Princeton, ON (Oct. 2, 2013) – Frank Cowan Company, a leader in providing specialized insurance programs, and Baseline Telematics, an important supplier of Telematics based solutions for insurers, have partnered to deliver an innovative web-based weather-monitoring and operations management platform called Snowman, specifically designed for municipalities across Canada.
Snowman has been designed to help municipal clients, specifically in Ontario, meet legal requirements under the Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS) legislation. The requirements, which changed on January 25, 2013, now set out that municipalities are obligated to “monitor the weather, both current and forecast to occur in the next 24 hours, once every shift or three times per calendar day, whichever is more frequent” (Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways, O-Reg 239/02, s. 3.1).
The Snowman platform with enhanced integration to Environment Canada weather services will be available free of charge to Frank Cowan clients in October, 2013 which is just in time for the beginning of the winter maintenance season.
Snowman is a proven and powerful web based solution designed by Operasoft Inc. It is specifically built to automate the operations of any organization working within the snow and ice management industry. Currently serving over 100 private and public sector clients across Canada and the US, it’s users can quickly and seamlessly plan and manage their operations, human resources, vehicle GPS tracking, routing, and much more.
Barb Szychta, Director, Risk Management, Frank Cowan Company: Various weather monitoring measures are currently being used by municipalities. We’ve worked closely with Baseline to adapt Snowman into a comprehensive weather solution to help our clients automate weather verification, and documentation, thus simplifying compliance to the MMS weather verification requirements.
Paul-André Savoie, CEO of Baseline Telematics: Working with the Frank Cowan Company to adapt an existing fleet and operations management platform such as Snowman, so that it helps insurers help their clients better plan, manage and document their activities to reduce risk has been a great customer-focused project. We are confident that Frank Cowan Company, and its municipal clients will both benefit from many innovative features integrated in the Snowman platform.
Under joint and several, municipalities can be held accountable for tens of millions of dollars in award costs should they be found just 1% negligent and the other named defendants can’t fund the judgement. The MMS is meant to help municipalities defend their actions in court.
Derek Sarluis, VP, Claims, Frank Cowan Company: We have seen the frequency and severity of road liability claims escalate significantly. Snowman, combined with our risk and claims management programs, is another tool municipalities can use in their arsenal when it comes to providing evidence to defend against claims.
About Frank Cowan Company
Frank Cowan Company is a Canadian leader in providing specialized insurance programs, including risk management and claims services for municipalities and public service, healthcare, education, community, children’s and social service organizations across Canada. Proven industry knowledge, gained through over 85 years of partnering with insurance companies and independent brokers, gives Frank Cowan Company the ability to effectively manage the necessary risk, advisory and claims services for both standard and complex issues. Frank Cowan Company’s head office is located in Princeton, Ontario with a branch office in Cambridge, Ontario. Clients and broker partners receive support out of both locations. For additional information about Frank Cowan Company, visit www.frankcowan.com.
About Baseline Telematics
Baseline Telematics has been designing risk management solutions for property and casualty insurance companies across Canada for nearly 20 years. Its first solutions led to the installation of nearly 300,000 tracking devices to recover stolen cars in Canada, totalling over 200M$ in saved theft claims in just 10 years, in collaboration with over 30 insurance companies. Baseline was the first to launch a usage based insurance solution in Canada with Industrial Alliance >www.mobiliz.ca. Its solution is the first in the world to allow insurers to rate and invoice auto insurance on a variable monthly basis. Since 2009, Baseline has been the leading Canadian provider of telematics based insurance platforms, and offers one of the most comprehensive solutions on the market today. For more information, visit www.baselinetelematics.com.
Source: Frank Cowan Company
Tags: Barb Szychta, Baseline Telematics, Frank Cowan Company, partnership, platform, severe weather
