INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Announcing The World Insurance Forum
Insurance-Canada.ca is pleased to announce the launch of the World Insurance Forum to bring together perspectives about the changes already underway in our industry, with an eye on the business and technology landscape ahead. Registration is complimentary for the first two virtual sessions in November. Read more.

Swiss Re, Daimler Partner To Launch Movinx
Swiss Re and Daimler Insurance Services have entered into a strategic partnership for automotive and mobility insurance and launched a new company called Movinx in a joint venture to establish a new business model. Read more.

Crawford & Company Launches Online Marketplace
Crawford & Company® is pleased to announce the launch of Virtual Assist, an online marketplace that empowers adjusters to request individual services that support desk adjusting operations. The Virtual Assist portal provides access to the full suite of Crawford offerings, from digital tools to traditional field services like appraisal. Read more.

The Core Systems Of Tomorrow: Novarica
Replacement projects may once have been about solving current pain points with specific functionality, but insurers should be looking to where potential solutions are headed. In a new executive brief, Novarica frames the criteria to consider when selecting a modern core system for the future. Read more.

Ford Joins The Verisk Data Exchange
Verisk is pleased to announce that Ford Motor Company has joined the Verisk Data Exchange™ and the companies are collaborating to offer telematics data to insurers. Owners of eligible vehicles will soon have easy access to usage-based insurance programs from the many U.S. auto insurers that connect to the Exchange. Read more.

Building A Resilient Future For Cities: Lloyd’s
Cities are now the most important entities in society, and they are looking to strengthen their resilience in the face of challenges such as climate change, cyber risks and pandemics. A new Lloyd's report provides a comprehensive analysis of the risks cities are facing today and will face in the future. Read more.

Goose Launches Pandemic Travel Insurance
Goose Insurance Services is pleased to announce the launch of Canada's first stand-alone pandemic medical insurance policy in partnership with Lloyd's of London and MSH International. Read more.

Crawford Technologies Launches Document Accessibility Academy
Crawford Technologies, a provider of innovative document solutions, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Eliquo to provide professional training and accessibility services in the highly technical field of document accessibility. Read more.

BCAA Selects Guidewire for Business Growth
British Columbia Automobile Association, a personal lines insurer, and Guidewire Software Inc. are pleased to announce that BCAA has selected Guidewire to enable digital transformation, deliver service excellence, and accelerate product launches. Read more.

IMS To Power Utah’s Road Usage Charge Program
IMS (Insurance & Mobility Solutions), one of the world's top three providers of connected car data solutions, is pleased to announce that IMS has been selected as the technology provider for Utah's Road Usage Charge program. Read more.

Quadient Launches Revamped Partner Program
Quadient, a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections, is pleased to introduce its new Experience Partner Program to empower partners with the knowledge and support needed to successfully implement and maximize the value of Quadient's customer experience management (CXM) solutions. Read more.

US Life Insurance Satisfaction Flatlines
In spite of the pandemic, U.S. consumers don't seem motivated to buy life insurance, and life insurance customers are largely apathetic toward their insurers. According to J.D. Power, a combination of infrequent client communications and a pervasive perception of high cost and transaction complexity have suppressed consumers' interest in and satisfaction with life insurance providers. Read more.

Intact Introduces Specialty Insurance Brand
Intact Financial Corporation officially brings together its Canadian and U.S. specialty capabilities under a single brand: Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions. Unifying its specialty operations under one brand represents the full integration of this growing segment of Intact's portfolio and its commitment to being a leader in the specialty lines marketplace. Read more.

Mitchell And Claim Toolkit Join Forces
Mitchell, a leading provider of technology solutions to the P&C claims and Collision Repair industries, is pleased to announce its collaboration with Claim Toolkit. The two companies have joined forces to offer an integrated system to streamline and automate the complex process of calculating taxes and fees for total loss payments given jurisdictional specifics – helping insurers reduce settlement time and increase customer satisfaction. Read more.

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In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Awywi Insurance Services Ltd.
Awywi is a new InsurTech company specializing in real-time Insurance innovation. Innovation that breaks down traditional insurance distribution silos, cutting friction that adds cost, complexity, and service failures. The result is a 75% reduction in distribution costs for our partners. Awywi is a win-win for customers, brokers and insurers. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Customer Service Rep (Personal Lines) – Broker
Ontario West insurance Brokers
Dorchester, ON

Commercial Account Executive
Ontario West insurance Brokers
Dorchester, ON

From Doug In the early days of UBI in Canada, a telematics provider posited that the insurer's cost to place a customer into a program was approximately $200. This covered the cost of the dongle, managing the installation and other overheads. Then add the discount. To be a profitable program, those costs would have to be offset by a reduction in claim costs – a combination of frequency and severity. Depending on the regulatory regime, there were constraints ex. surcharges for bad driving were not allowed. If the program attracted mostly good risks and also provided a meaningful customer engagement opportunity through feedback of driver performance, then increased loyalty offered a competitive advantage. Improving technology improved the value proposition – the quality and quantity of the tracked data, better analytical tools, lower cost internet communications, smart phone apps instead of physical dongles, etc. Although periodic even by trip feedback on driver behaviour offers basic engagement, enhanced features like gamification ie comparison and competing within a peer group increases the potential. In early days, the telematics/UBI concept fueled expectations of rapid growth, which did not materialize. Worldwide however there has been slow and steady adoption. Is that changing? More next week. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca