Issue 2002-24:   June 18, 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.

Distribution

Sun Life Financial forms marketing and distribution agreement with Hub Financial
Sun Life Financial announced today that Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada signed a letter of intent to form a strategic marketing and distribution alliance with Hub Financial Inc., the Canadian operating subsidiary of Hub International Limited, conditional upon the completion of a definitive agreement. Implementation is scheduled for October 1, 2002. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/canada/SunLHUB200206.php

CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update

Week ending June 14: This week, several little steps. ISI is loading CGU rates and has received rates from AXA also. Work is underway to connect Keal Technology for testing. L'Union Canadienne, who will be offering their quotes directly from their own system, have a date now for testing, with connectivity to the portal scheduled for July. This is significant as L'Union Canadienne writes only in Quebec, and most other companies are starting in Ontario – another positive step.

Marketing Insurance

Canada Life launches product for high net-worth investors The Canada Life Assurance Company announces the launch of an exciting new investment opportunity, Private Collections. The launch of Private Collections represents another step in Canada Life's(TM) strategy to increase its commitment toward the individual investment market in Canada. "We want to provide products that are unique, that are exclusive to Canada Life and that meet the needs of higher net worth investors." More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/CanadaLPC200206.php

Clarica launches innovative retirement income product Clarica's new flexible retirement product, launched today, provides clients who are retiring with two important benefits: the stability of guaranteed income plus the potential for income growth linked to the performance of stock and bond market indexes. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/ClaricaIP200206.php

IBC calls on select committee to reform auto insurance to benefit drivers in New Brunswick The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is urging the provincial government to make changes to auto insurance in New Brunswick. In its submission to the Select Committee on Private Passenger Automobile Insurance today in Fredericton, IBC has provided various models for auto reform to maintain an affordable and available product for New Brunswick drivers. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/canada/IBCNB200206.php

Conning Research Finds Lack of Consumer Awareness a Hurdle for the Disability Insurance Industry Consumers are generally less aware of their need for disability insurance as they are for life and medical insurance, a perception that poses one of the biggest hurdles to the disability insurance industry's long-term growth, according to a new study by Conning Research. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/ConningDI200206.php

Managing Relationships

Clarica to consolidate Moncton customer call centre in Ottawa Clarica announced today that it plans to consolidate the Moncton, New Brunswick retail customer call centre operations of Sun Life Financial with Clarica's customer call centre facilities in Ottawa and integrate the client support structure into its existing infrastructure. The consolidation will take place in two phases. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/canada/ClaricaCC200206.php

Insurers Must Look Beyond Online Sales To Self Service For Internet Success, Gómez Research Reveals While online sales have so far yielded disappointing results, a growing number of insurers have begun to recognize modest success in the realm of customer service, according to a recent consumer research report published today by Gómez, Inc., the Internet Quality Measurement firm. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/GomezWeb200206.php

European Asset Managers Missing Customer Service & Sales Opportunities with Web sites: kasina kasina, released its newest white paper, "European Asset Management e-Business: Online Retail Strategies." The report identifies the top 10 Web sites in the European retail asset management industry and highlights best practices for mutual fund Web sites. It also names the top three sites by country. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/kasinaEU200206.php

e-Business and Technology

Sun Life Financial and IBM Canada announce intention to sign outsourcing agreement Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and IBM Canada Ltd. have signed a Letter of Intent for IBM to manage a portion of Sun Life Financial's information technology (IT) infrastructure. The seven-year agreement is estimated at approximately CDN $250 million and, subject to the completion of successful negotiations, we would anticipate the execution of a definitive outsourcing agreement in July 2002. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/announce/IBMSunL200206.php

U.S. Businesses 'Continue to Underestimate' the Risks Involved in E-Commerce: St. Paul Companies Survey In spite of growing evidence of the risks associated with doing business via the Internet -- and heightened national attention to security -- U.S. companies continue to underestimate such risks and are not adequately training employees to deal with them, according to a survey of 460 U.S. companies released by The St. Paul Companies, the Saint Paul, Minn.-based property-liability insurer. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/other/StPaul200206.php including the study at the St. Paul's site at the end of then links.

from Doug:

Great presentations last Wednesday by the speakers at our "Taming the Information Explosion" seminar. Seems like firms small and large are looking again at Content Management as a focus area for efficiency and effectiveness improvements. Of course as we become increasingly interconnected and mobile, knowledge represented by well-managed content will become increasingly important. Watch for our future seminars.