Issue 2004-38:   Oct 12, 2004

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.

Please forward this newsletter to a fellow employee, or someone else involved in the insurance industry, if you think they would have some interest in the information. For subscribe/unsubscribe details, see the bottom of this note.

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Distribution

Applied Systems Canada, Inc. and ING Insurance Company of Canada are Pleased to Announce Canada’s First Real-Time Insurance Transaction Powered by WARP.

Working with Applied Systems Canada, Inc.; ING is launching “Savers through TAM”, a real-time workflow built on the ING portal and Applied Systems Canada WARP Technologies. To address this, ING has worked with Applied with the goal of linking The Agency Manager® (TAM) and Savers through Applied’s real-time insurance technology - WARP. The integration of TAM and Savers will allow brokers to enjoy the full benefits of TAM, as well as the guaranteed rates and point of sale functionality of Savers, without double entry.

Vista Equity Partners Acquires Applied Systems.

University Park, IL (October 1, 2004) ­ Vista Equity Partners and James P. Kellner have acquired Applied Systems, Inc., the insurance software company born 20 years ago in suburban Chicago as a one-product, home-based business that grew to become the leading provider of automation solutions in the property and casualty insurance industry.

CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update

CSIO Portal status and project information at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/csioip/csioip.php

Week ending October 8: A celebration in passing through the 100 broker mark - the 100th broker implemented was Caren Insurance Brokers of Dryden, Ontario.
The number of brokers integrated to the portal has increased to 106.

Business of Insurance

ING to acquire Allianz of Canada.

ING Group and Allianz Group announced today that ING Canada has concluded a definitive share purchase agreement for the acquisition of Allianz's property and casualty (P&C) insurance operations in Canada.

From Canadian Insurance E-NEWS: OSFI Annual Report: ROE for P&C Insurers Significantly Improved.

In their 2003/04 Annual Report issued today, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions highlighted the improved operating results for Canada's insurance industry. Return on equity for property/casualty was 11.4 percent and the industry's ratio of expenses to premiums fell below 100 per cent for the first time in two decades. More...

From Canadian Insurance E-NEWS: A.M. BEST: Impact of Adverse Loss Reserve Development on ratings of P&C Companies.

A new report from A.M. Best states that the impact of adverse reserve development has been particularly significant in the commercial lines and reinsurance segments and has often lead to ratings pressure and downgrades. More...

Skills and Training

IIC and LOMA Partner to Offer P&C Insurance Customer Service Designation in Canada.

The Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) and LOMA have partnered to offer a new property-casualty (p&c) concentration in LOMA’s Associate, Customer Service (ACS) professional designation program. The program integrates IIC’s highly regarded Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) curriculum and LOMA’s well-established Foundations of Customer Service course.

Marketing

Fixed income investments gain ground in wake of rising interest rates: Manulife Investor Sentiment Index.

Canadians showed more interest in fixed income investments during the past three months in the face of rising interest rates and volatility in other markets, according to a recent national poll for Manulife Financial, Canada's leading insurance and wealth management company.

Swiss Re sigma study: high growth potential puts emerging markets at frontier of insurance – China and India in the spotlight.

Emerging markets will be at the frontier of insurance in the 21st century, according to the latest study from Swiss Re’s sigma series. Non-life premiums collected in emerging markets are expected to double from USD 123 billion in 2003 to around USD 250 billion by 2014, at constant prices. Life premiums will increase even faster from USD 188 billion to USD 450 billion over the same period. The sigma study identifies China and India as the most promising insurance markets.

Top 10 Trends from Internet's First 10 Years: eMarketer.

With access up to the highest levels ever, and continuing to climb, the changes are coming faster than ever, too. Unbelievably, in light of the speed with which it has spread around the world, it has only been ten years since the Web first opened up to the first "early adaptor" computer techies. The pace of change has been breathtaking.

Policy Management

LOMA Research Report Examines the Changing Reinsurance Industry.

The global reinsurance industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past few years, according to a new report available from LOMA, entitled The Changing Reinsurance Industry. “The global reinsurance industry has expanded its services beyond accepting risks that primary insurers want to transfer,” said report author Stephen W. Forbes, Ph.D., FLMI, senior vice president of research at LOMA. “Today insurers rely upon reinsurers for a variety of services ranging from surplus financing to advice on designing, underwriting, and pricing products.

Sapiens International Engages Top Global Insurance Executives.

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. (NASDAQ and TASE: SPNS), a global provider of insurance technology solutions, announced the creation of an International Advisory Board comprised of Insurance Industry leaders to provide valuable insight to enhance Sapiens' position within the insurance solutions market.

Honours and Awards

Markel President & CEO Receives Second Top 40 Under 40 Award.

This is the second "Top 40 Under 40" award Ram has received. Eighteen months ago, Mr. Ram was named to Canada's Top 40 Under 40(tm) by The Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine. Ram is the only individual in the property and casualty insurance industry to win that award since its inception in 1995.

eBusiness and Technology

From Canadian Insurance E-NEWS: Co-operators General Renews IT Contract with CGI.

Co-operators General, part of The Co-operators group of financial services companies, and CGI Group Inc. today announced the signing of a five-year contract renewal valued at CDN$85 million. CGI will continue to provide data center services which include help desk support, application hosting and software distribution services. More...

Claims

Boomerang Tracking Inc. ranked 18th in the 2004 Canadian Technology Fast 50.

Boomerang Tracking Inc. is proud to announce it has ranked in 18th place, in the Deloitte & Touche 2004 Canadian Technology Fast 50 Awards Program. This ranking also places the Company in fourth place among Quebec laureates.

P/C Claims System Vendor Profiles: Report from Celent.

Claims is a core process for property/casualty insurers­claims payments and expenses dominate their financial results. Claims is also the most complex core process, touching multiple internal and external organizations, applications, and databases.

Consumer Information

Official Launch of Fire Prevention Week 2004: Government of Canada.

On Parliament Hill today, Marlene Catterall, M.P. for Ottawa West-Nepean, Ontario, on behalf of the Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, with Frank Albert, former President of Fire Prevention Canada, joined elementary school children, fire department officials, children’s performer Mary Lambert, and “Sparky” the Fire Dog to officially launch Fire Prevention Week. The Week will run this year from October 3rd to 9th.

from Doug:

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and gave some thought to all the things we have to be thankful for. We hosted family for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday and had a good visit. The fall colours are beautiful here; I am looking forward to the drive to London this afternoon, where I am guest speaker for a heritage group meeting. A visit with my brother there will follow.

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