Issue 2002-04:   January 29, 2002

This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information mostly about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.



CSIO Insurance Portal

MILESTONE: On the weekend of Jan 19-21, Bill Wallace, CSIO's Project Manager for the CSIO Insurance Portal Project, reports that the CSIO Insurance Portal moved from the development hardware environment to the ultimate home of the Portal. This production environment houses the computer technology and operating systems with the applications of the Portal, and the surrounding infrastructure of security, firewalls, systems management etc. The infrastructure houses both a QA and the final production envrionment. Bill comments that now "real transactions in a real environment" are available for testing.This has many implications and is a significant step.

Distribution

DWL, a leader in Unified Business Services software, has released version 2.0 of DWL Insurance for Property & Casualty Agent/Broker Application. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/announce/DWLA-B200201.php

Statistics and Reference

The new issue of The Belton Report reviews Turbulence in the Marketplace, including the impact of the WTC tragedy.

e-Business & Technology

According to a Tillinghast-Towers Perrin survey, using traditional business measures, insurers are finding spotty evidence of success for their new technology investments. Yet even in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, they remain optimistic that the technology will eventually deliver top-and bottom-line business results. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/Tillinghast200201.php

A simple scenario, illustrated once with some technology assistance, and a second time with cross-organizational and multi-departmental process integration, shows the value of technology combined with good processes and skills. The scenario is of a claims process in a broker's office, by Sharon Cunningham in Agent & Broker. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/AandB200201.php

Marketing

Standard Life wins the Québec Finance Grand Prix award in the Life Insurance category - more at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/StandardQC200201.php

The "I Promise Program" is a new initiative to reduce teen related car crashes launched across North America. Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death and permanent injury in teens - 1 in 4 will be involved in a car crash within their first year of driving. The goal is to reduce the risk of teen related car crashes. A primary objective of the "I Promise Program" is that it be delivered to families in the easiest, most economical way possible and preferably at no cost to the family. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/IPromPR200201.php

The Co-operators General Insurance Company offers auto clients anti-theft discount, and a significant discount on the cost and installation of the Autowatch 329 Ti anti-theft Immobilizer. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/Coopatheft200201.php

And how important is good Web site design, and content? - High usability, coupled with high business content, creates a winning situation for any e-content application, while poor usability leads to financial loss, says a new report delivered to members of the e-Content Institute. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/econtent200201.php - Britain's top companies are "woefully inadequate" when it comes to their Web sites. These are the findings of the first-ever Web "Oscars" which rank the UK's top 100 companies by the quality of the Home Pages of their Web sites, in research carried out for Interactive Bureau. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/IABUK200201.php

Claims

Sun Life launched a new Internet-based claims submission and payment process for Health Spending Accounts - the first of its kind in Canada. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/canada/SunLifeHSA200201.php

Adjustersnet, Viden Inc., announces a solution to easily and instantly automate the contents quoting process, available at www.adjustersnet.com. Adjusters can easily automate the way they request, receive, and review quotes. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/announce/AdjnetQuote200201.php

Motor vehicle collisions are the most frequent cause of severe injuries; 1 in 8 involves alcohol, reports the Canadian Institute for Health Information. "Motor vehicle collisions that result in severe injuries place a significant burden on Canada's health care system," says Greg Webster. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/canada/CIHI200201.php

The WCB of B.C. and the ICBC announced the results of a joint Youth Risk Taking research study, confirming similarities in the causes leading to young worker and young driver injuries and fatalities. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/canada/ICBCYouth200201.php

Relationships

Market researcher Jupiter Media Metrix warns that these e-tailers could lose customers if they don't beef up their customer-service response times and work harder at fielding e-mail requests. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/Jupiter200201.php

 

from Doug: