2019 ICTA Winners & Nominees

Awards Ceremony and Reception

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 — Beanfield Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

The winners were announced at ICTC2019

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The 2019 ICTA Nominees

The executive summary of each 2019 ICTA nomination is posted below, with a link to a lengthier description. Each nomination summary was provided as part of the nomination.

The winners were selected by our jury from among the nominations and announced during the annual ICTA ceremony on Tuesday, February 26, part of the 2019 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference in Toronto.

Jump to the winners, finalists or nominees – or browse the alphabetized list below (finalists are marked with an asterisk *). And don't forget to check the results of the People's Choice Award.

2019 ICTA Winner

CAA Insurance

CAA MyPace for Lower-Distance Drivers

At CAA Insurance we believe that insurance options can be based on individual lifestyles, accessible at a competitive price and convenient payment plan. To meet the needs of today's consumer, we developed Canada's first “pay-as-you-drive” insurance offering, CAA MyPace, that provides unparalleled control and choice for consumers, by giving them greater control over their premiums.

CAA was named the most trusted brand in Canada in the 2018 Gustavson Brand Trust Index this year. In 2017 the Argyle Public Relationship Index ranked us as the most trusted brand of insurance. Our brand strength comes from delivering value to our insurance customers.

We are an insurer that puts people first. Our Members and policyholders are at the heart of everything we do. Our promise is “Live your life. We'll take care of the rest.”

  • Technology by Octo Telematics

2019 ICTA Runners-Up

First Runner Up

aha insurance

aha insurance and the Online Purchase Experience

At aha we believe that we don't sell insurance; rather, we sell the experience of buying insurance. This experience allows our customers to get a quote with minimal effort in minutes, and empowers them to make confident, informed decisions while buying a policy online. Using external data, we minimize the amount of information needed while ensuring the accuracy of our premiums, enabling us to guarantee the price. Customers can buy insurance on their phone while in a car dealership and download proof of insurance and liability slips without ever leaving their seat.

Soft launching in the Fall of 2017 and ramping up more aggressively in January 2018, we have seen phenomenal response to our brand and extremely positive signs in terms of customer comfort while buying on our platform.

Second Runner Up (tie)

Aviva Canada & Accident Support Services International

Connecting to Improve Customer Claim Service

Aviva Canada Inc. has deployed a first-in-Canada real-time integration with Accident Support Services’s Collision Reporting Centres for automated first notification of loss in Guidewire ClaimCenter. A customer reporting their motor vehicle collision to Aviva at a Collision Reporting Centre location will receive immediate confirmation of their Aviva claim number via email and/or SMS. This integration drastically shortens the time that it would typically take for new claims to be identified and set up through Aviva’s systems and processes. It also reduces friction for customers and for Aviva staff in the critical and stressful hours following a collision.

Second Runner Up (tie)

Nuera Insurance & SGI Canada

Completing The Broker-Company Circle: Full Life-Cycle On-Line Real-Time

The Nuera platform is an industry-leading consumer-facing digital solution providing customers with the capability to not only quote and purchase new business but also perform transactions throughout the lifecycle of the policy – in real-time – all the while supported by real brokers through chat or phone.

This capability is supported through customer-centric design, trusted third-party data, and APIs provided by SGI CANADA to provide a simplified experience on-line with access to a broker when the customer chooses.

Customers love Nuera's industry-leading, 7-day a week service as proven in their 5-star reviews on Facebook & Google!

2019 ICTA Finalists

The Commonwell

Quick Claim Payments Make For Happier Customers

ClaimsPay is a customized web application for the generation and issuance of claims payments and vendor payments (related to claims) via Interac e-Transfer Bulk Disbursement. Claims personnel do not require any online banking credentials and do not have to generate any security question and answer that corresponds with an Interac e-Transfer. ClaimsPay enables personnel to enter in a few data points specific to a claim on their mobile device into ClaimsPay. ClaimsPay automates gathering of approvals (as necessary) and generates an Interac e-Transfer to the claimant. This contributes further to a positive claims experience for a claimant in that there is no handling of cheques and funds are immediately usable.

  • Technology by ClaimsPay (powered by ClearPay) and Interac.

Surex Direct

Using Artificial Intelligence To Improve Broker Efficiency

Surex Direct is doing in-house development of artificial intelligence systems that automate many internal processes. From insurance document processing to auditing, these intelligent systems learn our brokerage's processes by observing staff members and can adapt to industry changes. Intelligent automation has significantly increased efficiency at our brokerage, allowing us to focus on our rapid growth.

2019 ICTA Nominees

Economical Insurance

Improving the Broker-Insurer Digital Connection

Economical Insurance, one of Canada's leading property and casualty insurance companies, is making it easier than ever for brokers to match customers with the right insurance coverage with the launch of Vyne. Rolling out beginning June 2018 through to the end of the year, Vyne leverages existing Guidewire PolicyCenter and BillingCenter platforms that were used to build Sonnet, Economical’s award-winning digital-direct brand. Vyne strengthens Economical’s commitment to the broker channel with streamlined workflows and customer-centric products and pricing.

With assistance from Deloitte, and designed with input from market-leading partners and continuous broker feedback, Vyne was built to empower brokers with increased quoting accuracy, policy documents that are easy for customers to understand, and improvements to its personal lines and individually rated commercial auto (IRCA) coverage.

  • Technology by Deloitte and Guidewire Software.

Gore Mutual

Removing More Friction From Premium Payments With Subscription Billing

Easy and convenient, our Subscription Billing Service lets customers purchase insurance products online from a broker’s website or mobile app and their policy will stay active as long as funds are available each month on their credit card. By creating a simplified insurance payment solution that meets modern consumer expectations, this first-in-industry innovation allows our policyholders to pay for their insurance just like any other monthly online subscription.

Industry partners have called our Subscription Billing Service a “game changer” and with good reason. In addition to helping brokers reach new customers online and boosting GWP, this customer-centric solution also eliminates the issue for insurers of time on risk with unpaid premiums. With our Subscription Billing Service, if a customer’s credit card has insufficient funds, their policy will automatically lapse at the end of the current monthly term.

iA Financial Group

Improving The Customer Experience With A Chatbot

We use a chatbot approach to increase the engagement and completion rates of the online auto insurance quick quote. This approach enabled us to remove seven questions without changing the rating engine. The intensive use of quick-reply button helped keep users engaged, add some personality to the chatbot and reduce the overall time to complete the quote.

At the end of the quote, if users have questions about the price, the chatbot can transfer them to an agent to continue the chat. All these features brought together in a chatbot provide a unique experience for users and help increase the conversion rate.