Issue 2006-18: May 2, 2006
Distribution
OARBIC announces the release of OSEA a Transactional Insurance Portal for the Property and Casualty industry.
Toronto, 27 April 2006 - OARBIC is pleased to announce the release of OARBIC Software Enterprise Application (OSEA), a Transactional Insurance Portal for the Property and Casualty industry.
Consumer Information
Royal & SunAlliance flood safety tips.
In the aftermath of extensive flooding or in the event of future flooding, insurer Royal & SunAlliance has some information that may help keep flood victims safe and mitigate damage.
FSCO reports Ontario auto insurance rates for first quarter of 2006.
Ontario private passenger auto insurance approved rates decreased during the first quarter of 2006 (January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2006), according to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).
FSCO takes aim at scams through new Web portal.
The new "Beware of Potential Consumer Scams" pages on the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) Web site alerts consumers and pension plan members to potential scams.
eBusiness and Technology
Independent Research Firm Ranks Hyland Software a Leader for Transactional Content-Centric Applications.
CLEVELAND, OH - March 29, 2006 - Hyland Software Inc., the developers of OnBase, a leading provider of rapidly deployable enterprise content management software, today was named a Leader for transactional content-centric applications and a Strong Performer for business content-centric applications in the "Forrester WaveT: Content-Centric Applications, Q1 2006."
Policy and Product Management
Sapiens INSIGHT™ Solution Selected by Majpor European Insurance Company to Transform Its Commercial Lines Operations.
Research Triangle Park, N.C. - April 26, 2006 - Sapiens International Corporation N.V. (NADAQ and TASE: SPNS), a global provider of insurance technology solutions, announced today that one of the largest insurance companies in Central and Eastern Europe, has selected Sapiens to design, develop and implement a Policy Administration System to support its Commercial Lines division based on an implementation of the Sapiens INSIGHT™ for Property & Casualty solution suite.
New TowerGroup Research Suggests Method For Spending Your Way to Retirement Security.
Needham, MA, April 10, 2006 - Longer life expectancies and the specter of 20-plus years of retirement mean individuals must essentially fund a half year of retirement income out of each of their 40 to 45 years of working income. This prospect is daunting for most consumers, to say the least.
Reference and Statistics
North American Life Insurance Activity Off 5.8% in March: MIB.
(Westwood, Mass. - April 21, 2006) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off - 5.8% in March year-over-year, the second largest decline in March activity over the past four years, according to the MIB Life Index™.
Canadian Online Sales Hit a New High: eMarketer.
APRIL 28, 2006 - According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, Canadian online sales recorded their fourth consecutive year of strong double-digit growth in 2005. Combined private and public sector online sales increased by 38.4% compared with 2004, to reach a total of CAD39.2 billion (US$32.4 billion).
Marketing and the Market Place
Advocis: Canadian Small Business Owners Concerned About Changes to the Bank Act - 76% Say Keep Protections in Place.
April 27, 2006, Toront, ON - According to a POLLARA Inc. survey released by Advocis, three-quarters (76 per cent) of small business owners say that existing measures to protect consumers should be kept in place due to privacy of their personal information and sales pressure concerns. This finding suggests that small business owners believe that the privacy of their health and medical history is more important than having greater access to information about life and health insurance services provided by banks.
StatsCan Study: Cracking the RRSP nest egg.
Friday, April 21, 2006 - Canadian seniors are required to "crack" their RRSP nest egg at the age of 69 resulting in small increases in average income and taxes, according to a new study published today in Perspectives on Income and Labour.
Business of Insurance
LOMA Survey: Many North American Life Insurers Still in Planning Stage for Flu Pandemic.
Atlanta, Georgia-April 24, 2006-North American life insurance companies lag behind their international counterparts in their preparation for a possible avian influenza pandemic, according to a survey conducted during the first two weeks of April 2006. LOMA, a leading global association of life insurance companies, sponsored the survey, which was distributed to its members in North America and in the rest of the world.
ISO: Sound Risk Management and Strong Investment Results Enabled Insurance Industry to Weather Record Catastrophe Losses in 2005.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 18 - Benefiting from sound risk management and strong investment results, U.S. property/casualty insurers managed to increase earnings and add to their capital base in 2005 despite record catastrophe losses. The insurance industry's net income after taxes rose 11.7 percent, or $4.5 billion, to $43 billion in 2005 from $38.5 billion in 2004.
Research by Towers Perrin and Cass Business School compares deal success in three global merger waves since 1988.
TORONTO, ONT. - April 3, 2006 - In a world where the conventional wisdom is that M&A destroys shareholder value, new research examining M&A cycles, by Towers Perrin and The Cass Business School in the United Kingdom, indicates that the opposite could now be true. Contrary to the past, companies involved in deals in the current M&A cycle are generally outperforming the market and creating more value for shareholders.
Six Trends Will Drive Sustainable Development, According to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
NEW YORK, 10 April, 2006 - Sustainable development will steadily advance over the next 10 years, with six major trends influencing industry world-wide, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers' report.
from Doug:
We completed a ten-day trip through western Canada, wearing my heritage hat, on the weekend with a visit to the Vancouver area. We managed some visits to friends and relatives, but the "working" part of the trip concluded with a day seminar at Fort Langley on Saturday. So many friends and such good times; it was indeed a good trip, in a good country.