Issue 2006-26: June 27, 2006
Policy and Product Management
MSB Announces Insurance-ready Home Data at Point of Sale.
LOS ANGELES JUNE 19, 2006 - Marshall and Swift / Boeckh (MSB), an MDA company and the leading worldwide provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry, introduces MSB InterChange (TM), a dynamic, on-line database of accurate property characteristics data.
Product Announcements
Empire Life announces enhancements to Solution Series.
(Kingston, ON - June 19, 2006) -- The Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life) today announced enhancements to its Solution Series term life insurance products including a rate refinement, new pricing band and a "no fluids" approach to underwriting policies.
Business of Insurance
Industrial Alliance presents the highlights of its investor day.
TORONTO, June 20, 2006 - Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. will be holding an Investor Day for the institutional investment community today, June 20, 2006.
Our People: Education and Training
AEGON Canada and Assumption Life Win LOMA Canada Awards for Best Practices in Learning & Development.
TORONTO, Ontario June 8, 2006 - LOMA Canada presented AEGON Canada Inc. and Assumption Mutual Life Insurance Company with the 2006 National Corporate Awards for Best Practices in Learning and Development at LOMA Canada's Annual Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre today.
Distribution
Critical Illness Tops Voluntary Industry's List of Growth Products: Eastbridge.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (June 7, 2006)-According to a recent study by Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. on worksite product trends, carriers identified critical illness, disability, and limited benefit medical plans as their companies top three growth products for 2006.
Marketing and the Market Place
Online Advertising by Financial Services: eMarketer
. JUNE 20, 2006 - Willie Sutton would be proud. In Willie's day the money was in bank vaults, and that's why he robbed them. Today, the money is online. According to the new eMarketer report, Financial Services Online Marketing, the US financial services industy's online ad spending will increase by 33.3% this year and it will reach $3.52 billion in 2010.
eBusiness and Technology
Adobe Delivers Intelligent ACORD Forms for Insurance Industry.
LAS VEGAS, NV - May 22, 2006 - The Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) and Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the delivery of more than 150 ACORD insurance forms in Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF).
ACORD Launches Video-on-Demand on Web Site to Advocate and Educate on Insurance Data Standards.
LAS VEGAS, NV - May 22, 2006 - ACORD has launched streaming video-on-demand on its web site that is designed to inform, advocate and educate the insurance industry on the role of ACORD data standards. This new communications tool is being showcased at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas, May 22-24.
SOA-Based Services Gain Foothold in U.S. Companies' Overall IT and Business Strategy, and Spending Plans in SOA Rise, IDC Finds.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 22, 2006 - According to a recent IDC study, companies will significantly increase investments in service oriented architecture (SOA)-based services throughout the rest of 2006. The study, which analyzes the results of an IDC end-user survey of U.S.-based companies, reveals that the majority of respondents rated SOA as important to their overall IT and business strategy, and further indicated that they are planning to purchase SOA-related services by the end of 2006.
Gartner Identifies Five Application Integration Trends That Are Changing Business Applications.
STAMFORD, CONN., June 19, 2006 - Managers must not underestimate the extent of the changes occurring in application architecture just because they are gradual and sometimes unintentional, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts identified five application trends that are changing business applications.
IBM: First of a kind technology brings together tens of thousands of global citizens to discuss urban Issues.
Vancouver, B.C., June 19, 2006 - In December 2005, IBM technology enabled the largest global online dialogue, which lasted 72 hours, involved approximately 39,000 participants from 158 countries, and resulted in hundreds of actionable items on urban sustainability that are being discussed at the World Urban Forum this week.
Consumer Information
66% of Canadians say insurance "difficult to understand"; Co-operators presents "Insurance 101".
According to a recent study conducted for The Co-operators, 66 per cent of Canadians find insurance "difficult to understand," and 63 per cent are "unsure how premiums are calculated." The Co-operators is making an effort to help Canadians learn more about the industry through "Insurance 101."
New Co-operators Claims Guarantee provides consumers with clarity on insurance coverage.
To address the uncertainty many Canadians feel about reporting claims to their insurance company, The Co-operators has launched a Claims Guarantee.
AAA Foundation Study Shows Communities with Nighttime and Passenger Restrictions for Teen Drivers Have 20 Percent Lower Death and Injury Crash Rate for 16-Year-Old Drivers.
AAA Foundation Study Shows Communities with Nighttime and Passenger Restrictions for Teen Drivers Have 20 Percent Lower Death and Injury Crash Rate for 16-Year-Old Drivers.
IIHS: Electronic stability control could prevent nearly one-third of all fatal crashes and reduce rollover risk by as much as 80%; effect is found on single- and multiple-vehicle crashes.
ARLINGTON, VA - An extension of antilock brake technology, electronic stability control (ESC) is designed to help drivers retain control of their vehicles during high-speed maneuvers or on slippery roads. Previous research found significant effects of ESC in reducing the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes.
Canadian Views on Health Care Scenarios: Ipsos-Reid.
June 7, 2006 - Ottawa, ON - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has identified 10 first-order policy principles that should be considered when various policy options affecting the public-private balance are being examined. As part of this, the CMA has developed four scenarios for health care reform in Canada and conducted an on-line poll through Ipsos-Reid to evaluate public views of towards these four scenarios.
from Doug:
The weekend seemed a non-stop flurry of activity with our away son home for the weekend but our home son away. Family, friends, reunion, funeral - a busy but rewarding weekend. I hope your summer is off to a good start too as we make preparations to celebrate Canada - for me, still Dominion - Day next weekend.