Issue 2010-09 -- March 2, 2010
This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry, insurance products and the marketplace. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.
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Participants and Sponsors:
Thanks to Claims Network for renewing their annual Professional Section advertising program with a Listing in:
Thanks to Accident Support Services for renewing their annual Professional Section advertising program with a Logo Ad and Listing in:
Distribution
Keal Technology : Survey Reveals 84% of Canadian Brokers Believe the Industry Needs Fresh Leadership Thinking.
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada - February 22, 2010 - Today, at the 2010 P&C Insurance Technology Conference, Keal Technology, software provider for Canadian brokers, announces the results of a broker survey geared at identifying the pulse of the Canadian insurance industry. The survey was developed by The French Group Inc. and asked Keal clients their opinions on a variety of current issues including carrier relations, changes in distribution, and technology.
Sun Life: Saving, protecting, planning, retiring - what's your life stage priority?
TORONTO, Feb. 23 2010 - At 20, you may be saving for your first car; at 30, perhaps you are considering life insurance. What will it be at age 40 or 50? Financial needs change at each stage of life, and this can bring a multitude of questions. With input from Canadians, Sun Life Financial launched Life Stage Planner, a unique new tool that informs consumers of recommended financial considerations associated with their specific stage in life.
Workflow and Technology Use Focus of 2010 AUGIE Survey: ACORD.
PEARL RIVER, NY - February 17, 2010 - What is the state of automation in the industry today? What can be done to develop and promote improved workflows? How can we drive increased efficiency? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered by agencies, carriers, solution providers and other members of the industry in the 2010 AUGIE Survey.
Claims
Xactware Releases Xactimate Version 27 and Xactimate Professional.
OREM, Utah - Feb. 17, 2010 - Xactware recently announced the general release of Xactimate® version 27, the latest version of the property insurance industry's leading estimation software. The significantly simplified Xactimate version 27 has been redesigned with a host of new features that streamline the claims estimating process for insurance companies, restoration contractors, independent adjusters, remodelers, and specialty service providers.
CDRG is Proud to Announce The Acceptance of Leda Restoration.
CDRG will complete it's roster in the GTA (Toronto) market with the addition of Leda Restoration. With Nu Trend Construction, Respond Plus Restoration, Trimac General Contracting, Warden Restorations and now Leda Restoration, combined they represent 114 years of experience between themselves.
ADVERTISEMENT
NCI Executive Primer on IT Security:
Wednesday, March 10
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Turf Lounge, Toronto
The IT Security Landscape for Insurance and Financial businesses.This complimentary lunch-seminar hosted by NCI and McAfee will cover: real IT security threats; protecting your mobile workforce; protecting your clients’ sensitive data; measuring your company’s security posture. NCI is Canada’s premier provider of Security Consulting and Solutions.
For more information and registration (required) please visit: www.nci.ca/training/seminar_details/primer
eBusiness and Technology
SAS® Text Analytics reveals new insights in stored documents.
CARY, NC (Feb. 16, 2010) - SAS Text Analytics, now shipping from the leader in business analytics, automates the time-consuming process of reading individual documents and manually extracting relevant information. Organizations are in constant need of powerful tools to manage proliferating data from social networks, call centers, customer surveys, claims forms and sales returns. SAS' award-winning analytics mine, interpret and structure information to reveal patterns, sentiment and relationships to improve decision making.
Accenture and SAS Plan to Jointly Develop, Implement and Manage Next-Generation Predictive Analytics Solutions.
NEW YORK and CARY, NC (Feb. 17, 2010) - Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and SAS plan to expand their strategic relationship by jointly developing, implementing and managing next-generation predictive analytics solutions, a first for both companies. As part of the expansion, the two companies intend to jointly invest in the development of solutions focused on industry-specific predictive analytics applications, starting with the financial services, healthcare and public service sectors; as well as cross-industry solutions in the customer and enterprise management domains. They also plan to begin delivering sophisticated analytical capabilities as a managed service.
Aon Benfield joins leading reinsurers in support of ACORD.
Aon Benfield, the world?s premier reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor, has joined forces with a group of leading reinsurers to promote the use of ACORD standards across the global marketplace. Reinsurers including Partner Re, XL Re and Swiss Re, which are currently transacting with Aon Benfield in ACORD format in the US, have joined the company in urging the industry to fully embrace the protocol ? which has significantly increased transactional efficiency among its current adopters.
2010 Insurance Canada Technology Award Winners
Insurance-Canada.ca honors technology leaders at annual conference.
TORONTO, February 24, 2010 - Three insurance carriers, one service provider, and two technology companies received Insurance Canada Technology Awards (ICTAs) at the organization's annual Insurance Technology Conference, held February 22 in Toronto. The awards recognize insurers, service providers, and technology firms that demonstrate leadership in the development and implementation of automation in insurance.
View winners and photos from the awards presentation.
Business of Insurance
RBC Insurance Launches Universal Life Plan.
MISSISSAUGA, February 22, 2010 - RBC Insurance® announced today the launch of its RBC Universal Life™, new Term 100 and enhanced Term 10 and Term 20 insurance products. These new offerings now help provide clients with a comprehensive life insurance portfolio with the ability to customize insurance coverage as their needs change.
Industrial Alliance: A New American Life Insurance Company is Launched: IA American.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, Feb. 24 2010 - Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. ("Industrial Alliance" or "IA") is pleased to announce the debut of the newest addition to the IA group of companies-IA American Life Insurance Company ("IA American"). Headquartered with the Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company ("IA Pacific") US division in Scottsdale, Arizona, IA American is the next phase of the Company's long-term growth strategy in the United States. Together, IA American and IA Pacific will offer a range of life and annuity products designed to protect American families.
Marketing and the Market Place
Facebook Dominates Social Content-Sharing: eMarketer.
FEBRUARY 23, 2010 - While Q3 2009 data showed e-mail on top for content-sharing, February 2010 information from social optimization platform Gigya points to Facebook as the Web?s top social sharing hub. Almost one-half of article links, videos, photos and other content shared via Gigya?s widgets are posted to Facebook, with another 29% broadcast through tweets.
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2010 P&C Insurance Technology Conference
"Real Time Insurance: Agile, Integrated and Aligned"
The eighth annual Insurance-Canada.ca P&C Technology Conference was held yesterday, Monday 22 February 2010 in Toronto.
If you attended, are you in the photos?
If not, check to see some of those who did.
At the conference photo centre.
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Consumer Information
Disturbing trends for UK Travellers to Asia: WorldNomads.com.
SYDNEY, Feb 19, 2010 - WorldNomads.com, leading global travel insurance provider, has released claims data showing an alarming trend in injuries happening to their UK customers. Over 65% of all major claims submitted by UK travelers are for injuries occurring in Asia. North America was the next hotspot for claims at 25%.
Stranded drivers beware: CAA.
THORNHILL, ON, Feb. 19 2010 - If stranded on the side of the road, CAA recommends drivers make themselves as visible as possible to passing motorists, especially on a busy highway or at night time. "Don't assume drivers can see you," said Silvana Aceto, spokesperson for CAA SCO. "The recent tragic events on our roads remind us how important it is to know what to do if you find yourself stuck on the side of the road."
Workers with mental illness : New CAMH study indicates the need for increased workplace prevention and support.
February 17, 2010 (TORONTO) - With mental illness associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition and costing $17.7 billion annually in lost productivity, understanding its underpinnings is increasingly important to the Canadian economy. Now new research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) indicates that the strongest predictor for work disability leaves is a person's past history of occurrences.
from Doug:
As we try to downsize a bit after being pack rats for some 34 years, we have discovered just how much stuff one can store in seemingly small spaces. Two loads of junk left on Monday. Surprisingly I don't feel a sense of loss, but rather a sense of a weight lifted. With less over-crowding, some new carpet and fresh paint in a few places, the house looks better every week.
The Chronicle is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry,
and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly by Insurance-Canada.ca Inc., and
notes information about the use of the Internet and related
technologies in the industry, insurance products and the marketplace.
Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.
NOTES/Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
To subscribe, use the "Subscribe" link on the page at /newsletter/newsletter.php. If you are subscribed and wish to be removed or have you address changed, or are otherwise having any problems with the newsletter service, send a note to Doug Grant.
