Issue 2004-10: March 9, 2004
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.
Seminar
Improving Claims Processing: Focus on "People" Claims
Thursday March 25 Toronto will include a presentation by John Anders, NDCHealth. Based on years of experience in pharmacy and dental claims, and the value the data carried in those claims can provide, John will provide insight into how technologies and business practices are evolving in the area of claims over the next short while. John is one of several noted speakers who will address the theme.
Distribution
CoVirt Announces that Three More Vancouver Based MGA's Switch to VirtGate.
CoVirt Inc. (Canada) announced today that CoVirt now supplies VirtGate to three more Vancouver-based life insurance Managing General Agents. VirtGate is a multi-channel insurance advisor and policy management service delivered through the Internet.
Advocis Releases Best Practices Manual For Industry Comment.
Advocis, the largest association of professional financial advisors in Canada, today introduced a Best Practices Manual for review and commentary by regulators, organizational partners, and members. The Best Practices Manual (BPM) is intended to be the gold standard against which professional advisor best practices are measured.
New Eastbridge Study Finds That More Worksite Marketers Are Looking To Joint Ventures/Alliances To Boost Sales.
About 30 percent of the worksite carriers in a recent Eastbridge study entitled Joint Ventures and Alliances for Worksite Marketing said they generate some sales through joint ventures. Alliances and outsourcing agreements, while not specifically measured in the study, are likely to be even more prevalent. So why such a high percentage?
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week ending March 5: IBAO has started a roadshow to take Portal information to broker communities across the province. The first was held March 2 in Belleville - interest is high. The alpha/beta testing brokers continue.
Business of Insurance
Canadian Western Bank to Acquire HSBC Canadian Direct Insurance.
Canadian Western Bank and HSBC Bank Canada have signed a letter of intent for Canadian Western Bank to acquire all of the shares of HSBC Canadian Direct Insurance Incorporated (Canadian Direct) for a cash payment of C$25.4 million. The transaction is expected to close in 4 to 6 weeks, subject to definitive documentation and regulatory approval.
Claims
Boomerang Tracking recovers Ford F-250 stolen from British Columbian rental firm.
In the evening hours of January 26, 2004, Boomerang Tracking Inc. received a call from a vehicle rental company in Whiterock, B.C. reporting the theft of a white 2003 Ford F-250. Within minutes of receiving the call, a tracking team was immediately dispatched to locate the vehicle, valued at approximately $42,000.
IRC USA Study Finds Skyrocketing Auto Injury Losses Despite Declines in Serious Injuries.
A new study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) finds that reported losses in auto injury claims are escalating in spite of the fact that the rate of serious auto injuries has decreased. In the past five years, increases in the average amounts that auto injury claimants report for expenses stemming from their injuries, particularly among personal injury protection and medical payments first-party claimants, are nearly double the annualized growth in medical inflation.
Statistics and Reference
Canadian Economic Outlook, February 2004: SwissRe.
Economic growth will pick up in 2004 despite a mediocre fourth quarter last year. The economy was flat in November after only growing 0.1% in October. A strong December and healthy growth in the leading indicators, up 0.6% in January and about 0.8% in the previous four months, indicates that 2004 will be an improvement on 2003.
Consumer Information
Maritime Life makes term life insurance more affordable for Canadians.
The cost of term life insurance with Maritime Life dropped by up to 10 per cent in some age categories and rate classes today, making term life insurance even more affordable for Canadians.
5 of 6 Midsize Cars Earn Low Ratings in 5mph Crashes to Test the Bumpers: IIHS.
Five of six new midsize cars earned poor or marginal ratings in low-speed crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Only one model, the Mitsubishi Galant, earned the second highest rating of acceptable.
Marketing and the Market Place
Rising Number of Companies Considering Alternative Financing for Employee Benefits: Towers Perrin.
Large employers with global workforces can realize significant cost savings by using captive insurance companies to finance employee benefit programs, according to a groundbreaking survey by Towers Perrin. The Use of Captives for Employee Benefits survey reveals an emerging trend as companies worldwide seek to contain employee benefit costs by using captive insurance companies.
e-Business and Technology
DALBAR Recognizes the Best Web Sites in Financial Services.
Industry leaders AIM, Fidelity, and Hartford know best how to support their customers online, according to DALBAR's latest quarterly ranking of financial services Web sites. These firms were only three of over 200 Web sites evaluated to earn DALBAR's highest honor, the "Excellent" Web site designation.
Online Payments in the US: Navigating The Marketplace: by Celent.
In a new report, "Online Payments in The U.S.: Navigating The Marketplace," Celent examines the online payment marketplace, its key participants, and the major trends affecting it. Based on over 100 interviews with industry executives, the report is a sweeping review of one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. payment industry.
TowerGroup Views Sarbanes-Oxley as Catalyst for Long-Overdue Financial Institution Technology Upgrades.
Despite enormous attention to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act itself, relatively little consideration has been paid to the role of technology in helping financial institutions meet compliance requirements or to the long-term opportunities offered by the Act. New research from TowerGroup asserts that financial institutions should view the Act as a catalyst for long-delayed business transformation.
from Doug:
After about three months work, we went live with our new home page(s) this past weekend . What a set of choices and compromises one has to make. There are tradeoffs between graphics and text, and implications for usability and navigation. Of course with a good representation in the various Search Engines, a design cannot jeopardize that ranking. At the same time with so many readers landing anywhere in our site, the navigation within the site has to help them get quickly oriented. Down the road a bit, we will be working on that internal navigation some more. Like growing children, site design is never finished.