Issue 2009-19 -- May 12, 2009
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.
Claims
Raising Location IQ - Measuring Catastrophe Risk in Real Time: PBBI.
Bill Sinn, strategic industry manager of insurance at Pitney Bowes Business Insight, discusses the importance of location intelligence when making critical business decisions in key areas such as policy rating, underwriting, portfolio risk management, claim management, sales, marketing and distribution. In fact, nowhere is this more important than when dealing with extreme weather events.
CodeEvolution: Recession - Friend or Foe to the Claims Adjuster?
We as people are all effected by our surroundings. If this known statement is true, then why should we treat our businesses any different? Businesses are built, with the basic principal of providing a quality service or product, while earning a profit. In order to do this, companies have created processes, hired personnel, built relationships, created effective marketing campaigns, and in recent years implemented technology to assist with productivity.
IBC hosts 2009 Auto Theft Export Summit.
OTTAWA, May 4 2009 - Auto theft is 'big business' in North America and on the rise globally. Organized crime gangs routinely ship stolen vehicles overseas to fund operations or to 'chop shops' where their parts are sold for huge profits. This growing involvement of organized crime in auto theft is a threat to our safety and security. Auto theft not only funds organized crime but also terrorism.
HCAI Testing Began in April, Public Testing Set for August.
The HCAI system began an extended test cycle in April 2009. Testing is being conducted by a quality assurance team within IBC, whose job is to thoroughly review the functionality of the remediated system. This work will continue until July 2009.
Distribution
The Economical Insurance Group and Policy Works to Provide Round-Trip Commercial Lines Data Exchange.
Waterloo, ON - May 5, 2009 - The Economical Insurance Group® (TEIG®) is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with Policy Works Inc. to deliver a commercial lines data exchange solution between the Policy Works Commercial Management System (CMS) and TEIG's brokerEXPRESS® web-quoting facility.
Transamerica Life Canada First Mover With Innovative Asset Retention System: BlueSun.
Toronto, Ontario - 1 May 2009 -- BlueSun, a leading provider of software solutions to the life insurance industry, announced that Transamerica Life Canada, one of the top insurance and investment fund companies in Canada, has deployed BlueSun's Producer Portal. The BlueSun Producer Portal was integrated with Transamerica's advisor Resource Centre to provide web-based lead distribution, content management and configurable reporting capabilities. The BlueSun Producer Portal also links to their back office administration systems to provide up-to-date information to advisors.
CLIEDIS AGM and Seminar Focuses on Moving Ahead.
About one hundred people, the largest audience ever, attended the CLIEDIS AGM and Seminar on May 1 in Toronto. A review of how things have changed in the last two years, a plea for more and faster adoption of the business transactions and a priority-setting session which evolved into an education session for all highlighted the half day.
NOTE: The report from CLIEDIS posted in last week's newsletter was an old version which was corrected late in the day - if you read it on May 5, you may wish to check it out again - CITS Initiative Continues to Develop Guidelines for the Life Insurance Industry: CLIEDIS.
eBusiness and Technology
DMTI Spatial Releases Beta Version of Location Hub® User Interface.
Markham, ON Canada - April 16, 2009. DMTI Spatial (DMTI), Canada's leading provider of Location Intelligence solutions, has announced the Beta release of its new User Interface (UI) for Location Hub®, a robust, feature rich web application suite. Designed to enable the power of Location Intelligence within large organizations, Location Hub provides technology and data building blocks that are easily integrated into existing workflows for the timely delivery of information to solve urgent and pervasive business challenges.
Generations Divided on Workplace Social Nets: eMarketer.
MAY 5, 2009 - All white-collar professionals use technology in the workplace. According to a study by LexisNexis, 100% of workers surveyed said they used computers and e-mail during the typical workday, and 94% said they used Internet browsers. In addition, 90% said that new technology and software improves productivity, including tasks such as performing research and getting news information fast.
Gartner Says Interest in Strategic Document Outsourcing Has Surged as Companies Look for Ways to Cut Expenses.
STAMFORD, Conn., April 27, 2009 - As companies look for ways to cut expenses and capital costs during the economic downturn, interest in strategic document outsourcing has grown, according to Gartner, Inc. However, organizations must ensure that outsourcing print and electronic document publishing improves customer communications without sacrificing quality, efficiency and confidentiality.
Consumer Information
Canadians Not Prepared For The Emergency They Believe Is Imminent: Allstate.
TORONTO, May 4 2009 - The results of a new survey reveal that while Canadians overwhelmingly recognize the importance of being prepared for a potential emergency (such as an extended blackout, ice storm, tornado or forest fire), a surprisingly large number also realize they are unprepared and have done nothing to get ready. The survey, conducted by Léger Marketing, was commissioned by Allstate Insurance Company of Canada to coincide with Emergency Preparedness Week.
Ontario Government: Arrive Alive - Plan A Safe Ride Home.
TORONTO, April 28 2009 - With nearly one quarter of all fatalities on Ontario's roads involving impaired drivers, Ontario and arrive alive DRIVE SOBER(R) are stepping up the fight against impaired driving with the launch of the 21st annual arrive alive DRIVE SOBER campaign.
Tour a wind, winter storm and blackout resilient home: Canada's insurers contribute to Emergency Preparedness Week: ICLR.
TORONTO, May 4 2009 - The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) invites members of the media to tour a wind, winter storm and blackout resilient home. As part of the insurance industry's ongoing commitment to educate Canadian homeowners about disaster safety, ICLR has once again chosen Emergency Preparedness Week (May 3-9) to unveil its latest home retrofit project, this time in Toronto, Ontario.
Insurance Bureau of Canada's Emergency Preparedness Week message: Take inventory of your possessions.
TORONTO, May 7 2009 - What do you have to lose? Many Canadians aren't sure. During Emergency Preparedness Week, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is urging all Canadians to change that and take inventory of their possessions before a disaster strikes.
Reference and Statistics
New report from Eastbridge Consulting Group looks at voluntary cancer products.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (April 10, 2009) - Despite the publicity around critical illness products over the past 10 years, cancer sales still surpass critical illness sales by as much as four to one in the voluntary/worksite market (based on new business annualized premium for the industry). Eastbridge Consulting Group's Voluntary Cancer Products 2009 report examines the current state of cancer products in the market.
from Doug:
We enjoyed a heritage event last evening, a meeting of the Town of York Historical Society, at Campbell House. Campbell House, built in 1822, is the oldest remaining building from the original town of York. To make way for a parking lot, it was moved from its original site in the Town of York to its present site on University Avenue at Queen. We enjoyed the tour and a movie about Canadian artist C.W. Jeffreys who not only laid the ground work for the formation of the Group of Seven, but did so much to bring our Canadian heritage to life with his well-known paintings of everyday life in early Canada, paintings that many of us of my vintage will recall from school books and public places.
Speaking about heritage, this long weekend is Victoria Day. Enjoy the long weekend and drive safely.