Congratulations to the winners, runners-up, and finalists of the 2017 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards! The winners, as selected by the ICTA jury, were announced at ICTC2017 on Monday, February 29, 2017, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The organizations recognized at the ICTA awards ceremony are shown below; more information on all the nominees is available via the Finalists & Nominees page. Thank you to the jury, to all the nominees, and to everyone who submitted a nomination or cast a vote for the People's Choice awards.

2017 ICTA Winner & Runners-Up

This year's ICTA winner was Sonnet, for their use of technology to support the introduction of a new insurance brand which focuses end-to-end on customer experience, uses data and predictive analytics for underwriting and offers comprehensive customer self-service.

Technology by Deloitte and Guidewire.

The first runner-up was Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers, for the Artificial Intelligence based chatbot implemented on their website which assists customers through a number of services. The chatbot increases customer self-service capabilities which in a sense also extends service hours.

Technology by ProNavigator.

The second runner-up was GUARANTEE GOLD, for developing and marketing their Watermark program which offers AquaTrip, a device which senses unwanted water flow within a dwelling and shuts off the water supply. This reduces the risk of water damage in the high-value homes to which the program was initially offered; the program now being offered to a broader set of dwellings.

Technology by DC Pro.

People's Choice Awards

Sonnet also took home the ‘PICTA’ for the customer self-service experience they offer, from ease of quoting, policy bind and issue, to ensuing policy changes and extending to the policy wordings, all designed in a way that allows flexible ongoing changes in order to maintain a competitive advantage for the long term.

Technology by Deloitte and Guidewire.

The first runner-up was TD Insurance, which also addressed customer experience, for auto quotes in Ontario by developing a first-in-Canada integration of smart phone cameras with the mobile web to capture the bar code on a driver's license. The bar code information allows TD Insurance to populate a quote request with a significant portion of the data required.

Technology by Kanetix.

The second runner-up was Sharp Insurance, which was one of the first to develop a mobile app and portal for clients to access pink cards and insurance information, and initiate transactions. Sharp developed a significant marketing program to develop awareness of their self-service offerings and nurture customer loyalty; as a result they have reduced operating expenses, increased customer cross-sales and improved profitability.

Technology by Sharp Mobile Technology.

See more pictures from ICTC2017 and from the following day's Broker Forum.