Issue 2009-21 -- May 26, 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.
Featured Article:
Jevco Insurance "Broker Portal Case Study" and Webinar: Octello.
Jevco Insurance, a regional specialty insurer based in Quebec and a member of the Kingsway Financial Services Inc. insurance group of companies, was seeing diminished business acquisition and retention due to an inefficient, manual process for quoting and processing policies.
Product Announcements
New solution for companies that rent or lease vehicles: Markel.
April 16, 2009 - If you rent or lease equipment, there is now a new insurance solution available to meet the unique needs of companies like yours.
eBusiness and Technology
Temple Insurance and Frank Cowan Company Receive ACORD's Innovative Implementation Award.
Orlando, FL (May 19, 2009) - Temple Insurance and Frank Cowan Company received the Innovative Implementation Award from ACORD, the global insurance data standards body, for pioneering work in using standards to improve information exchange in the data intensive world of commercial insurance. The award was presented on May 17, 2009 at the annual ACORD/LOMA Insurance Systems Forum.
Gartner Survey Shows 40 Per Cent of SOA Users Don't Measure Time to Achieve Return on Investment.
Egham, UK, May 14, 2009 - Organisations must set realistic expectations, and identify a few numerical measures of success agreed with the business, to achieve value from service-oriented architecture (SOA), according to Gartner, Inc.
Gomez and dotMobi Launch First Benchmarks That Measure Five Critical Dimensions of Success for Mobile Web Sites.
Lexington, Massachusetts, April 21, 2009 - Gomez, Inc., the leader1 in web application experience management and web performance benchmarking, and dotMobi (http://dotMobi.mobi), the company behind the .mobi Internet domain for identifying content that works on mobile phones, launched the world's first comprehensive benchmarks to compare and rank the mobile Web experience provided by the top businesses in the airline, banking and search industries.
Policy and Product Management
Amica Selects Guidewire for Policy Administration.
LINCOLN, Rhode Island and SAN MATEO, Calif., May 13, 2009 - Amica Mutual Insurance Company (Amica), a direct writer of personal lines insurance, and Guidewire Software®, a global provider of solutions to property/casualty insurers, today announced that Amica has selected Guidewire PolicyCenter® as its new policy administration and underwriting system.
Claims
Insurance Bureau of Canada sets record straight: For every dollar spent on treatment of auto collision victims, another 60 cents goes to assessments.
TORONTO, May 15 2009 - Yesterday, an alliance of medical and rehabilitation providers issued a press release attempting to blame Ontario auto insurers for every ill currently plaguing the Ontario auto insurance system.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
Billing System Vendors: US Property/Casualty Market 2009 Report Published by Celent.
Boston, MA, USA - April 28, 2009 - How are vendor systems responding to this new challenge? A new report, Billing System Vendors: US Property/Casualty Market 2009, is designed to help insurers to understand their vendor options for stand-alone billing systems and to compile their own short lists of providers for additional investigation.
Distribution
Saskatchewan Mutual, Mennonite Mutual Fire, Dominion of Canada and Portage Mutual Support Broker Identity Program for 2009: IBAC.
Toronto, April and May, 2009 - The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is pleased to announce that Saskatchewan Mutual (full Partner), Mennonite Mutual Fire (full Partner), Dominion of Canada and Portage Mutual support the Broker Identity Program in 2009.
Marketing and the Market Place
Sun Life Financial report provides snapshot of group retirement landscape.
TORONTO, May 20 2009 - Employees who invest in their company's group retirement and savings plans are paying more attention to their investments than ever before, according to Sun Life Financial's InSight, a research report that provides information on issues that are relevant to the Canadian group retirement services industry.
Forrester Marketing Forum: Social Technologies Allow For More Accessible Innovation In Down Economy.
Cambridge, Mass., April 24, 2009 . . . Social technologies are enabling marketing professionals to engage in low-cost, low-risk innovation during the current recession, according to best practices shared among more than 600 attendees at the Forrester Research Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) Marketing Forum this week in Orlando, Fla.
Business of Insurance
ICLR Joins UN Insurance Working Group For Sustainability.
On May 19, Butch Bacani, Programme Officer, Insurance & Investment, for the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) informed the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) that it has been accepted in the UNEP FI academic working group as an advisory institution.
Lloyd's Market Resilient Amid Financial Turmoil, According to Guy Carpenter Briefing.
New York, May 13, 2009 - A new briefing on the Lloyd's insurance market published by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist, finds that Lloyd's competitive position strengthened in 2008, in the face of the worldwide financial downturn.
Consumer Information
ICBC's top safety tips for cyclists and other road users ahead of BC's Bike to Work Week, May 11-17.
May 6, 2009 - As the warmer weather approaches, May is traditionally the start of cycling season around the province. This means more bicycles will be on the road and the need for cyclists - and other road users - to take extra caution.
Our People
Canada Life and Health Insurance Conference Broadens with Joining of LIMRA and LOMA.
TORONTO, May 15 2009 -- With the merging of LIMRA and LOMA, synergies are taking effect, and the LOMA/LIMRA Canada Annual Conference and its attendees are reaping the benefits. This year is the first year that LIMRA and LOMA are joining efforts in hosting the conference, the most comprehensive event for life and health insurance professionals in Canada. The event takes place June 9, 2009 in Toronto, ON.
from Doug:
Really enjoying the bike rides along the river and by the lakefront - seems that more people are taking advantage of the trails all the time. The perfect weather of the last few days combined with the Spring flowers and greenery make it my favourite time of year. Will see how the flowers I have been planting lately work out this year.