Issue 2005-02: January 11, 2005
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.
CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update
Week ending January 7 : Echelon and Pafco Ontario auto rates have arrived at ISI for loading;
Howick and Kent & Essex Mutuals have completed ISI systems testing for Ont auto rates;
Coachman, for auto and property, and Kingsway for auto, have committed to the portal; and the number of brokers integrated to the portal increased by seven since last report to 136.
Product Announcements
Speedy Glass partners with Travel Underwriters to expand Canadian broker sales of Residential Glass Insurance Product.
Speedy Glass and Travel Underwriters of Vancouver, B.C., have joined forces to offer the Speedy Glass Residential Glass Policy to Travel Underwriters' extensive Canadian broker network. Speedy Glass has developed a competitive policy in conjunction with St. Paul Guarantee Insurance that dramatically reduces the cost to homeowners and renters of broken glass claims.
Business of Insurance
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions' (OSFI) Approvals Process: Consultation Results.
As part of its mandate of regulating and supervising financial institutions, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) must review various types of transactions, including corporate restructurings, ownership changes, substantial investments, and the setting up of new financial institutions in Canada. To measure satisfaction with its services, OSFI conducts periodic surveys and consultations with stakeholder groups.
The domestication of the Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada is completed.
Mr. Joseph Iannicelli, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Standard Life Canada"), announced today that the transfer of substantially all of the business of the Canadian branch of The Standard Life Assurance Company, to its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Standard Life Canada, is now completed.
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS: Guy Carpenter Publishes U.S. Reinsurance Renewals at January 1, 2005
Guy Carpenter has released its annual report on pricing at renewals, U.S. Reinsurance Renewals at January 1, 2005, which found pricing generally to be flat to slightly down. "The reinsurance market was firmer than we originally anticipated," said Sean Mooney, Guy Carpenter's Chief Economist.
Our People
The Co-operators Group of Companies a Triple Winner in Workplace Survey.
Three subsidiaries of The Co-operators group of companies are included in the current ranking of 'The 50 Best Employers in Canada', published by the Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine.
Increasing HR Involvement early in M&A Process can lead to Greater Deal Success, Towers Perrin Survey Finds.
Early involvement from a company's human resource experts in assessing the people challenges in a prospective merger, acquisition or other restructuring can significantly enhance the success of any subsequent deal, according to new research from Towers Perrin's HR Services business. The survey, which involved more than 200 companies in the U.S. and Canada, found that close to 80% of mergers and acquisitions completed in the last few years had substantially met key strategic objectives.
Marketing and the Market Place
Statistics Canada Study: Rural-urban income gap narrows.
Average incomes in Canada's rural population increased in every province during the past two decades, in many cases at a faster rate than average incomes in urban areas, according to a new study.
eBusiness and Technology
Internet and E-Business Trends in 2004: eMarketer.
What shaped the Internet and e-business landscape in 2004? According to eMarketer's CEO Geoff Ramsey, "The Internet is back!" But this time, it's got a solid foundation. Ramsey explains, "Companies are making money online. Advertisers are investing in online advertising. Businesses large and small, around the world, are adopting e-business technologies in virtually every facet of their operations." In the scope of its coverage of the Internet and e-business, eMarketer finds the following top ten trends for 2004.
Top Ten E-Business Trends for 2005: eMarketer.
eMarketer's team of analysts and researchers give their predictions of what to look out for in 2005 in the Internet, e-business and emerging tech arena.
Technology and the Soft Property/Casualty Market: Celent.
The property/casualty cycle is turning, prices are softening, and underwriting results are likely to deteriorate. Celent believes that technology offers insurers (if not a cure) a way to ease their pain and perhaps gain a competitive advantage along the way.
ACORD Wins Innovation of the Year Award.
ACORD was presented with the prestigious Innovation of the Year Award at the 2004 Insurance Day Awards in London on December 1. Competing in a category that attracted the highest number of entries, the judges agreed that "the work carried out by ACORD to try to help create an integrated global insurance industry is absolutely essential to raise standards.
TowerGroup: Geographic Information Systems Plays Critical Role in Insurance.
As the insurance industry faces ongoing pressures to increase cost efficiency and further automate operations, delivery channels and customer relation activities, TowerGroup believes geographic information system (GIS) technology has an important role to play. Application of GIS technologies can enable a wide range of solutions ideally suited to optimizing many areas within an insurance company - ultimately benefiting some of the industry's most critical areas of information processing.
Global Financial Institutions to Spend USD$362 Billion on Technology investments in 2005: TowerGroup.
In 2005, banking, securities and insurance institutions will be united in their quest for organic growth, greater operational efficiency and networked services. TowerGroup identified these as among the top business and technology drivers cutting across all major sectors of the global financial services industry, as part of its series of 2005 Perspectives research reports. "TowerGroup sees fundamental shifts in the way financial institutions will manage their estimated $362 billion in IT investments in 2005, as technology affects the productivity of over $2 trillion in global operational expense," said Guillermo Kopp, vice president of the TowerGroup Cross-Industry research practice.
Claims
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS: CASIU to Hold Information Session Re: Investigative Status.
Tim Flynn, President of the Canadian Association of Special Investigative Units, in a message to the members, stated that further to receiving investigative status, CASIU will be moving ahead carefully to implement this status within the insurance industry. An information session on January 19th.
Insurance in the Community
Aviva Canada employees triple their support for tsunami relief and recovery.
Aviva Canada employees are actively contributing to emergency relief and recovery efforts underway in Southeast Asia – and, thanks to two separate matching programs – one devised by Aviva Canada and one recently announced by the Canadian Government – each individual's generous gift may be as much as tripled.
from Doug:
A Globe & Mail article recently noted that the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883 really started the realization that the world is one global entity, with little thought prior that what happened in one area would have much impact on another. This tsunami disaster illustrates how we have become one global community. The outpourings of such individual contributions of assistance, in the midst of such tragedy, are so wonderful to watch.