The Chronicle: Issue 2013-05, February 5, 2013
|
What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology? | |||
|
Should Brokers be Queuing for the Analytics Bandwagon? Where is it Going?
Marketing UBI to the Masses: Fries With That Discount, Sir? |
|
||
Consumer Information
ICBC: Bait Car Program now includes theft from vehicles
Police have a new way to deter thieves and help protect vehicle owners. BC's Bait Car Program now includes 'bait property.' The Bait Car Program, run by the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT), is recognized as the largest of its kind in the world. Since IMPACT began operating in 2003, auto theft in BC is down 73%.
Notify your home insurance provider before you renovate, advises Square One
If you're like most Canadians, you buy insurance to protect your home. After all, your home is likely your biggest asset. With home show season upon us and spring just around the corner, you might be thinking about renovating your home. Vancouver-based home insurance provider, Square One Insurance, warns that even the smallest renovation could affect the coverage provided by your home insurance policy.
Bayshore Home Health in partnersip to offer Air Miles rewards
Bayshore Home Health and the AIR MILES Reward Program are pleased to announce that Bayshore is the Canadian Home Healthcare Sponsor to exclusively offer AIR MILES reward miles. Through this partnership, Bayshore clients and their families now have a number of opportunities to collect AIR MILES reward miles on the services they purchase privately.
TIRF: Few Canadian drivers familiar with vehicle safety features
Although consumers identify safety as a priority when purchasing a new car, the majority of Canadians reportedly have limited awareness of how vehicle safety features work. In an effort to change that, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and the Toyota Canada Foundation today launched Brain on Board, a public education program to engage Canadians to learn more about modern vehicle safety features, dispelling myths about how they work and reminding drivers that knowing more about their vehicle's safety technology will help them to be safer drivers.
Policy Management
OneShield expands flagship service to the cloud
OneShield, Inc., a global provider of flexible, enterprise class and content-rich policy and billing core systems for property/casualty insurers, is pleased to announce the expansion of its cloud services. Dragon Cloud will directly benefit insurance customers looking to lower their total cost of ownership and increase flexibility for deploying and offering applications and services.
What Your RFP May Not Tell You, by Manoj Porwal, MajescoMastek
It's that time. You are sitting down to evaluate policy administration systems side-by-side. You have six or seven companies who have responded, four or five of which could probably do an adequate job. The answers to your questions glare back at you from the screen and you are struck with the incredible similarity of systems. Looking at the responses, some of these systems look interchangeable. How do you get past the basics to evaluate and uncover the system that confidently carries your business into a new era?
Technology
IBM accelerates social business with new software and cloud services
IBM today announced new software and cloud-based services to help business leaders, such as chief marketing officers and chief human resource officers, advance their organization's transformation with the adoption of social business technology. The new offerings will help business leaders integrate IBM's industry-leading social networking and analytics technologies into their business processes to empower the 21st Century workforce and transform client experiences.
Manulife launches easy-to-use InsureRight app for BlackBerry 10 and iPad
Understanding insurance needs just got easier with Manulife's new InsureRight app. The app, now available for the new BlackBerry 10 smartphone and the Apple iPad, uses an interactive approach to help consumers learn about insurance and help them estimate how much life insurance they may need.
IDC: mobile workers will make up nearly three quarters of the Canadian workforce within three years
Various types of mobile worker make up 68.9% of employed Canadians. IDC expects this to number to rise to 73% by 2016 as a result of ever-increasing commute times, a growing desire for work-life balance, the proliferation of mobile devices and cloud computing.
IBM combines security intelligence and Big Data analytics
As organizations increasingly need to manage Big Data, the way that corporate data needs to be protected is rapidly changing. To aid in the detection of stealthy threats that can hide in the increasing mounds of data, IBM announced IBM Security Intelligence with Big Data, combining leading security intelligence with big data analytics capabilities for both external cyber security threats and internal risk detection and prevention.
Business of Insurance
Intact Financial Corporation acquires rights to InEdge Business Intelligence platform
Insurance Business Analytics consultancy InEdge announced today that Intact Financial Corporation, Canada's largest provider of property and casualty insurance, has reached a milestone towards the implementation of the FellowDSS™ Accelerator, InEdge's enterprise-wide Business Intelligence platform.
Provincial changes to insurance practices will punish accident victims
Ontario has failed to listen to the cautions of its own Anti-Fraud Task Force, the pleas of accident victims, and the concerns of rehab providers and has amended several provisions within the regulation in a manner that will further distance legitimately injured claimants from their paid-for and desperately needed benefits. The changes, supposedly intended to prevent fraud by a small group of criminals, will place a new and unreasonable burden on legitimate accident victims which will very likely lead to their much -needed therapy and support being unjustly terminated.
Economical supports youth initiatives with pledge to National Capital Area Crime Stoppers
National Capital Area Crime Stoppers is taking its message to high-school students in the Ottawa area to show them how they can report criminal activities anonymously and help make their communities safer places to live and play. For tips that result in an arrest, Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards.
Aviva announces 2012 Community Fund winners
Aviva Canada, one of the country's leading providers of home, automobile, recreational vehicle, group and business insurance, is pleased to announce the 11 grand prize winners of the 2012 Aviva Community Fund as selected by both a panel of independent judges and the millions of votes cast by Canadians. A total of $1 million will be shared among projects.
IBM announces acquisition of Star Analytics
IBM today announced a definitive agreement to acquire the software portfolio of Star Analytics Inc., a privately held business analytics company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.
TELUS acquires Canada's leading digital forensics provider
TELUS today announced the acquisition of Digital WYZDOM Inc. and Digital WYZDOM Forensics Inc. This acquisition will add a digital forensics service that complements TELUS' existing security solutions portfolio to better serve customers with their forensics and security needs. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Co-operators raises $737K for the United Way
The Co-operators announced today that it has raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars for local United Way chapters across Canada. Through a series of local staff-led campaigns, employees made donations at fundraising events and through payroll deductions, and The Co-operators made corporate contributions as well.
Intact supports 25th annual Quebec School Bus Safety Campaign
As principal partner of the Association du transport écolier du Québec (ATEQ) for more than 25 years, Intact Insurance has proudly supported the School Bus Safety Campaign ever since it was first launched. This year's campaign will run from February 4 to 15. Once again the theme is “Do You See Me?” – reminding drivers how important it is to watch out for children on and near the road and take extra care around school buses.