The Chronicle Newsletter Archive

The Chronicle: Issue 2013-16, April 23, 2013

	What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?
	Policy Administation Systems Projects: Is 10% Success Enough? Policy Administration Systems (PAS) replacements are top of mind with a large number of P&C insurers. A recent report from PwC suggests only 10% of organizations which have undertaken such projects have realized full business benefits. Our question: Given all the challenges inherent in running a business and embarking on large projects, are these good enough odds for organizations to proceed? The PwC report, Eye on the Prize, notes that "only 30% of policy administration projects meet the traditional definition of success in terms of time, budget, and scope delivered. And of that 30%, we observe that less than one in three realizes the full business benefits." For the balance, 50% of the projects were completed, but with cost/schedule overruns and without fulfilling all of the original benefit requirements. Twenty percent of the projects were marked “Failed,” meaning they were either abandoned or cancelled.	The Intersection an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog

Consumer Information

InsuranceHunter.ca: Distracted driving tops the list of the most dangerous driving habits
As we head into the last few days of the Ontario Provincial Police's “Put Down the Phone and Leave it Alone” campaign (April 15-22), InsuranceHunter.ca is committed to talking about the importance of making the steering wheel the only priority when driving. And, as we move into the warmer weather, the increase of pedestrians, motorcycles, cyclists and children playing outdoors, means we need to be even more vigilant.

State Farm: 2012 saw billions in wind and hail damages
Wind and hail storms remain some of the most frequent and severe causes of property damage in North America. In 2012, State Farm statistics show that hail and wind damage accounted for over $3.9 billion in property damage. In Canada, there were more than 3,000 claims reported in the provinces State Farm conducts business.

Telematics

Allstate expands U.S. usage-based insurance program, now available in 16 states
Now available in 16 states, Allstate's usage-based insurance device, Drivewise®, continues to improve driving behavior and reward customers for safe driving. Today, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota, Maryland, Utah, and Washington State join 10 others delivering constant feedback to drivers through a website designed to help identify and improve driving habits. Drivewise measures things such as mileage, braking, speed, and time of day when a customer is driving. Using that data, Allstate calculates a discount for each customer using its telematics technology.

Distribution

ORBiT 2013 Education Days: Brokers in Motion
ORBiT's 2013 Education Days promise to help make today's Real Time a reality in broker offices. This year's theme for our annual RIBO accredited Education Days is “Brokers in Motion.” Whether you're a Principal, Manager, Commercial or Personal Lines front-line professional, carrier or vendor, join us for a day filled with learning to help you move forward with Real Time.

Human Resources and Jobs

Changing world shortens career planning trajectory – Michelle Straka, InsuranceWorks
This weekend my 13-year-old niece was really worried. Not about the things a 13 year old should be worried about – graduation dresses, year-end parties, sports championships, or shopping trips – but about what career she would be pursuing in her adult years. Her grade 8 teacher had told her class that they needed to decide what career they wanted to pursue by the end of their grade 9 year to ensure they were taking the correct classes. Surely we need to prepare ahead. Will we take science courses or social science courses to ensure we have the pre-requisites to enter our desired university programs?

Business of Insurance

CLHIA: Canadian life and health insurance industry welcomes report on a sustainable retirement system in Quebec
The life and health insurance industry congratulates the committee led by Alban D'Amours on its Report, Innovating for a Sustainable Retirement System, released yesterday. In particular, the industry welcomes the committee's support for voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs) and the recommendation for their speedy introduction.

Pinkerton launches risk management resource website
Pinkerton has launched a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate website, pinkerton.com, that provides an invaluable security and risk management resource for organizations of all sizes. With offices on six continents, Pinkerton is a global leader in corporate risk management and a trusted partner to many of the largest corporations in the world.

Pets and Animals

RSA Canada: Championing pet owner happiness with Pets Plus Us
RSA Canada has launched Pets Plus Us™, a pet owner community and insurance product line focused on delivering pet owner happiness. Pets Plus Us will provide pet owners with the resources, conversations and tools they need to enable them to make the right choices for their pet's well-being.

Marketing

Canadians take more steps to protect data over mobile privacy concerns: eMarketer
Internet users in Canada are worried about privacy, though in some ways their fears have waned as they have become more comfortable online. But with the increasing use of the mobile and social web, some new concerns are rising to the surface.

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