INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Apollo Insurance Launches Online Exchange
Apollo Insurance Solutions, Canada's largest online insurance marketplace, has launched Apollo Exchange, a digital tool that assists brokerages and individual brokers in placing insurance policies. Read more.
Apollo rebranded this week: Read more.

Breaking Down Marketing Automation For Brokers: Goose Digital Webinar
Driving qualified leads, optimizing sales enablement and improving customer service are top priorities for Insurers. Marketing Automation plays a critical role in supporting each of these priorities. Read more.

CSSI, ClearPay Announce Payment Integration
Custom Software Solutions and ClearPay have announced an integration that will streamline payments and reporting for users of The Broker's Workstation (TBW) and The Underwriter's Workstation (TUW), enabling brokers to do business more efficiently, accurately and securely. Read more.

SNAP Integrates With Power Broker BMS
SNAP Premium Finance have recently partnered with Power Broker, one of the largest Broker Management Systems in Canada, to provide a seamless solution for brokers to offer payment plans and complete policy proposals within the realms of one environment. Read more.

Aon, CyberCube Collaborate On Cyber Risk
CyberCube, a leading provider of cyber risk analytics for the (re)insurance industry, has announced that Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has selected its cyber insurance analytics platform to deliver innovative cyber (re)insurance solutions to its insurance carrier clients and prospects. Read more.

Emerging Cyber Risks Report: Chubb, Clyde & Co
Chubb and global law firm Clyde & Co have published a new report on emerging cyber risks and multinational insurance which analyses the current international cyber risk landscape and highlights areas that multinational corporations must consider to prevent, protect and manage data privacy and cyber incidents. Read more.

C-Suite Must Engage Emerging Stakeholders
An emerging supergroup of employees and consumers is adding intense pressure to already challenged C-suite leaders who are navigating tough economic, tech and geo-political environments – further threatening company growth, a new Accenture study has found. Read more.

US Commercial Insurance Prices Increase In Q1
U.S. commercial insurance prices have increased in the first quarter of 2019, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson's Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). Read more.

U.S. CEO Confidence Grows: KPMG Survey
American chief executives are highly confident in the growth prospects of the domestic and global economies over the next three years, as they look to grow their businesses while facing unparalleled disruption and change, according to the 2019 U.S. CEO Outlook report by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm. Read more.

Anatomy Of A Cyber Policy: CFC Underwriting
Cyber insurance policies tend to be modular in nature, and that has led to confusion around how exactly various different coverage areas fit together to create a uniform whole. To explain, CFC Underwriting has dissected our cyber policy section by section to show how each part of this body of coverage functions. Read more.

Western Acquires EGM Insurance Group
Western Financial Group has furthered its strategic expansion in Ontario with its third brokerage acquisition in the province. Effective May 31, 2019, the EGM Insurance Group, based in the Ottawa Valley, is part of the Western family. Read more.

Navacord Acquires Future Benefits Management
Navacord Corp. is pleased to announce the addition of Toronto based Future Benefits Management Inc. Founded in 1995 and exclusively focused on group benefits, FBMI will be joining JDIMI Consulting, Navacord's Broker Partner dedicated to group benefits and retirement consulting, deepening Navacord's specialization across Broker Partners and enabling a more robust service offering to clients. Read more.

Navacord Acquires Demers’ Insurance Ltd.
Navacord Corp. is pleased to announce the addition of Bonnyville-based Demers Insurance Ltd., effective June 3, 2019. Proudly serving Bonnyville and the surrounding community since 1978, Demers' Insurance will operate as a division of Lloyd Sadd Insurance, a founding broker of Navacord. Read more.

Westland Insurance Acquires Farrell Agencies
Westland Insurance Group Ltd. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Farrell Agencies Ltd., effective June 1st. Farrell Agencies is a full-service brokerage with locations throughout southeastern Saskatchewan. The acquisition is a first for Westland in the province of Saskatchewan. Read more.

Brokerlink Acquires H.C. Hopper Insurance Agency
H.C. Hopper Insurance Agency Inc. have announced they will join BrokerLink, one of Canada's largest property and casualty insurance brokerages, effective June 1st. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Hub International Acquires Cottenie & Gardner
Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, has acquired Cottenie and Gardner Inc., a full-service, independent insurance brokerage headquartered in Kamsack, Saskatchewan. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Frank Cowan Company Partners With Viaesys
Frank Cowan Company has partnered with Viaesys, a Canadian AVL provider. Frank Cowan Company continues to advocate for the implementation and use of GPS systems for municipalities. Read more.

Ontario Launches New Insurance Regulator
The Government of Ontario has announced the launch of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), a new integrated, independent and self-funded regulator of financial services and pensions. Read more.

Securing Your Future With A Captive: Marsh
The number of captive insurance companies writing third-party business is growing at double-digit pace as the digital era expands the ways that organizations deliver insurance solutions, according to a new Captive Landscape Report by Marsh, the world's leading insurance broker and risk adviser. Read more.

ICC Launches Flooring Service Request App
ICC, Canada's leading independent insurance flooring, siding, and roofing evaluation service is excited to announce the release of the new ICC Mobile Flooring Request App for iOS and Android. Read more.

IBM Debuts Self-Service A.I. Ad Experience
IBM has announced the launch of Watson Ads Builder, a self-service advertising solution that harnesses artificial intelligence designed to empower creative agencies and developers to help them build engaging, one-on-one conversations between brands and consumers across any digital property. Read more.

Applied Systems Announces Next CEO
Applied Systems is pleased to announce it has named Taylor Rhodes as the company's next chief executive officer. Read more.

Management Changes At Aviva Canada
Aviva Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Jason Storah as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1st. Storah has more than 15 years of experience with Aviva Canada, serving most recently as Chief Distribution Officer. Read more.

Justin Hamade Joins Apollo Insurance As CTO
Justin Hamade has joined Apollo Insurance Solutions Ltd. as Chief Technology Officer, effective June 4th. Read more.

Sharing The Road With Motorcycles: GEICO
With the summer finally warming up, millions of motorcycles are hitting the roads. GEICO wants to remind you that motorcycle safety is everyone's responsibility. Read more.

Escalating Commuter Stress A GTA Safety Crisis
In Toronto, road rage continues to worsen at an unprecedented rate. According to a new TruceTO survey commissioned by RSA Canada, more than 85 per cent of GTA road users who walk, drive or cycle all agree that it's a serious problem which is causing a great deal of stress among citizens. And it's only getting worse. Read more.

Featured job opportunities:

Customer Service Representative - Personal Lines
Insuranceland
Mississauga, ON

Claims Adjuster
Grenville Mutual Insurance
Toronto or Kemptville, ON

“Insurance In The Platform Economy”

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Ongoing, all-encompassing change is challenging business leaders to provide direction for success. Are you “Taking Action For Your Insurance Future”?

It is no longer enough to focus on a few aspects of the business. With industry leaders expanding and nimble startups encroaching, everything – collaboration, speed, agility, customer, skills, product, innovation – must be optimized, customized and perfected.

Lorie Phair, Managing Director at Canadian Broker Network, and John Elliott, SVP & CIO at RSA, will discuss initiatives that are making a difference, and the characteristics that will have the biggest impact on the industry over the next five years.

ICEF2019 will bring together industry thought leaders, insurance pioneers who are taking advantage of new models and platforms, and solution providers with products and services to help insurance practitioners move ahead.

Explore the new insurance horizon and learn about the imperatives for competing successfully in the Platform Economy.

Visit insurance-canada.ca/icef for all the details.

The InsurTech Spotlight features insurance practitioners and InsurTech(nology) providers which are – or are becoming – InsurTechs. In the spotlight this week are:

FindBob
FindBob unlocks advisor data and turns it into advisor insights. With FindBob's Advisor Intelligence Platform, carrier and distributor home offices can finally use data to understand what's most important to their salesforce and why they behave the way they do. These insights into their advisors' practice needs and how it affects performance empowers the home office to make better decisions. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

From Doug It would be a real challenge to be competitive in the insurance business today without significant use of technology. A bigger challenge is to adapt your business to the speed of technology innovation. Each of us can independently make some changes, but in today's increasingly connected insurance world, there are a lot of dependencies which can hinder or slow optimal results. P&C eDocs are a good example. Essentially no new technologies were required but some development and implementation was. Many years after first use, and many parties getting a lot of value, the take-up is still not as good as it could (should) be. The blog post above by Mark Breading SMA moves the discussion from “tech” to “transformation.” Although each technology merits analysis, those which could be transformational – today or tomorrow – should get our focus. Several of the articles in this issue represent new digital functions and implementations – all contributing to the transformation of our industry. More specifically than in recent years, the thrust of our 2020 Technology Conference next February will be transformational technologies. In the meantime, the platform theme at ICEF2019 is in this same frame. Join us August 28th to explore more deeply. Early-bird registration rates are in effect for a limited time. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca