Issue 2009-32 -- August 11, 2009
This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry, insurance products and the marketplace. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.
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Claims
CDRG Awards More Memberships: C & M Building Contractors, Cornerbrook, N & H Contracting, Kamloops, E & R Toner Renovations, Fredericton.
C & M is a founding member of the Atlantic New Home Warranty Corporation, N & H Contracting is a family owned and operated Restoration Company that was founded in 1971 and E & R Toner Renovations is a general contracting firm for both residential and commercial properties.
eBusiness and Technology
Study on the State of Data Quality Reveals Businesses Still Face Significant Data Challenges: PBBI.
LANHAM, MD. and WESTMINSTER, COLO. - August 04, 2009 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of data quality and location intelligence solutions, and Silver Creek Systems, the pioneer and leader in automated data mastering, today announced the findings of a co-sponsored report on "The State of Data Quality Today."
Distribution
Insurance Carriers and Agents are Successfully Using Technology to Grow Business: IVANS Inc.
Stamford, CONN. - June 23, 2009 - IVANS, Inc. announced that the property-casualty industry is communicating electronically more than ever before. Download transactions from carriers to agents, and real-time transactions from agents to carriers, have increased 17% and 21% respectively in the past year. The growth can be attributed to new carriers implementing agency-company interface initiatives and existing carriers implementing new transactions such as commercial lines and claims.
Business of Insurance
Heavy losses due to severe weather in the first six months of 2009: Munich Re.
27 July 2009 - Normally, natural catastrophe losses are lower in the first six months than in the rest of the year, most occurring in the second half of the year, during the North Atlantic Hurricane season. Between January and June 2009, there were 380 natural catastrophes worldwide, which is more or less in line with the average for the past ten years. Although the death toll was regretfully 3,000, the number of fatalities was well below average.
Economy dominates risk thinking, but companies fear the unknown: Lloyd's.
29/07/2009 - According to a new report by Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance market, business leaders feel comfortable managing internal risks, such as reputation and corporate liability, but are less confident about external risks, such as currency fluctuation and cancelled orders.
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Low Rates, New Investment Products and Efficient Online Trading Drive Rapid Growth of Discount Brokerage Firms in Canada.
TORONTO: 15 July 2009 - Discount brokerage firms in Canada have experienced a considerable increase in new customers during the past year, largely due to low rates, new product offerings and efficient online trading, according to the inaugural J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Canadian Discount Brokerage Investor Satisfaction StudySM released today.
2010 P&C Insurance Technology Conference
"Real Time Insurance: Agile, Integrated and Aligned"
The eighth annual Insurance-Canada.ca P&C Technology Conference Monday 22 February 2010 in Toronto.
Insurers and Brokers - Book Your Calendars Now
- Learn how to improve competitiveness and profitability
- Review established and emerging technologies, including Web 2.0
- Interact with a distinguished faculty of practitioners, consultants, and suppliers
- Business focused, no technology background is required
- Book your calendar today and join your peers on Feb. 22
For preliminary conference information, see the conference overview .
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
Standard Life sweeps six I.F.C.A. awards including 'Best of Show'.
MONTREAL, Aug. 6 2009 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada won six awards in the 2009 Insurance and Financial Communicators Association (I.F.C.A.) competition. The annual awards competition, which includes entrants from across North America, recognizes excellence in marketing and communications within the insurance and financial services industry.
Gartner Says Worldwide CRM Market Grew 12.5 Percent in 2008.
STAMFORD, Conn., July 15, 2009 - Worldwide CRM market revenue totalled $9.15 billion in 2008, a 12.5 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $8.13 billion, according to Gartner Inc. Analysts said that market growth was driven by enterprise investments in technologies focused on customer retention, analytics and on-demand solutions.
Marketing and The Market Place
Uncertain About Savings, Retirees Tighten Belts, Seek Advice: LIMRA.
WINDSOR, Conn. and Schaumburg, Ill., July 14, 2009 - The number of retirees who say they are worried about financial security has more than doubled in the past year, and many are tightening budgets or seeking professional financial advice. Forty-nine percent of retirees said they felt less secure than when they first entered retirement, compared with 20 percent who said so last year.
Who Uses Social Networks?: eMarketer.
AUGUST 5, 2009 - Everyone knows that social networking sites are growing in popularity. Millions of individuals visit daily-or even more often. According to the "Consumer Internet Barometer" report from TNS and The Conference Board, 43% of US Internet users visited social networking sites in Q2 2009.
Our People
Canadian Workforce Growing Increasingly Disloyal Toward Employer: Ipsos Reid.
July 14, 2009 Toronto, ON - A new study from Ipsos Reid is confirming what many human resources professionals had already feared or believed: Canadian employees are becoming less loyal to their employers. According to recent findings from Ipsos Reid's Build a Better Workplace syndicated study, 22% of Canadian employees are expressing decreased loyalty to their employer.
Consumer Information
Thieves don't take vacations - Over 8,000 vehicles will be stolen this summer: Insurance Bureau of Canada.
MONTREAL, Aug. 3 2009 - In Quebec, a vehicle is the target of thieves every seven minutes. They either steal them or break in to steal the articles left inside. In 2008, 31,091 vehicles were reported stolen in Quebec (-14% from 2007). To this number, add 40,107 thefts of articles taken from inside cars (+9% from 2007).
Enhanced Identification Cards still in demand by Manitobans: MPIC.
July 14, 2009 - Manitobans continue to apply for the province's Enhanced Identification Card (EIC), describing the application process as a positive experience, according to a recent Manitoba Public Insurance survey.
from Doug:
On Saturday, we drove to Niagara-n-the-Lake for a day of Shaw Festival plays. We have always enjoyed Noel Coward plays and had tickets for a marathon - ten one-act plays. A singleton at 9:30am and three sets of three plays at 11, 3 and 8pm. The sessions were spread amnongst the three different theatres. Coward wrote different styles - comedy, drama, musicals etc. - and we enjoyed the variety. It was a great way to get back to NOTL, where we had not been to a play in some twenty years - in a sense we made up for lost time. It was however a long day by the time we reached home early Sunday morning.
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