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.
Consumer Information
New Car Dealer's Associations of Toronto & Ontario and CarProof Join Forces to Give Consumers Peace-of-Mind When Buying a Used Vehicle.
Toronto, ON (May 25, 2007) – CarProof™ Vehicle History Reports and the New Car Dealer's Associations of Ontario today announced a partnership designed to provide tools to dealers that will give consumers peace-of-mind when they buy a used vehicle. The Toronto Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) and the Ontario Automobile Dealers Association (OADA) announced today that they have selected CarProof Vehicle History Reports as their official report.
CIHI: Prescribed drug spending expected to surpass $21 billion in 2006.
May 15, 2007-Spending on prescribed drugs in Canada is estimated to have reached $21.1 billion in 2006, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, according to figures released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in its annual report on drug
spending. While total health spending grew by an estimated 5.8% in 2006, the projected annual growth rate for prescribed drugs was 6.9%. In comparison, spending on prescribed drugs increased on average by 11.2% per year from 1997 to 2004.
Insurance Bureau of Canada urges federal MPs to toughen punishment for auto theft.
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has strongly urged federal MPs to support Bill C-343, which would make auto theft a separate offence under the Criminal Code and implement mandatory jail times for repeat offenders.
Drinking? Driving? RoadWatch will be there: MPIC.
Every year in Manitoba about 104 people are killed in traffic crashes. Alcohol is involved in about one-third of them. To help reduce these totally preventable crashes, Manitoba Public Insurance is once again funding the RoadWatch program, which provides funding for police to conduct additional impaired driving roadside checks throughout the summer. The program was officially launched today during Manitoba Road Safety Week.
eBusiness and Technology
Information Builders Announces iWay Compliance Solution Framework.
Las Vegas, NV - May 21, 2007 - iWay Software, an Information Builders company and an innovator of enterprise integration solutions, today announced iWay Compliance Solution Framework (iComply), its new framework for business-process and regulatory compliance. iComply is the first and most comprehensive solution to automate, monitor, and report on critical cross-enterprise business processes, dramatically reducing auditing costs and business risk.
ACORD Launches New Chinese Mini-Site.
PEARL RIVER, NY & LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - May 20, 2007 - With growing interest in ACORD standards around the globe, ACORD launched its first mini-site focused on a specific geographic area. In this case, the site is for China and in Mandarin Chinese.
MTS Allstream wins contract with Royal & SunAlliance for managed MPLS network.
(TORONTO, ON), March 12, 2007 - MTS Allstream, one of Canada's leading national communication solutions providers, is pleased to announce that it has secured a contract to design, build, deploy and manage an MPLS network for Royal & SunAlliance, one of Canada's leading property and casualty insurance groups.
Lloyd's role in driving reform, by Richard Ward, Lloyd's CEO.
Speech to the Insurance Day Summit, London, 21st May 2007 - It is time that we in the London market accept that the drive for efficiency is not something that is being done to us – it is something that has to be done by us. It is extraordinary how industry leaders who spend their day spotting and taking advantage of business opportunities and developing innovative insurance solutions seem to be unable to grasp the importance of improving the level of service to their customers. In my mind it's simple. Businesses which don't recognise this will be left behind.
Progressive.com Wins the Webby People's Voice Award in the Insurance Category.
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio - May 9, 2007 - The nation's third largest auto insurance group, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, today announced that its Web site - www.progressive.com - has received The Webby People's Voice Award. The online public voted and selected the site as the best insurance Web site of 2007.
Policy and Product Management
MSB, Actuarial Firm EMB to Partner on Risk-Based Modeling for Property Carriers.
LOS ANGELES - MAY 29, 2007 -- MSB, an MDA company and the leading worldwide provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry, announces a strategic alliance with expert property and casualty actuarial consultants EMB America LLC to develop and build an industry-wide model for a property risk-based scoring model. The model will be available for demonstration later this year and is designed to help individual carriers develop finely-tuned risk segmentation to more appropriately reflect their actual exposures to loss. This means fair premiums for consumers and more profitable books of business for carriers.
Product Announcements
Manulife Financial launches Group Critical Illness insurance to help Canadian plan members and their families. WATERLOO, ON, May 31 - Manulife Financial Group Benefits recently unveiled new group insurance to offer lump-sum benefits to Canadian plan members and their families diagnosed with a critical illness.
Business of Insurance
Triad Guaranty Inc. Takes Next Steps To Enter Canadian Market.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. and TORONTO, May 29, 2007 -- Triad Guaranty Inc., (Nasdaq: TGIC), announced that its newest subsidiary, Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation Canada (Triad Guaranty Canada), has received its Order to Commence and Carry On Business from Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).
Partnership Rather Than Procurement is New Path to Effective Outsourcing, According to PricewaterhouseCoopers New 2007 Global Outsourcing Survey.
LONDON, 21 May 2007 - While outsourcing remains a critical element of the corporate strategic mix, success in today's complex outsourcing marketplace is contingent on new dynamics,
specifically the customer and service provider relationship, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Outsourcing study, Outsourcing Comes of Age: The Rise of Collaborative Partnering. The study explores a
key issue raised by CEOs in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Annual CEO Survey at Davos and reflects insights garnered from both outsourcing customers and providers representing 19 countries across several continents.
Distribution
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Edward Jones Ranks Highest in Inaugural Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 2 May 2007 - Edward Jones ranks highest among 10 financial investment firms in satisfying their financial advisors, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Financial Advisor Satisfaction StudySM released today. The inaugural study measures the satisfaction of financial advisors with the investment firms in which they work by examining seven factors: support, firm performance, compensation, people, products and offerings, work environment and job duties.
Marketing and the Market Place
Johnson Inc. Announces AIR MILES(R) Reward Program Partnership.
ST. JOHN'S, NL, May 29, 2007 - Johnson Inc., a leader in home and auto insurance across Canada, is pleased to announce its policies will come with more than just excellent coverage, great rates, and 24-hour service. Effective June 1, 2007, Johnson home and auto insurance will include the added value of AIR MILES reward miles.
Education
LOMA Launches FLMI India Program.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES-MAY 20, 2007- LOMA, the leading trade association to the international insurance and financial services industry and worldwide leader in learning and professional development, announces the launch of the Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) India Program, a localized version of the well-known LOMA educational program.
from Doug:
A fabulous weekend in Windsor at our Loyalist Conference. We all learned more about a rich history there, from the early days at Fort Detroit, to the migration across the river to Sandwich (the old town in Windsor) when the border was finally placed in 1794. Most of the town was burned in the War of 1812. Our banquet speaker spoke about the smuggling tradition and prohibition rum-running. In Canada it was legal to make booze, but not to sell it. One could however readily obtain an export licence, but only to a country where prohibition was not in effect, places like Mexico and Cuba. One newspaper reported that a particular boat was leaving for Cuba - four times every day!