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This half day seminar will provide participants with an understanding of the principles behind online information and straight through processing, and an understanding of the marketing advantage these are allowing to leading insurers and brokers. The agenda combines a business oriented view of the technologies available and real life case studies of the returns on investment to implementing organizations.

Seminar Topics

8:00 – 8:30: Registration and Coffee

8:30	Welcome and introduction: Patrick Vice, I/T Manager, Frank Cowan Company Ltd.
	Relationship Lifecycle Marketing - Stefan Eyram, Senior Director of Marketing, Connectus Direct Solutions Inc.
Stefan's presentation will focus on the use of Internet technologies in the pursuit of best practices relationship lifecycle marketing.
	Mining for Marketing Gold - Michael Turney, Senior Program Manager, Business Intelligence Solutions, SAS Canada
Every business feels the squeeze of a tight economy. But recent years have seen insurance providers taking hits on all sides -- from dwindling investment portfolios due to market volatility and a stagnant global economy to rising claims costs due to unpredictable natural and man-made disasters. As a result, profit margins are shrinking, bringing with them the need for higher capital returns. As an insurance provider how can you increase sales and the number of new policies in force while decreasing operational costs? How can you successfully market across channels when marketing costs are increasing and campaign response rates are declining? How can you support the growth and sales success of intermediaries? Questions abound, but the answer is clear: The key to surviving, and thriving, in such dynamic times lies in bringing together the vast quantities of data that reside in functional, geographic, LOB, channel and system silos across your enterprise -- and then deriving intelligence from that data to make effective, strategic business decisions. SAS makes all this possible. SAS offers a suite of integrated, insurance-specific solutions called the SAS Insurance Intelligence Solutions. This family of flexible, extensible solutions includes prebuilt data models and analytical models as well as streamlined processes and techniques that speed up both implementation and results, giving you a fast track to a significant return on your marketing and technology investment.
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	myAllstate, Customer Access to Allstate Policy Information Online - John E. Ongaro, Director, Customer Contact Centre, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada
Allstate's unique distribution model, the Good Hands® Network, offers customers choice in how they want to buy insurance and access personal policy information. Comprised of local agent service, toll free 1-800-Allstate, and online access through allstate.ca for sales and service transactions, the model evolved to include myAllstate® - a web-enabled customer relationship tool. This presentation provides an overview of the: evolution of our integrated distribution model, online access Allstate customers have to policy and payment information, integration of myAllstate® with PIPEDA Privacy Principles, and blending of local agent service with policies registered through myAllstate®.
	On-line Service Technology Horizons: What Insurance Marketers Need to Know - Ashley Westwell, Manager of Applications Development, Cowan Insurance Group
The flow of information has always been a critical and necessary component in any successful business. With the evolution of the Internet, new approaches are available to allow businesses to effectively communicate with one another in real time. Ashley's presentation will cover how key technologies, such as XML and Web Services, can provide increased interoperability and efficiencies within the insurance industry.
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	Sharing Information Real-time with Advisors and Clients - Mike Overdorf, Corporate Account Manager, E-Z Data, LLC
In today's information-driven economy, agents, advisors, and producers expect and require immediate access to the business and financial data that impacts their bottom line. They need to know the status of their applied-for business, and they expect that information to be available in real-time and on-demand. As well, the producers' clients, the consumers, demand the same type of real-time, online access to their personal policy and investment information. Using advanced, financial services-specific CRM applications, you can now provide your captive and independent producers, as well as their clients, with the appropriate level of visibility into the information they need and want - all via a web browser. Financial services veteran Mike Overdorf, currently with E-Z Data, will highlight the various levels of browser-based client views and portals that are available today to help you provide the benefits that result in better carrier-distributor communication, more loyal producers, and greater client satisfaction.
	If you build it, they may not come - the importance of effective communication to the success of online initiatives. - Matthew Myers, Account Director - Partner, A.K.A. New Media Inc.
Matthew will share two recently developed rich-media presentations demonstrating how some companies are beginning to understand the importance of communicating effectively when developing and promoting online services, and some of the innovative ways that are being employed to create successful marketing campaigns.
	Online Service in the Canadian Insurance Industry - Patrick Vice and Doug Grant, Insurance-Canada.ca
With ten years experience on the Internet, Insurance-Canada.ca has grown steadily. From changing site designs through different marketing programs and to new sales challenges, Insurance-Canada.ca has experienced most of the ups and downs of Internet-based small businesses. With a somewhat unique focus on Canada and Insurance, Insurance-Canada.ca still faces a challenge with two-faces. Hear some of the decisions made, and some of the results attained.
12:40	Conclusions and Close: by Doug Grant, Principal, Insurance-Canada.ca

Seminar Sponsors:

Speaker Information

Stefan Eyram, Senior Director of Marketing, Connectus Direct Solutions Inc.

As Senior Director of Marketing, Stefan Eyram heads up the marketing group at Connectus Direct Solutions Inc., a Canadian-based leader in providing Relationship Lifecycle Marketing solutions that help marketers and their agencies manage the customer relationship lifecycle online, from initial contact through customer loyalty.

Stefan has over 15 years of marketing and sales experience and ahs spent the last 6 years focusing on data driven and online marketing. He has both agency and marketer experience including past roles as Vice President at a digital agency, Chief Marketing Officer of a dot com and as founder of a direct marketing consultancy.

Stefan is a regular speaker and has written multiple articles that have been published by industry resources and associations including Direct Marketing News and the AMA. In the last 3 weeks Stefan has spoken at the 17th Canadian National Database Marketing Conference and the Direct Marketing News event called "Marketing and Selling Thru the Inbox."

Matthew Myers, Account Director - Partner, A.K.A. New Media Inc.

A.K.A. New Media Inc. (A.K.A.) is an award winning communications agency that works closely with companies and organizations at all levels of the insurance industry - brokers, insurance companies, associations and suppliers. Through this work A.K.A. has garnered a unique perspective and understanding of how these companies view and use technology, as well as insight into some of the common mistakes and shortcomings that many companies fall victim to when developing and promoting online services.

John Ongaro CLU, Director, Customer Contact Centre, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada

John has over 26 years of experience in the insurance industry with Allstate. Through his career at Allstate, he has developed a broad base of sales and marketing experience. John started his career at Allstate in market research and market segmentation. He then moved on to direct mail marketing of accident & sickness, life and home & auto products to credit card groups. John then spent 10 years in various markets in Ontario as an Allstate agent and sales manager.

Upon returning to head office, he led the initiative to introduce Group Auto and Property Insurance at Allstate. As a Marketing Manager, he co-ordinated reward and recognition programmes for field sales agents and managers before moving to Allstate's Direct Channel Distribution. John was Allstate Canada's first Call Centre Sales Manager before taking on his current role where he now leads the implementation of direct channel (call centre and internet) sales & service at Allstate. John has a working knowledge of all three arms of The Good Hands™ Network, Allstate's unique distribution model.

Mike Overdorf, Corporate Account Manager, E-Z Data, LLC

Currently a top-performing corporate account manager for E-Z Data, a leading provider of financial services CRM solutions, Mr. Overdorf brings more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry. Mike's roles as Director of Sales at ChannelPoint and LifeMarkets (a unit of GEFA) led to his happy acquisition into E-Z Data. Both roles focused on general agency management systems and the electronic distribution of data across all points of the insurance distribution channel. Mike has also served as Internet product manager and regional account manager for AMS, the largest property and casualty software vendor in the US; and as the Vice President of Property & Casualty Sales at InsWeb, the leading consumer portal for insurance sales.

E-Z Data, Inc., established in 1986, is the leading provider of front-office systems for insurance companies, broker-dealers, general agents, agents, and investment advisors. Its Windows-based Client Data System™ (CDS™) and Web-based Enterprise CRM Platform™ (ECP™) provide comprehensive solutions that synchronize the efforts of all the key players in sales, marketing, and customer service. E-Z Data serves more than 40 of the largest U.S. and international insurance and financial services companies, including American Express Financial Advisors, AXA Australia, ING, MetLife, New York Life, Prudential, and Wachovia Bank. The company's domain expertise, coupled with mature, industry-specific business solutions, results in consistently successful customer implementations.

For more information about E-Z Data's solutions, go to www.ez-data.com or call 800-777-9188.

Michael Turney, Senior Program Manager, Business Intelligence Solutions, SAS Canada

Michael has spent the last decade helping companies leverage new and existing technologies in order to address their critical business issues and meet their strategic goals. As part of IBM Canada's e-business team, Michael was responsible for the product marketing of their flagship e-commerce application Net.Commerce, now known as the WebSphere Commerce Server. He also worked as Product Marketing Manager for Ironside Technologies, a business-to- business e-commerce solutions provider, helping organizations extend their ERP and legacy systems to the Internet.

At SAS Canada, Michael is a Senior Program Manager focusing his attention on how organizations can apply data analytics and predictive intelligence to support their critical business decisions.

Michael is an economics major from Concordia University in Montreal and also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from King's College, Toronto.

Ashley Westwell, Manager of Applications Development, Cowan Insurance Group

Ashley Westwell is responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of Cowan Insurance Group's development team. His role involves extensive project management and provision of technical leadership.

Ashley's technical background includes a strong understanding of a wide range of computer systems, programming languages, database systems, and development and design methodologies. He is currently certified as a Sun Java Programmer and Linux System Administrator.

In the past, Ashley worked as a software development consultant specializing in B2B and B2C solutions. During this time, he provided technical leadership to companies requiring online bidding engines, inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM). This role provided Ashley with invaluable experience that has positioned him well to provide expert technical guidance when architecting and developing software solutions.

Cowan Insurance Group (Cowan) was founded in 1927 and has grown to be an organization with more than 400 employees. Through our family of companies, Frank Cowan Company, Cowan Insurance Brokers, and Cowan Wright Beauchamp we provide insurance and risk management products and services, as well as help employers meet their pension, retirement and group benefits requirements across Canada.

Hosts and Moderators

Patrick Vice, I/T Manager, Frank Cowan Company Ltd.

Patrick has over 20 years experience enabling technology and electronic commerce in the risk management and insurance communities. For a more extensive biography.

Doug Grant MBA CIP, Consultant, Insurance-Canada.ca

As a keen analyst of computer and networking evolution for more than thirty years, and the opportunity and impact on the insurance industry, frequent industry speaker, columnist, and consultant. Doug is cognizant of the changes that are occurring in the Internet insurance world. As a principal in the Insurance-Canada.ca Web site, he brings a unique perspective to the session. For a more extensive biography.

Patrick and Doug will be hosts of the seminar and will welcome and set the stage, build the linkages between topics, and then provide conclusions and points to ponder at the end of the session.

(Examples will be used throughout)

Questions? call Doug Grant 416-921-7756 or email at doug.grant@insurance-canada.ca

See a list of our Previous Seminars.

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