Issue 2009-29 -- July 21, 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
CDRG Red Teams now equipped with the first intelligent dehumidifier.
Dri-Eaz® LGR 2800i reduces humidity in enclosed structural environments by removing water vapor from the air. The LGR 2800i is engineered to be rugged, durable and highly port- able, making it ideally suited for water damage restoration, structural drying, construction, and other applications requiring temporary, high-performance dehumidification
Hong Kong and Singapore Medical Groups Are First to Sign Up for CIGNA Envoy.
CLAYMONT, Del., July 01, 2009 - Two medical groups in Hong Kong and Singapore are the first to sign up for CIGNA Envoy®, CIGNA International's secure web portal for health care professionals around the world. Quality HealthCare Medical Services (QHMS) of Hong Kong along with ParkwayHealth and its administration unit, iXchange, of Singapore are now using CIGNA Envoy's advanced web tools.
Policy and Product Management
eReinsure Reaches Milestone with 10,000 Users.
Salt Lake City, May 11th, 2009 - eReinsure today announced that it has exceeded 10,000 registered users on the eReinsure placing platform. The eReinsure system is now used in over 80 countries as a proven process for managing the placing of reinsurance.
eBusiness and Technology
Vaisala to launch Road Weather Decision Support System technologies.
Louisville, CO, July 9, 2009 - Vaisala is investing in the next innovation of the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) and expanding its portfolio in the surface transportation market by adding Road Weather Decision Support Systems (RWDSS). With over 70 years of global vision and experience spanning multiple transportation sectors, Vaisala is positioned to provide unmatched technologies and solutions that will culminate in a comprehensive, yet intuitive MDSS capable of meeting the needs of the global winter maintenance community.
Location-Based Services Pinpoint Success: eMarketer.
JULY 14, 2009 - Consumers are using GPS-enabled mobile devices to navigate their worlds with applications to find local businesses, one another and even family pets. Gartner is predicting huge gains for mobile location-based services (LBS) in 2009. The firm estimates that total LBS subscribers will more than double worldwide this year, to 95.7 million.
Business of Insurance
Rates Up 15 Percent Year Over Year, Amid Signs of Stabilization in Financial Markets, According to Guy Carpenter.
New York, July 1, 2009 - Upward pressure on property-catastrophe reinsurance rates in the United States eased at the July 1, 2009 renewal, as capacity in the market remained sufficient without being abundant, according to a briefing published today by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC. Consistent with the general trend seen in the U.S. from January through June – and in line with prior renewals in 2009 – U.S. national program rates rose 15 percent year-over-year at the July 1, 2009 renewal, with pricing in the Northeast up 8 percent.
Heeding Lessons from Economic Downturn, Majority of Corporate Executives Report Need to Overhaul their Approach to Risk-Management, Accenture Study Finds.
NEW YORK; July 6, 2009 - The vast majority (85 percent) of corporate executives say they need to overhaul their approach to risk-management if the lessons of the economic crisis are to be used to improve business results, according to results of an Accenture (NYSE: ACN) study released today.
Financial services execs see no growth before 2010: Ernst & Young survey.
(Toronto, 13 July 2009) The majority of global financial services companies don't expect a return to growth until the first six months of 2010 or even later, according to new Ernst & Young research.
Consumer Information
Quarterly car insurance study by Kanetix.ca shows rates quoted decreased 2.4% in Ontario.
TORONTO, July 14 2009 - Today, Kanetix(R), Canada's online marketplace for insurance quotes and mortgage rates, released the results of its quarterly car insurance premium study. The study, designed to spot and highlight the pricing trends of car insurance quotes in Ontario, identified a 2.4 per cent decrease in the average of the lowest rates quoted for auto insurance in Q2 2009 compared to Q2 2008.
Seven out of ten Canadians plan to travel for their summer vacations: Desjardins.
Lévis (Québec), July 16, 2009 - The recession won't prevent Canadians from taking their vacations this summer. According to an Ipsos Descarie survey conducted on behalf of Desjardins Financial Security, 70% of Canadians plan to travel this summer. But all indications are that the difficult economic climate is encouraging them to stay closer to home, with 81% opting to travel in Canada for at least part of their vacations. A large number of Canadians (45%) will even remain within their province of residence.
Self-serve baggage tagging for air travellers starts July 1, 2009: Transport Canada.
June 25, 2009 - OTTAWA - The Government of Canada is responding to the needs of passengers and the aviation industry by allowing self-serve baggage tagging at airports across the country, Canada's Transport Minister, John Baird, announced today.
Marketing and the Market Place
CFIB Business Barometer® National small business optimism takes a hit in June.
July 8, 2009 - Toronto – The Canadian economy gave up some ground in June, according to the latest business confidence survey findings from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). The Business Barometer® index fell to 58.5 last month—almost 2 points below its May level. After hopeful signs earlier in the spring, the setback suggests that GDP growth has not yet returned to positive territory and that economic recovery is not yet taking hold.
CPP to pay more benefits for a longer period, says Chief Actuary in Study for OSFI.
OTTAWA - July 15, 2009 - As Canadians are living longer, more are expected to receive pension benefits from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for a longer period of time, according to a study released by the Chief Actuary of Canada.
Why People Go Online: eMarketer.
JULY 17, 2009 - If idle hands are the devil's workshop, the Internet is a pretty hot place. According to Ruder Finn, 100% of US Internet users surveyed in Q2 2009 went online to pass the time. Other popular reasons were education, connecting with others, researching and sharing.
Reference and Statistics
End of road for lower benefits insurance costs: AON UK Survey.
LONDON, 09 July 2009 - Employers could face higher costs for life, critical illness and income insurance cover, according to research from Aon Consulting, the leading employee risk and benefits firm. While costs for these benefits may have become cheaper for businesses in 2008 compared to 2007, Aon's new survey, which tracks UK insurers and reinsurers' premium predictions for the group risk market, finds some underwriters are predicting rate increases this year.
from Doug:
My daily exercise is a bike ride along Toronto's Don Valley trail, used by a lot of walkers, joggers, runners, cyclists, some of whom appear to be commuting to work. I find the wildlife, although sparse, of interest. Lots of birds, usually a rabbit or two, a groundhog etc. Last week a walker was peering through some brush down to the river and I stopped - a buck. Although no expert, I am guessing a yearling, smallish antlers. Three days later and not far away, a doe was not far off the track and maybe 100m from the Don Valley parkway, and it attracted a bit of an audience. Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened to the wily coyote they were trying to catch a couple of months ago, but which was expertly eluding capture. Perhaps the city workers' strike has given it a reprieve.