Issue 2009-41 -- Ocotber 13, 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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Participants and Sponsors:
Thanks to Belair Insurance for renewing their annual Consumer Section advertising program of Tile Ads, Logo Ads and Listings in:
eBusiness and Technology
Pitney Bowes Business Insight Unveils Next Generation Data Quality Solution.
Troy, New York, - September 22, 2009 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of data quality and location intelligence solutions, today announced the release of the Pitney Bowes Spectrum™ Technology Platform. The Pitney Bowes Spectrum Technology Platform is a next generation enterprise solution that supersedes the Customer Data Quality Platform and will house complimentary data domains such as location.
Information Builders Offers New Insurance Performance Foundation.
NEW YORK - September 9, 2009 - Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced an upgrade of its Insurance Performance Foundation (IPF), previously known as Insurance Reporting Foundation (IRF). IPF provides performance management, collaboration, and role and dashboard management capabilities requested by many property and casualty CEOs. With new structured ad hoc reporting, the newly modularized IPF provides insurance companies such as the Mid-Continent Group with access to the full breadth of insurance business information, from summary to the lowest level of detail, required to give a single, accurate view of the business.
Consumer Information
CAA urging motorists to stop talking/texting while driving before law kicks in.
THORNHILL, ON, Sept. 30 2009 - CAA South Central Ontario (CAASCO) is urging motorists to start getting used to paying attention to the road while driving. Ontario will join Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and hundreds of cities globally banning the use of a hand-held electronic device while driving as of October 26, 2009 however police will not begin issuing tickets until February 1, 2010.
Intact assists thousands of customers to get back on track after severe weather events.
TORONTO, Oct. 2 2009 - Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) has assisted almost nine thousand of its customers in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia in getting their lives back to normal after a summer of major storms and wildfires. The severe weather events included large hail storms in Alberta, heavy rain and wind storms in a number of regions, tornados in the Greater Toronto Area and the Laurentian region of Quebec, and flooding in Hamilton and Ottawa.
Snopasses to be Sold By All Autopac Agents This Winter: MPIC.
October 2, 2009 - Manitoba snowmobilers will be able to purchase their Snopasses at more than 300 MPI agents across the province beginning Nov. 1, Snoman President Ernie Smelski and CEO and President of Manitoba Public Insurance Marilyn McLaren announced.
Business of Insurance
The P&C Industry in Canada: Continuing the Dialogue - by Julie Dickson OSFI.
When I last spoke to you a year ago, the global financial sector was in a precarious state. We had just witnessed the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the bailout of AIG, emergency bank holding company legislation for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and the failure of Washington Mutual. Soon after the NICC gathering, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was signed into law in the U.S., and the U.S. government began buying stock in the largest US banks.
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Webinar - October 15 - Changing Communications Preferences of
Financial Services Consumers |
Sponsored by TELUS
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Marketing and the Market Place
Broadband and Video Are Booming in Canada: eMarketer.
OCTOBER 1, 2009 - Canada has some of the world's most committed Internet users, who spend 45 hours and more online in one month alone. They are heavy users of social networks and love online video. And Internet penetration is growing faster than the general population.
Manulife Investor Sentiment Index gains for third straight quarter.
WATERLOO, ON, Oct. 6 2009 - Canadians are growing more positive about a wide range of investments amid the current economic news, according to a national poll for Manulife Financial, Canada's leading insurance and wealth management company. For the third straight quarter, the overall Manulife Investment Sentiment Index registered a strong gain, while eight of 10 investment categories and vehicles rose in the latest quarterly poll for Manulife in mid-September.
Sun Life Financial continues as group benefits provider to Canadian public service employees and pensioners.
TORONTO, Oct. 7 2009 - Sun Life Financial today announced that it will continue to administer the Federal Government's Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) after being selected as the first ranked bidder under a competitive government tendering process. The multi-year, multi-million dollar contract went into effect on September 24, 2009 and provides for plan administrative services. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies, has been the administrator of the plan since 1996.
Pre-Retirees Counting on Part-Time Work to Make Ends Meet in Retirement Should Think Again: LIMRA Study.
WINDSOR, Conn., Sept. 23, 2009 - A recent LIMRA study found that 29 percent fewer retirees worked for pay this year than in 2008. "Obviously, the severe recession and the rising unemployment have affected the number of jobs available to retirees," said Sally Bryck, associate research director,
Reference and Statistics
Shifting consumer behaviour triggers decrease in average car insurance quotes for Ontario drivers: Kanetix.
TORONTO, October 7th, 2009 - Today, Kanetix®, Canada's online marketplace for insurance quotes and mortgage rates, released the results of its Ontario quarterly car insurance premium study. The study identified a 2.8 per cent decrease in the average of the lowest rates quoted for Ontario auto insurance in Q3 2009 compared to Q3 2008. The decrease appears to be the result of changes in consumer behaviour and demographics, not cheaper car insurance rates.
MIB Life Index Reports North American Life Insurance Activity Up 1.2% in September.
Braintree, MA. - (Oct. 5, 2009) North American application activity for individually
underwritten life insurance increased +1.2% in September year-over-year, according to the
MIB Life Indexsm. . A +1.8% increase in U.S. applications this month helped lift the percent
change of the overall Index to its highest level for a September ever. Year-over-year, North
American applications were up +0.7% in the third quarter (Q3) reflecting both September’s U.S.
upswing and strength in the Canadian market during July and August. Year-to-date (YTD)
application activity is off -0.9% compared to the same nine months in 2008, posting its best level
of the year. September showed an +8.9% gain in application volume over this past August.
Claims
USA Insurance Industry Tackles Cargo Theft: ISO.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., September 29, 2009 - ISO and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced today their intent to create a national information sharing system to combat cargo crime. By networking existing databases and adding secure reporting and analytic functions, the new system will enable more efficient, accurate, and timely sharing of cargo-theft information between theft victims, their insurers, and law enforcement.
Distribution
Kasina's Top 5 Web Sites for USA Financial Advisors: Variable Annuities.
New York, (September 9, 2009) -- kasina, a strategic consulting firm for the insurance and financial services industry, announced the results of its latest study, "Top 5 Web Sites for Financial Advisors: Variable Annuities."
Insurance Brokerage Market Continues to Consolidate Despite Recession, Advisen Reports.
New York (Sept 22, 2009) - Size matters, according to a new report on the insurance brokerage market by Advisen Ltd. As a result, the frenetic pace of consolidation in the brokerage sector will be only temporarily slowed by the global economic recession.
from Doug:
Thanksgiving encompassed a visit from one son, a new laptop with which I am slowly becoming accustomed and repairs to a small flat roof which was leaking a bit and which I hope will now make it until next summer The turkey dinner at our favourite local restaurant was very good - starting with a delightful squash soup. As a change with my parents and my brother and family, a visit to a Chinese food buffet. Not much which was extra special, but a time to appreciate many things. Now if only it had been a little warmer - seems like late Fall is a month early.
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