Issue 2006-41: October 10, 2006
Distribution
Global IQX Selected as a Finalist for A.M. Best's E-Fusion Awards.
Ottawa, ON and Roanoke, VA October 3rd, 2006 - Global IQX Inc., a specialist in business automation and business process management software for the North American employee benefits industry, is pleased to have been selected as a finalist in the 2006 E-Fusion Award competition.
Guy Carpenter Publishes Second Annual Survey of Specialty Program Issuing Carriers.
New York, September 13, 2006 - Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc., the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, today announced the publication of its second annual survey of domestic insurance companies that write substantial specialty program business through program administrators.
Policy and Product Management
MSB Offers Next Generation RCT Home Valuation Technology.
LOS ANGELES - October 6, 2006 - Marshall & Swift / Boeckh (MSB), an MDA company and the leader in building cost valuation technologies, announces an important enhancement to its industry-leading Residential Component Technology" or RCT valuation software hosted on MSB Express" Web-hosting platforms. Property insurance writers and others can now link seamlessly on to the RCT Express platform to calculate up-to-date home replacement cost values for both main street AND high-value (mansion grade) homes using a single user interface.
Claims
ISO: DxCG Introduces Disease Management Calculator.
BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2006 - DxCG®, Inc, the leading provider of predictive modeling software for health care organizations, today introduced DM Estimator™, a new web-enabled calculation tool that estimates potential cost savings from disease management. DM Estimator is the first web-enabled predictive modeling calculator from DxCG that uses the Diagnostic Cost Group (DCG) methodology to calculate the occurrence of disease for disease management planning and evaluation.
Product Announcements
Manulife Investments introduces new product category with first-ever Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit product in Canada.
TORONTO, Oct. 3, 2006 - Manulife Investments is launching a first-of-its-kind financial product into the Canadian marketplace. IncomePlus is Canada's first offering in the Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) category designed to help baby boomers navigate the "retirement risk zone," a period of extreme portfolio risk identified in a new research study commissioned by Manulife Investments.
eBusiness and Technology
Information Builders and Xignite Partner for First-Ever Integration of On-Demand Financial Web Services With Enterprise Reporting.
New York, NY and San Mateo, Calif. - September 25, 2006 - Information Builders, the enterprise
business intelligence (BI) standard of choice for organizations around the world, and Xignite, the leading pure-play provider of financial Web services for mission-critical corporate applications, today announced a partnership that integrates Xignite's popular Web services suite of on-demand financial market data with the active reporting capabilities of Information Builders' WebFOCUS.
Business of Insurance
I.I.I. - USA Property/Casualty Insurers' Net Income & Overall Profitability Dropped in First-Half 2006 as Investment Results Deteriorated.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 2, 2006 — The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry's net income after taxes fell 9.3 percent to $28.3 billion in first-half 2006 from $31.2 billion in first-half 2005 as investment results deteriorated. Reflecting the decline in net income after taxes, the industry's annualized rate of return on average surplus (net worth) fell to 13 percent in first-half 2006 from 15.6 percent in first-half 2005, according to ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
Consumer Information
ING Offers Coverage to Protect and Restore Your Good Name.
Monday, October 02, 2006 - Toronto - ING Insurance announced today the launch of a new insurance product designed to provide consumers with financial and legal support against the ever increasing crime of identity theft. my name™ Identity Theft Assistance Plus from ING Insurance provides superior protection and support to victims of identity theft who have suffered losses due to the fraudulent obtainment and use of their credit card, social insurance number, driver's license or other personal information.
J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
European Consumers Express High Awareness and Interest in Vehicle Navigation Systems, Though Interest Falls Dramatically When a Market Price is Revealed.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - 20 September 2006 - Before the market price is revealed, navigation systems are the most desired automotive technology among European consumers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 European Automotive Emerging Technologies StudySM released today.
Our People
Job Fair at Gore Mutual a Success.
On Thursday September 28th, 2006 Gore Mutual opened its doors for its first ever Job Fair and Open House! Insurance professionals and entry-level jobseekers from across Southwestern Ontario took the opportunity to visit Gore Mutual and find out what this Canadian-owned insurance company is all about.
Marketing and the Market Place
Individual Insurance Company Reputations Better Than Overall Industry: Ipsos Survey Shows.
October 4, 2006 New York, NY - It takes more than good service to impress consumers these days, reveals an Ipsos survey of insurance company reputations. Other than service, what distinguishes the most highly regarded and most trusted insurance companies in America from the industry as a whole is the public's perceptions about their social responsibility and management.
Insurance Institute launches New CIP Consumer Print Campaign.
(Toronto, ON, October 3, 2006) - A new national consumer print ad campaign to promote Chartered Insurance Professionals will first appear in Canadian Business magazine on October 8th. The campaign also recognizes the importance of property and auto insurance by staging a concerted effort in CAA Magazine, Cottage Life, Reader's Digest, Style at Home and Les Idees De Ma Maison.
from Doug:
I hope you have had a good Thanksgiving. Ours was a bit different, in a good French restaurant. Good, but not traditional.