Issue 2005-22: May 31, 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.
Consumer Information
Introducing Life-Quotes.ca: Online Canadian Life Insurance.
Toronto ON 26 May 2005 - Life-Quotes.ca, a life insurance web site run by licensed brokers, offers Canadians online term and whole life insurance.
Boomerang Tracking achieves new milestone as 4,000th vehicle recovered.
MONTREAL, Quebec, May 25, 2005 – Boomerang Tracking Inc. is extremely proud to announce that it has reached another milestone in asset recovery, recovering more than 4,000 assets equipped with a Boomerang or Boomerang2 tracking device valued at more than $200 million.
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS: ICLR Marks Seven Years As Catalyst for Disaster Research.
Since its inception seven years ago, the ICLR has leveraged $3 million in support from Canada's insurance industry into $50 million in loss prevention research projects.
Marketing and the Market Place
Ontarians Offer Some Perspectives On Auto Insurance: Ipsos-Reid (President's Choice Financial).
May 25, 2005 Toronto, ON – According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of President's Choice Financial, nine in ten (90%) Ontarians who currently have auto insurance think it would be a benefit if every year they did not make a claim for loss or damage their auto insurance deductible decreased by 20%, and after 5 consecutive years it disappeared completely. Moreover, 82% would consider switching to an auto insurance provider that offered this 'disappearing deductible.'
Policy and Product Management
Insurance Systems Inc. "Intensely Focused" on IASA Conference.
May 27, 2005 (Toronto) – Insurance Systems Inc. (ISI), a leading provider of web-based solutions to the global property and casualty insurance industry, is unveiling it's new "Intensely Focused - on Property and Casualty" campaign at the upcoming Insurance and Accounting Systems Association (IASA) Conference in Anaheim, June 5-8, 2005.
Camilion Solutions Introduces Product Lifecycle Management for Financial Services.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, May 23, 2005 -- Camilion Solutions, a leading provider of product lifecycle management solutions for the financial services industry, today announced the general availability of Product Innovator v4.4. Product Innovator is a full product lifecycle management (PLM) solution with features and functionality specifically for the insurance industry.
EDS-SOLCORP Releases SOLCORP / ProductXpress 2.4.
TORONTO, May 20, 2005 -- EDS-SOLCORP, a leading provider of software solutions to financial industries, today announced the immediate availability of version 2.4 of the SOLCORP / ProductXpress product implementation platform. This latest release brings key new enhancements, including the ability for insurers to cost-effectively provide their distribution channels with more flexible calculation capabilities.
CSC Launches Life Underwriting Strategic Technology Program With Five Insurers.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 18, 2005 -- Computer Sciences Corporation today announced that five leaders in the life insurance industry have joined CSC's Next-Generation Automated Underwriting Platform Strategic Technology Program (STP).
eBusiness and Technology
InSystems Calligo™ Doc Services 3.1: Next Generation Document Platform.
Orlando, Florida, May 23, 2005 (ACORD/LOMA Insurance Systems Forum) - InSystems, the specialist in complex document and compliance automation for insurance and financial services organizations announces the availability of InSystems Calligo™ Doc Services 3.1.
i-flex invests in Castek for Property & Casualty insurance solutions.
Mumbai, May 23, 2005 - i-flex solutions, a leading provider of technology solutions to the global financial services industry has entered into a strategic alliance with Castek Software Inc., a Toronto based provider of insurance systems for the global Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry.
Micro Focus, Cratos, and Microsoft Help Lombard Canada Ltd. Migrate its Mainframe Systems to the Windows Platform.
Mississauga, ON, May 18, 2005 - Micro Focus, a leading provider of legacy application development and deployment software for enterprise platforms, Cratos, a software solutions company specializing in international banking and financial transaction processing, and Microsoft, today announced that they will work with Lombard Canada Ltd. to migrate its mainframe systems to a Microsoft® software platform.
Business of Insurance
From Canadian Insurance ENEWS: Canadian Agricultural Companies Form Insurance Purchasing Group
Like the old days when neighbours in farming communities would gather to raise a barn, Canadian agri-businesses are banding together to take control of their own insurance destiny.
Conning Research Predicts USA Property-Casualty Underwriting Profit Again in 2005.
(Hartford, CT) May 10, 2005 - The property-casualty industry can look forward to another year of underwriting profits, assuming normal catastrophic losses of $13-14 billion, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc. However, the analysis by Conning Research suggests that 2006 may not be as rosy.
Insurance in the Community
OSAID gains Aviva Canada and Pilot Insurance sponsorship to help educate students against drunk driving.
Toronto, Ontario, May 12, 2005: Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) is proud to announce a major sponsorship from Aviva Canada. Aviva is the first corporate sponsor since OSAID's inception in 1987 to provide core funding to OSAID Inc. This funding will allow OSAID to maintain a full-time staff person to run the provincial office that manages 5,000 volunteers and 300 OSAID chapters in Ontario.
ING Ottawa Marathon Launches Search for Canada's Fastest City.
On May 28, 2005 Canada's best marathon runners will take their marks at the start line of the ING Ottawa Marathon in a race to find Canada's fastest city! Organizers of the 2005 ING Ottawa Marathon today announced the ING Run for Something Better, a race within the race that will not only see which city reigns supreme on the open road, but will also help introduce less-fortunate youth across the country to the sport of distance running.
Distribution
Canadian Independent Producer Survey: Technology, Services, and Other Drivers of Carrier Choice: Celent.
Independent agents say underwriting speed and support are key to their decisions to place business with one carrier versus another.Independent agents in a new Celent survey stressed speed, new business and underwriting support, and ease of application completion as critical drivers of carrier choice.
Advocis Members Confirm New Strategic Direction.
Friday, May 13, 2005, Halifax: Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, today announced that the general membership of Advocis has adopted a bold new strategic direction and elected a new national chair and board of directors today at its annual general meeting. The membership instituted a new vision and mission, a new framework for effective regulation in Canada and approved a new national public awareness campaign.
International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations' White Paper: "Role of the Insurance Broker".
This paper is being published to provide insight and guidance into the role of the broker from the perspective of risk managers. As an international association, IFRIMA represents risk managers in many jurisdictions throughout the world. Practices relating to the role of the insurance broker vary by jurisdiction, so that this paper is written to represent a view that is not restricted to the practices of a particular region.
Reference and Statistics
North American Life Insurance Activity Off 5% in April - MIB.
(Westwood, Mass. – May 17, 2005) According to the MIB Group, Inc., April applications for individually underwritten life insurance in North America declined -5.0% year-over-year, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease in the first four months of 2005. Year-to-date, application activity is off -3.1% for North America; off -3.2% and -2.9% for the U.S. and Canada, respectively.
from Doug:
Hobbies bring the most interesting little experiences - like tea with forty on Sunday as a guest of the Speaker of the House in the house he has use of in that position at Kingsmere in the Gatineau north of Ottawa, complete with some representatives of the Daughters of the American Revolution ie those from the other side.
Leave June 1 for our annual conference which takes us to Regina for six days this year. Should be a great time given the program they have planned for us.