational processes, increase system scalability and ease integration with other software solutions.

Distribution

CSIO launches TLS email security chart
The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations is pleased to share the results of its research into the adoption of Transport Layer Security (TLS), or eMail Security, among CSIO member brokers across Canada. The research results have been summarized in a chart, which displays the broker TLS adoption percentage for each province.

illustrate inc releases OPUS 4.0 and new Studio Tools Suite
illustrate inc has announced the latest release of their industry-leading OPUS 4.0 platform along with the new OPUS Studio Tools Suite of products.

Subscribe here or view past issues.