Issue 2002-11: March 19, 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.
Statistics and Reference
The country's property and casualty insurers are still reeling through tough times, according to data contained in the latest edition of Perspective -- the Insurance Bureau of Canada's quarterly analysis of the financial performance of the P&C insurance industry. Details including the full report at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/IBCPersp200203.php
For 2001 Individual Life Insurance Sales, LIMRA International Records a Year of Ups and Downs. A volatile stock market, uncertainty over estate taxes and a cataclysmic assault on the national centers of power all played a role in sales of individual life insurance during 2001. The year ended with total premiums down slightly from the prior year, but with some fresh interest in previously declining products. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/other/LIMRA200203.php
Skills, Careers and HR
The Insurance Institute of Canada is excited to announce the launch, on March 15, 2002, of its On-Line Skills Shop Resource Centre. This is a uniquely different and powerful approach to training, by offering to its more than 32,000 members, a real experience in professional development and just-in-time skills, in a dynamic soft-skills program presentation. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/humanres/announce/IICSkills200203.php
The Peel Institute is offering their Spring Institute, a two-day symposium, about insurance on April 17 & 18. The topics and speakers will provide real value to insurance intermediaries - Agents, Brokers, and others - as well as other insurance professionals. Up to 17 RIBO and Life CE Credits are available. At www.insurance-canada.ca/humanres/announce/Peel200203.php
CSIO Insurance Portal
The development of Full Quotes Property finished a little earlier than planned. The Function Bundles we have called Quick Quotes Auto, Full Quotes Auto, Full Quotes Property and Broker Connectivity are now being moved to the real test environment from the external and development spaces, according to CSIO's Project Manager Bill Wallace.
Distribution
AnnuityNet, Inc., the USA's top provider and pioneer of online solutions for the annuity industry, today announced that it processed an unprecedented $2.1 billion in annuity transactions in 2001. This figure marks a record annual volume for financial services transactions by an eCommerce technology provider to the annuity industry. AnnuityNet, Inc., builds eCommerce technology that links together annuity point-of-sale distributors, such as banks and broker-dealers, with insurance carriers that create and underwrite annuity products. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/annuitynet200203.php
kasina's "Online Intermediary Strategies" is based on an extensive review of the universe of asset management Web sites for financial professionals. Steven Miyao, CEO of kasina, comments on the state of the industry, "This year, we have seen asset management firms focusing a significant portion of their online efforts on the intermediary channel. As such, the industry has come a long wa in the past year in acknowledging the importance of the Internet to the intermediary channel." More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/kasina200203.php
Policy Management
InSystems, a leading provider of e-business solutions for financial services organizations, and AscendantOne, Inc., architects of the next generation rate/quote, policy and P&C-specific customer relationship management technology, have announced a marketing alliance. Through this alliance, the companies will co-sell and provide a more complete, integrated solution for their joint customers. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/announce/InSystemsAscO200203.php
Marketing
Amid challenging economic times, leading insurance carriers are dispensing with dazzle in favor of enhanced Web site usability and improved policy management functionality. The aim: to keep existing clients loyal and reduce operational costs, according to Gomez, Inc., the Internet Quality Measurement firm. Gomez has also published reports on: Online Vehicle Insurance: Reevaluating Purchaser Behaviour; State of Online Insurance: P&C; State of Online Insurance: Term Life Details at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/Gomez200203.php
For most sites, the majority of visitors arrive at the homepage. And most of those visitors then leave that homepage without seeing any other page on the site. Here are three ways to increase the clickthrough from your homepage, and improve your chances of converting those visitors into customers. Republished from Your Virtual Insurance, more at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/VIVisitors200203.php
e-Business & Technology
Computer Sciences Corporation has implemented major information systems enhancements for the U.S. Annuities Division of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (USA). The enhancements include new e-commerce capability and improved workflow management. With the new e-commerce framework, Manulife USA's clients and brokers can now process key online transactions over the Internet. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/CSCManuL200203.php
from Doug:
Look for more details about our seminar "Technology Supporting the Property Casualty Broker-Company Link" in an e-mail announcement later this week. I think spring officially arrives sometime Wednesday - the flowers in our garden seem to think it is here. But then the weather is all confused - snow in Vancouver yesterday!