INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Blink Partners With TuGo On Travel Delay Benefits
Blink, one of the world's fastest-growing travel InsurTechs, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with TuGo, one of Canada's top travel insurance providers, to support the roll-out of tailor-made travel solutions to its customers. Read more.

Edjuster, Encircle Integrate Platforms To Streamline Contents Valuation Process
Edjuster, a leading provider of end-to-end services for the property contents insurance marketplace, and Encircle, leading platform provider for restorers and insurers to document losses, have integrated their platforms to reduce cycle times and simplify contents valuation for contents listed by desk adjusters, independent adjusters, or contractors using Encircle. Read more.

Guidewire Announces InsuranceNow GO
Guidewire Software has launched a new, out-of-the-box, no-code cloud deployment offering for Guidewire InsuranceNow™ customers. InsuranceNow GO leverages Guidewire's expertise to define a faster implementation to deliver a full suite of operational business capabilities in order to save insurers time and resources as they transform to a modern technology platform and processes. Read more.

Canadians Are Dangerously Under-Insured
New research from Canadian online insurance brokerage PolicyAdvisor.com finds that an overwhelming majority of Canadians with dependents are significantly under-insured and are in denial about the severity of the situation. Read more.

FIRST Canada Revolutionizes Online Payments
FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada, the industry leader in payment solutions, is pleased to announce a revolutionary way for brokers to offer customized online payment options to their clients. Read more.

Roost Ships Commercial Telematics Service
Roost is pleased to announce that it is now shipping its Protection360 Commercial Property Telematics Service. This turn-key white label service specifically addresses the needs of commercial carriers in a wide variety of SMB verticals, including medical offices, restaurants, retail, as well as small multi-family-properties and hotels at an affordable price. Read more.

Northbridge Obtains CSIO Compliance Certification
CSIO is pleased to announce that Northbridge Insurance is the first large commercial insurer to achieve a Certification of Compliance. This certification recognizes insurers that exclusively use standardized CSIO coverage codes instead of custom codes (known as Z-Codes) in their data download to brokers. CSIO congratulates Northbridge for eliminating their custom Z-Codes. Read more.

Red Planet Certified As An Applied Systems Integration Partner
Applied Systems® has announced that Red Planet Software, the leading provider of complete payment solutions for Insurance Premium Financing, has become an Applied System’s Integration Partner. Red Planet’s partnership reflects the increase in broker adoption of its Premium Finance Solution integrated with Applied Epic® in Canada. Read more.

Empire Life, Magik-Net Partner On Real-Time Connected Gateway
Magik-Net and Empire Life Insurance Company have established a collaboration to develop an API that enables third-party administrators to complete tasks associated with the administration of their customers' benefit plans. Read more.

Great-West Life & KOHO Round Up Retirement Savings
Great-West Life is pleased to announce the addition of KOHO's no-fee, full-service spending account to select group retirement savings plans. KOHO accounts are paired with a prepaid, reloadable VISA cashback card and an integrated mobile app that gives users real-time insights into their spending habits, prompting real behavioural changes. Read more.

Nationwide, Betterview Enter Tech Partnership
Betterview and Nationwide have announced a three-year commercial agreement enabling the insurance carrier to utilize Betterview's predictive roof analytics and risk management platform for commercial property renewals. Read more.

Arch Insurance Goes Live With Majesco Billing
Majesco, a global leader of cloud insurance software solutions for insurance business transformation, is pleased to announce that Arch Insurance Group Inc. has implemented Majesco Billing for P&C on Majesco CloudInsurer™ in seven months. Read more.

BrokerLink Acquires Alger & deForest
BrokerLink is pleased to announce that Alger & deForest Insurance Inc. has joined BrokerLink, effective November 1st. This acquisition provides an opportunity for BrokerLink to grow its loyal customer base and support new community members. Read more.

Hub Acquires Manitoba-Based Carey Corp
Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the assets of W.R. Carey Corporation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Zurich Cyber Cover For Manufacturers
Zurich Insurance has announced the rollout of new, industry-specific endorsements to its cyber insurance policy designed to expand coverages provided to the manufacturing industry. The endorsements were created in response to the growing threats posed to U.S. industrial firms by data breaches, ransomware and other cyber events. Read more.

VUMI, Humania Partner To Launch Health Plan
VUMI® Canada, in partnership with Humania Assurance, has announced the launch of Prestige VIP, an innovative health insurance plan specifically designed to expand the health care options for Canadians while offering them easy access to skilled doctors and hospitals worldwide. Read more.

ROI For Workplace Mental Health Programs
Positive returns on investment in workplace mental health initiatives are within reach for Canadian businesses, according to first-of-its-kind research revealed in a report by Deloitte Canada. Read more.

Aviva, Parachute Partner On School Zones Safety
Aviva Canada and Parachute have partnered up through their Elementary Road Safety Program to make school zones safer across the country. Read more.

CAA Reminds Motorists To Prepare For Winter
As winter quickly approaches, it is time to think about heavy snowfalls, slippery road conditions, frigid weather and dead car batteries. With temperatures starting to dip and flurries in the forecast, CAA South Central Ontario is reminding motorists to get their vehicles ready before wintry weather strikes in earnest. Read more.

Rising Concern About Distracted Driving
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation is pleased to announce a new fact sheet on distracted driving, based upon data from the annual Road Safety Monitor public opinion survey. Read more.

“20/20 Foresight:
Keys To Success in a Dynamic World”

Register now for Feb. 25-26, 2020

Businesses in the insurance industry face changing risks and evolving – rising – customer expectations, often shaped by experiences with other industries.

New and updated business models, new approaches to managing risks, and new insurance products, often enabled by the latest technologies and innovations, create fresh opportunities and solve old problems – but also generate new risks and challenges of their own.

At ICTC2020, industry leaders and experts will define the next generation of insurance and risk management. Explore the implications for achieving exceptional performance in insurance, for today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Sponsorship opportunities are available now – choose what suits your needs and your budget.

For all the latest information about ICTC2020, visit insurance-canada.ca/ictc.

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Commercial Insurance Broker / Account Manager
CCV Insurance & Financial Services Inc.
Brampton, ON

Multi-Line Underwriter
Brant Mutual Insurance
Brantford, ON

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From Doug At the Guidewire Connections conference last week, a forward-looking session about innovation included use case scenarios, one being the connected home. A smart home has connected devices – sensors and control mechanisms – to adjust temperature and lighting, to detect unexpected heat, smoke, water, etc. Something changes; data flows; action is triggered. IT developers have always sketched out improvements to processes and functions; in the last decade, new tools (ideation, sprints, MVP, etc.) have improved the cycle time. But integrating a working MVP fully into the business can be a big job. The example at Guidewire Connections to me was less about the “gee whiz” example, but of the work in the background to more rapidly move the new process, product, service from idea into the mainstream business. It highlighted broad progress toward highly functional platforms and their integration with the bigger “digital” ecosystems. It comes down to getting new products and services into the marketplace more quickly and with less effort. There can be a great deal of value in being first. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca