Issue 2004-31: Aug 24, 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.
Distribution
Superior Service from Sale to Claim: RBC Insurance.
Superior service can often make all the difference in a client’s decision to buy any product, especially one as complicated as insurance. So when choosing an insurance provider to do business with, you need to ensure that you get the kind of service you and your clients expect from sale to claim.
Transamerica Unveils "Logical" Suite of Insurance Solutions to Canada's Independent Distributors and Advisors.
Transamerica Life Canada launches a unique combination of life insurance strategies, products and administrative support to provide independent advisors with tailored solutions to meet the needs of their clients through every stage of life. This suite of solutions is called the MONARCH Series, and is part of Transamerica Life Canada's commitment to deliver accountable, efficient and real-world life insurance offerings to independent distributors and advisors, heralded as "the logic behind the solution."
Seminar:
Join us on Tuesday Sept 14 for our next Insurance-Canada.ca seminar "Technology Speeds Life Distribution". Jack Brown, Vice-President, Information Technology, PPI Financial Group has joined our roster of speakers and will discuss "Breaking the Data Logjam: A Perspective from Distribution". Join us to review some current issues in Life Insurance Distribution.
Survey Results Find Opportunities for Agents to Enhance Customer Satisfaction: Progressive Insurance.
Proactive and personalized service are an important part of what consumers say they want from their independent insurance agent or broker. And while most independent agents say it’s important to provide this level of service, it also seems many may not realize how closely it’s related to customer satisfaction. These are the results of two recent surveys by the Progressive group of insurance companies, the number one writer of private passenger auto insurance through independent agencies countrywide.
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week ending Aug 20: Peel Mutual has now gone live with auto rates complementing their earlier property rates.
There are now 78 brokers signed up and technically integrated to the portal.
Claims
Lojack Corporation to Acquire Boomerang Tracking Inc., Canada's Leader in Stolen Vehicle Recovery.
LoJack Corporation, the premier global marketer of wireless security and location products and services, announced today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Boomerang Tracking Inc., the dominant marketer and provider of stolen vehicle recovery technology in Canada.
Insurance Product
Innovative Auto Insurance Discount Program to be Available to 5,000 Minnesotans: Progressive Insurance.
Drive less, pay lessthat’s the simple concept behind TripSenseSM, a first of its kind usage-based auto insurance discount pilot program to be offered to 5,000 drivers in Minnesota beginning August 16 by the Progressive group of insurance companies, the third largest provider of auto insurance in the U.S. Program participants are eligible to receive a discount of up to 25 percent depending on how much, how fast and when they drive. Drivers interested in the program can contact the company at tripsense.progressive.com.
Business of Insurance
Life Insurance Industry Expected to Adopt International Accounting Standard, According to Tillinghast CFO Survey.
A significant majority (81%) of North American life insurance company CFOs believe that the U.S. and Canada will eventually join with Europe in adopting a global accounting standard for insurance within the next 10 years, according to the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin in its latest CFO survey. However, only about one-quarter (28%) of respondents believe it will happen within the next five years.
Financial Institutions Still Lag Behind on Less Quantifiable Forms of Risk: PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Financial services companies have pushed risk management further up the corporate agenda and regard reputational risk as the greatest threat to their market value, according to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Yet, it is the quantifiable risks, such as credit and market risk, which still absorb the most attention amongst financial institutions.
eBusiness and Technology
SAS leads data mining and data warehousing access tools markets.
SAS, a leader in business intelligence, today announced that, according to two separate reports* from IDC – a leading provider of global IT research and advice – SAS is the number one vendor in the data mining and data warehousing access tools markets. SAS has one of the broadest business intelligence portfolios – from data warehousing, reporting, and analytic applications to advanced analytics, such as text mining.
Threat to US Financial Institutions: TowerGroup Estimates Projected IT Spend.
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House warned of a possible threat against specific buildings of specific financial institutions. Not since the World Trade Center attack has there been such a large amount of attention to the potential vulnerabilities of US financial institutions and the US financial system as a whole. Business continuity plans are being invoked and every precaution is being taken to ensure physical security of the individual locations.
ATM Security & Fraud: Tools and Techniques to Mitigate Persistent Losses - Celent Report
There are more than 370,000 ATMs in the United Statescreating convenience for bank customers but also generating accessibility for criminals. Although fraud statistics have remained low, criminal activity surrounding ATMs is by no means dormant. In a new report, ATM Security & Fraud: Tools and Techniques to Mitigate Persistent Losses, Celent explores the latest challenges facing the ATM industry with respect to fraud and security. It will also propose solutions and dependable tactics for many of these challenges.
from Doug:
Two boys off to University over the next few weeks - one into his graduating year and the other a fresh. The drive to U. of Waterloo we are used to, at 1.5 hours door to door has us spoiled; the 5 hour trip to Carleton U. in Ottawa will seem long, and will no doubt be less frequent. I guess if that is the biggest of our problems, we will be quite fortunate.
The CNE is underway; summer is winding down.