Issue 2002-23:   June 11, 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.

Reference and Statistics

Auto costs still higher in Atlantic Canada: Insurance industry financial results: IBC. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has released its most recent auto insurance financial results figures for 2000 and 2001 in the Atlantic Region confirming the continuation of losses being incurred on automobile insurance. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/IBCAtlR200206.php

A.M. Best Announces New Canadian P/C Rating Classification. A.M. Best Co., the global insurer ratings and information provider, announces an enhancement to its financial strength rating analysis with the introduction of Best's Public Data Ratings. These ratings are being applied to the Canadian insurance market. Public Data Ratings will be identified by a "pd" modifier. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/Bests200206.php

In-force Growth in U.S. Group Insurance Business Shows Strength of Employer Commitment to Benefits: LIMRA. In-force premium for group life, disability, and long-term care insurance all increased in 2001, a sign of the strength of commitment to offering benefits among employers dealing with economic challenges, according to reports from LIMRA International. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/other/LIMRAGrp200205.php

CSIO Insurance Portal

Week ending June 7. Bill Wallace, CSIO Project leader, indicates that the ISI project is well under way, with two parallel activities. CGU is the first company to load rates into ISI's WebWriter Rules Engine, working on Ontario auto and habitational rates. At the same time, development to connect that computer application to the portal has commenced. Testing by others of and through the portal continues. The known problems or "bugs" are being reduced and as a result both Lombard and Applied can now test further than they could a week ago.

Claims

"Vehicle Invoice Pricing Service" to Aid Auto Claims Departments Available at Adjustersnet.com. Viden Inc. announces that its Vehicle Invoice Pricing Service (VIPS) for auto adjusters will be available for public use on June 1st 2002 at www.adjustersnet.com. VIPS will aid in the settlement of total losses under the 43r endorsement. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/announce/VIPS200206.php

Policy Management

InSystems and FileNET Announce the Integration of InSystems Calligo with FileNET Acenza for Insurance. Using the integrated InSystems/FileNET solution, underwriters using Acenza will be able to approve and submit policy issuance requests within the Acenza application, eliminating the need to access information from multiple back-end applications to complete the underwriting of a policy. InSystems Calligo will generate the policy/contract and allow these policies to be stored or printed for the prospect. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/announce/InSystems200206.php

Sherwood International Launches AMARTA Life Fast-Start for Rapid Development and Implementation of New Life Insurance Products. Amarta LIFE Fast-Start integrates powerful, easy-to-use technology and in-depth insurance know-how into a software solution that enables insurers to launch new products and channel relationships quickly, and to process new business more effectively. Amarta LIFE Fast-Start is designed to deliver better time to market and time to issue, while lowering costs and increasing control in the back office. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/announce/SherwoodAF200206.php

CSC's VANTAGE-ONE System Enhanced for Japanese Market; Manulife's Japanese Subsidiary First to Use Annuity System. Computer Sciences Corporation announced that it has enhanced its VANTAGE-ONE(R) insurance and annuity administration system to support Japanese business requirements. Manulife Life Insurance Company (Japan), a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE: MFC) headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is the first annuity user of the enhanced system, which is supporting Manulife's recently introduced "ManuSolution" annuity. ManuSolution is one of Japan's first tax-deferred, investment-type annuities. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/poladmin/canada/CSC200206.php

Distribution

Agency Technology - Beyond Belief: Agents Council for Technology (from Your Virtual Insurance News). The agency universe of the future gill not only leverage technology but will integrate technology to a degree that 20 years ago was beyond even our imaginations. Article at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/ACT200206.php

from Doug:

Spent a glorious four days at a conference in Waterloo over the weekend with a historical/genealogical group. "Tapped the keg", toured down to Long Point and Simcoe, listened to Ian Wilson, National Archivist from Ottawa tell us about some of the neat things they are doing with technology and the Internet, discussed, cajoled, ate too much, met my high school principal at Church on Sunday, and generally had a good time; still recovering.

Still space available on "Taming the Information Explosion" seminar tomorrow June 12. June 25 sees SAS running a webinar: "Data Mining in the Insurance Industry". Our announcement for "Brokers: Driving Technology to Work" will be out soon - the date is Tuesday Aug. 13.