The Chronicle: Issue 2012-12, March 20, 2012
What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology, an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog.
- Telematics Momentum Driving Insurance Data Standards Development
The increasing use of Telematics in the UK, US, and Europe is driving data standards development activity. One industry leader believes standards are key to maintaining consumer confidence while telematics momentum increases. - Profiting From Disruptive Behaviour
At the 2012 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference (ICTC), Craig Weber, CEO of Celent, discussed "Creative Disruption in Insurance". Craig got high marks for his presentation. Interestingly, some of the conclusions of the presentation dovetail with our read of trends in insurance and technology in Canada.
Customer Service
Guidewire Solution for Billing Management Selected by The Dominion.
ONTARIO, Canada and SAN MATEO, Calif., March 14, 2012: The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company ("The Dominion"), one of Canada's largest property/casualty (P/C) insurers, and Guidewire Software, Inc., a provider of core system software to P/C insurers, today announced that The Dominion has selected Guidewire BillingCenter® as its new billing management system. BillingCenter will help The Dominion handle both direct and broker bill.
Distribution
Applied Systems unveils insurance broker benchmark study at Toronto technology conference.
Mississauga, Ontario - March 14, 2012 - Insurance software company Applied Systems recently announced a new benchmark study aimed at helping insurance brokers measure their performance and achieve a sustainable business model for growth. The study will result from a survey to identify key common brokerage attributes that create efficient, effective and sustainable business operations, according to information Applied Systems delivered to the 10th annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference held recently in Toronto.
CCIR Issues Paper: Electronic Commerce in Insurance Products.
CCIR announced on February 6, 2012 the release of a CCIR issues paper entitled Electronic Commerce in Insurance Products. This is the first issues paper from the Electronic Commerce Committee (ECC). This paper outlines the current uses of electronic media for the advertisement, distribution and maintenance of insurance products and outlines issues which may be of concern to regulators or may be inhibiting the use and growth of various media.
Guy Carpenter Survey: Insurers See Growth in Program Administrators and Managing General Agents Marketplace in 2012.
New York, February 29, 2012 - Specialty program insurance providers predict that the Program Administrators and Managing General Agents (PA/MGA) market will grow in 2012 as a result of changes taking place in program business, according to a survey conducted by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a member of Marsh & McLennan Companies.
Our People
InsuranceWorks.ca: 5 Ways to Find Quality Candidates.
Let's face it - finding quality candidates can be tough. And when you have dozens or hundreds of resumes for one job posting, how do you choose the best? Where do you find them? How do you screen them? Below, you will find a short list with 5 ways to find quality candidates:
Social Business
B.H. Burke & Co. Survey - Social Media and Online Marketing ? What's the Real Deal?
This survey, conducted in late 2011 by the agency consulting firm B.H. Burke & Co., provides excellent data on the mix of independent agency traditional and nontraditional marketing approaches, including the extent to which they are using particular types of social media, have coordinated marketing plans and are measuring their marketing R.0.I..
comScore Releases the "2012 Canada Digital Future in Focus" Report.
TORONTO, CANADA, March 1, 2012 - comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the 2012 Canada Digital Future in Focus report. This annual report examines how the prevailing trends in general web usage and demographics, social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current Canadian marketplace and provides insight into what these trends mean for the year ahead.
Technology
Brovada Blog: Disrupters - leading edge companies that are changing the game, by Karl Greenlaw, President & CEO.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - Three trends in the software industry will fundamentally change the agent/broker management system (AMS) business. These trends will be considered disruptive, not only because they will dramatically alter the way things are done going forward but because traditional processes will disappear almost overnight.
Gartner Says the Personal Cloud Will Replace the Personal Computer as the Center of Users' Digital Lives by 2014.
STAMFORD, Conn., March 12, 2012 - The reign of the personal computer as the sole corporate access device is coming to a close, and by 2014, the personal cloud will replace the personal computer at the center of users' digital lives, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts said the personal cloud will begin a new era that will provide users with a new level of flexibility with the devices they use for daily activities, while leveraging the strengths of each device, ultimately enabling new levels of user satisfaction and productivity.
Business of Insurance
Conning Research: Personal Lines Insurers Redefine in the Face of Changing Consumer Trends.
(Hartford, CT) February 21, 2012 - Personal lines insurers are evolving their business models in response to consumer-led pressures, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting. Changes in consumer preferences and behaviors have accelerated in recent years, and likely will for the foreseeable future, thanks in large part to demographic, economic and technology impacts,
Aon eSolutions survey reveals top 10 global risk technology influencers.
CHICAGO, March 9, 2012 -- Aon eSolutions, the technology solutions business of Aon Corporation , today released the results of its 2012 Global Risk Technology Survey, which gathered information on how leading organizations view and use risk technology. The report offers a deeper understanding of how the use of risk technology has an impact on an organization's risk and data management and total cost of risk.
Consumer Information
TD Report : 70 is the new 50: How changing lifecycles are affecting insurance needs.
TORONTO, March 12, 2012 - Working into retirement, postponing having children, living longer - the lifecycle of Canadians is changing, and this has implications not only on personal finances and retirement savings, but on insurance needs, too.
Allstate Canada reports sewer backup as leading cause of property damage.
TORONTO - March 13, 2012 - Water escape is becoming a growing problem for Canadian homeowners. According to data from Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, sewer backup accounts for 39 per cent of water-related claims. Since flooding can lead to extensive and devastating damages to a home and property, Allstate Canada wants to help Canadians prepare for the upcoming spring thaw and the rainfall that comes with the season.
Square One, Vancouver-based home insurance experts, reveals Half of all BC homeowners don't have earthquake insurance.
VANCOUVER, March 9, 2012 - Should an earthquake occur, many British Columbia homeowners wouldn't be adequately insured for loss, reveals Square One Insurance. In spite of the fact that earthquake insurance is widely available in BC, only 40% to 60% of people add it to their home insurance policies, say the Vancouver-based home insurance experts. The one-year anniversary of Japan's deadly earthquake is an important reminder that earthquakes do in fact happen and that BC is in an earthquake zone.
XN Financial Launches Pleasure Craft Marine Insurance Solutions.
MONTREAL, March 14, 2012 - XN Financial today launched a Pleasure Craft Insurance solution to its expanding suite of products. By assembling a dedicated team of recreational marine specialists and an online insurance transaction platform, XN Financial now provides a comprehensive pleasure craft insurance program offering unique and flexible coverage for boat and yacht owners of any size.
from Doug:
New York City is still magic. Some thirty-five years ago I went to a company school there, for ten weeks, three three-week semesters, just like college days. The school was mid-town - about four blocks east of Grand Central Terminal, and an apartment nearby. Times Square, Central Park, Greenwich Village, and much more.
We spent most of last week there again, but saw some different sights. New exhibits in the Metropolitan Museum, Rockefeller Center with its ice rink, the main branch of the New York Public Library, the express subway lines beneath the local ones, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island and its railway, Conference House, Fraunces Tavern, Ground Zero, and three operas at the Lincoln Center. Although a bad cold reduced the time spent exploring, we still found lots of magic in the Big Apple.