Issue 2004-15:   April 20, 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.

Statistics and Reference

North American Life Insurance Activity Remains Flat in March: MIB.

Applications for life insurance in North America declined slightly in March, down 0.7% year-over-year. For the first quarter, U.S. applications declined 2.0%, and Canadian activity was off slightly at 0.4% compared to first quarter 2003.

Variable Annuities Recover in 2003 as Fixed Annuity Sales Slip: LIMRA.

With interest rates slipping and the stock market in recovery, sales of variable annuities increased 11 percent in 2003 while sales of fixed annuities declined 15 percent from the record level set in 2002. Overall, individual annuity sales for 2003 reached $216.8 billion, off 1 percent from 2002 sales.

Sharp Increase in USA P/C Industry's Net Income Propels Surplus Upward in 2003: ISO & PCI.

The property/casualty insurance industry's net income after taxes rose to $29.9 billion in 2003 - nearly ten times the industry's $3 billion in net income in 2002.

Distribution

Online Learning Tool added to Royal & SunAlliance's WebBusiness initiative.

Royal & SunAlliance announced a new feature on the Companys highly successful WebBusiness tool. Valuable feedback from the WebBusiness broker community has provided the basis for the development of an extensive Online Learning Tool.

CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update

Week ending April 16:Grenville Mutual's habitational rates have been received. Systems testing for Peel Mutual's habitational rates has been completed.
IBAO ran a training session for broker staff this past Friday; the first in a series of sessions to be held across Southern Ontario.
The alpha/beta test brokers continue with the pilot.

Claims

Boomerang Tracking client has vehicle recovered in Montreal while vacationing in British Columbia.

Boomerang Tracking Inc. recently received an automatic theft notification signal from a brown 2004 Ford F-350 equipped with the Company's Boomerang2 tracking device. Within minutes of receiving the signal and confirming the theft with the client - who was on a skiing vacation over 4,000 kilometers away on the slopes of Whistler, British Columbia - a tracking team was immediately dispatched to locate the vehicle, valued at approximately $45,000.

Marketing and the Market Place

Almost Two-thirds of Canadians Don't Pack Travel Insurance for Trips Within Canada, RBC Insurance Survey Shows.

Sixty-five per cent of Canadians who travelled within Canada but outside of their home province in the past three years say they never purchase travel insurance for these trips, according to an RBC Insurance/Ipsos-Reid study.

e-Business and Technology

SAS®9 solutions pack powerful punch.

SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today announced plans to deliver seven software solutions this year that will take advantage of the new SAS®9 Intelligence Platform, the most significant technology change in SAS28-year history. SAS will deliver all its existing solutions on the SAS®9 platform, providing organizations with an integrated suite of solutions that addresses key business challenges.

InSystems Joins IBMs ISV Advantage Initiative to Help SMB Customers in the Insurance Industry.

InSystems, a specialist in complex document and compliance automation for insurance and financial services, has joined IBMs ISV Advantage initiative, a program designed to provide independent software vendors (ISVs) with technical and marketing support to help meet the specific information technology needs of small and medium business (SMB) companies.

kasina Announces "Top Twenty Sites - Mutual Funds".

kasina, a strategic consulting firm for the financial services industry, today announced the release of findings from its 7th annual study on the leading retail mutual fund Web sites - "Top 20 Web Sites - Mutual Funds".

Seminar

Sometimes significant funds are spent on an new technologies such as CRM, new policy system, corporate financial system, data warehousing, only to discover that the integration work to fit the new application into an Insurer's existing environment is the largest risk, effort and cost. James Barber, Client Executive for Information Builders Inc. will overview some of the emerging criteria and expectations that insurers are currently using to make integration simple. Real examples with timeframes and ROI will be included at the next Insurance-Canada.ca seminar Policy and Document Management Systems: Developments and Trends - a half-day on Thursday May 20 in Toronto.

Business of Insurance

Manulife receives approval from Massachusetts Division of Insurance for merger with John Hancock.

Manulife Financial Corporation has received approval from the Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) for its proposed merger with John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. The DOI is the principal U.S. regulator for John Hancock.

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.

Consumer Information

2002 Annual Report for Road Safety Vision 2010 Released: Transport Canada.

The 2002 Annual Report for Road Safety Vision 2010 a long-term plan to make Canada's roads the safest in the world was released today by Transport Canada on behalf of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA).

Safety Starts With You - Workers Compensation Insurance in Nova Scotia.

An increased emphasis on workplace injury prevention, a heightened focus on stakeholder consultation; improved service measures; and new benefits for injured workers with chronic pain are some of the highlights from the WCB's 2003 Annual Report - Safety Starts With You.

Ontario Auto insurance rates for first quarter of 2004: FSCO.

The rate applications approved during the first quarter of 2004 indicate an average decrease of 10.15 per cent, when weighted by 2002 market share for those insurers making rate changes. These changes incorporate the impacts of recent reforms to the automobile insurance system.

from Doug:

The farm history was a hit at our family reunion. The old photos contributed by Dad's siblings, supplemented by their anecdotes of various and sundry family and farm events really brought it to life. The barn fire of August 3, 1936, in the middle of harvesting was cited several times - and the fact that it was insured, and could then be promptly rebuilt, was appropriately noted!