Issue 2010-25 -- June 22, 2010

This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information mostly about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.




Distribution

Teachers Life selects OPUS from illustrate inc.
(TORONTO, Canada - June 16, 2010) illustrate inc, today announced the signing of its newest client: Teachers Life Insurance Company. Teachers Life, a fraternal, not-for-profit organization that provides life insurance and critical illness policies to members of the education community in Ontario, will retain illustrate inc to provide an online Needs Analysis, Insurance Quoting and Electronic Application solution. The system will be developed using illustrate inc?s newly launched OPUS platform.

Great Deals on Insurance: Ingle International.
TORONTO, June 15 2010 - Saveland.ca, an online social shopping community, is teaming up with Ingle International, a travel insurance group, to provide Saveland's members incredible value when purchasing travel insurance. The partnership will provide Saveland's members a full suite of travel insurance products for general and international travel, expatriates, international students, visitors to Canada and snowbirds.

Insure Your Apartment from Your iPhone, a Desjardins General Insurance Innovation.
Lévis, June 14, 2010 - Today, Desjardins General Insurance (DGI) launched a simplified home insurance quote for tenants, available online and through an iPhone1 app. This makes DGI the first Canadian insurer to offer an iPhone app to get a complete tenant insurance quote.

eBusiness and Technology

The Labours of Hercules: The Challenges Facing Insurance Enterprise Architects - Report Published by Celent.
In a new report, The Labours of Hercules: The Challenges Facing Insurance Enterprise Architects, Celent presents five key issues currently challenging insurance enterprise architects. Each issue is addressed in its own chapter in the report, and some solutions are offered where appropriate.

Aon Benfield wins four ACORD Awards for its continued commitment to industry leading data standards.
Aon Benfield, the world's premier re/insurance intermediary and capital advisor, today announces that it has won four prestigious awards for its utilization of ACORD data standards. ACORD (the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development), the re/insurance industry's non-profit standards developer, honoured the company at the annual 2010 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas.

Business of Insurance

Industrial Alliance and Industrial Alliance Pacific Innovate by Launching Whole Life Insurance with Guaranteed Premiums and a Long-Term Care Component.
QUEBEC CITY, June 14 2010 - Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. and its Vancouver subsidiary, Industrial Alliance Pacific Insurance and Financial Services Inc., announce the launch of a new life insurance product with guaranteed premiums: Life and Serenity 65. This unique coverage allows clients age 40 to 60 to meet their life insurance needs knowing that if they experience a loss of independence, they'll be able to maintain their quality of life thanks to a source of additional income.

CLHIA applauds moves to expand access to workplace-based savings programs.
TORONTO, June 14 2010 - The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) welcomes the decision arising from the meeting of Ministers of Finance to improve access to workplace-based retirement savings programs including expanding participation in multi-employer pension plans.

Policy and Product Management

GCAN Insurance Goes Live with ISI's WebWriter Enterprise.
Toronto, Canada/Grapevine, Texas - June 8, 2010 - Insurance Systems Inc. (ISI), a leading provider of web-based enterprise solutions for the property and casualty insurance industry, announced today from the Insurance Accounting & Systems Association Annual Conference in Grapevine, Texas that GCAN Insurance has successfully implemented WebWriter Enterprise as part of a large scale legacy modernization project.

Reference and Statistics

Commercial Insurance Prices Remain Level for Fifth Straight Quarter, According to Towers Watson Survey.
NEW YORK, June 14, 2010 - A fragile global economy, excess capacity in virtually every line of commercial insurance and last year?s below-average catastrophic losses combined to keep commercial insurance prices flat during the first quarter of 2010, according to global professional services company Towers Watson's (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) most recent Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The latest results mark the fifth consecutive quarter of little or no price increases after nearly five years of steady decreases.

Marketing and the Market Place

Canadian Mobile Subscriptions to Climb 20% by 2014: eMarketer.
JUNE 10, 2010 - Mobile phone penetration in Canada is more than 5 percentage points lower in the US as of 2010, according to eMarketer estimates, but set to increase steadily over the next several years. eMarketer forecasts the number of mobile subscribers in Canada will rise from 24.5 million this year to nearly 30 million by 2014, an increase of about 20%.

Despite Setbacks, Marketers Look to Make Better Use of Analytics: eMarketer.
JUNE 14, 2010 - Companies still face many challenges in using Web analytics and measurement effectively, but some are taking steps to address those problems and move toward more coherent and integrated measurement strategies, according to a spring 2010 study by Econsultancy and analytics firm Lynchpin.

Consumer Information

WorldNomads.com Has Safety Advice For International Visitors To South Africa?s World Cup.
SYDNEY, Australia, June 7, 2010 - WorldNomads.com, a global travel services company, suggests easy-to-implement pre-departure and in-country health and safety guidelines if traveling to Soccer?s World Cup in South Africa this June and July. Pre-Departure - Top 10 Medical Tips for travelling to the World Cup

Financial needs of baby boomers further transforms insurance industry: Sun Life.
VANCOUVER, June 11 2010 - From music in the 60's, to fashion in the 70's, to technology in the 80's, baby boomers have had a major impact on society as they move through each stage of their lives. With boomers on the cusp of retirement, their impact on the insurance industry and financial planning is evident in the products that have been developed and the questions that need to be answered, according to Kevin Dougherty, President, Sun Life Financial Canada.

Nova Scotia Companies Collaborate to Offer Canadian Home Buyers Peace of Mind with Job Loss Mortgage Insurance: Fraser & Hoyt Benefits and Propel Insure.
HALIFAX, June 14, 2010 - Nova Scotia companies Fraser & Hoyt Benefits and Propel Insure are collaborating to offer Canadian home buyers job loss insurance coverage on their mortgages.

Injury hospitalizations are more likely among lower income groups: CIHI.
Injuries, either unintentional or intentional, are one of the leading causes of death and disability in Canada and resulted in more than 200,000 hospitalizations nationally in 2008?2009, according to a new analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

from Doug:

I hope you enjoyed Father's Day. I had the good fortune of a rather unique experience. At least two of my ancestors fought in the American Revolution as Loyalists, with the King's Royal Regiment of New York. This regiment was re-created more than thirty years ago as the King's Royal Yorkers. They participate in many events each year, one of which for more than twenty-five years has been Fathers Day at Black Creek Pioneer Village here in Toronto. On Sunday I was invited to inspect the troops - a great Father's Day memory and an honour indeed.


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