Issue 2010-47 -- November 23, 2010

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




Policy and Product Management

Duck Creek Rating™ chosen by ICBC.
BOLIVAR MO-November 18, 2010 -- Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. (Duck Creek), a provider of innovative software and services for the insurance industry, announced it has signed an agreement with The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), to license Duck Creek Rating™.

Claims

Symbility Signs Farmers Insurance..
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - November 18, 2010)Symbility Solutions, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Automated Benefits Corp. (TSX:V - AUT), is proud to announce the finalization of a multi-year deal with the Farmers Insurance Exchange based in Los Angeles, California.

MSB Cost Information for Claims Initiatives chosen by Farmers Insurance.
MILWAUKEE, WI - November 10, 2010 - Farmers Insurance (Farmers®), the third largest personal lines property and casualty insurer in the U.S., has chosen Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MSB), an MDA company, to provide cost information for estimating property claims.

CDRG Announces Newest Associate Member: Siteworks.
Jamie Hassall, owner and founder of Siteworks Corporation, started out as a Civil Engineering Technician specialized in concrete. After meeting Harry & Steve Lubnow of Lubnow Restorations (CDRG Member of the Year 2010), the idea for Siteworks was born. Established in late 2008, Siteworks Corporation has been providing reliable year round emergency service, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

ISO ClaimSearch in USA Surpasses 700 Million Claims.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., November 18, 2010 - ISO announced that the ISO ClaimSearch® all-claims database has surpassed 700 million industry claims, with 58 million new claims added in the past 12 months. ISO ClaimSearch is a contributory database that serves thousands of insurers representing more than 93 percent of the property/casualty industry by premium volume.

Marketing and the Market Place

Allstate Canada and NHLPA Launch the Allstate All-Canadians Mentorship Program.
TORONTO, ON, November 15, 2010 - The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) in partnership with Allstate Insurance Company of Canada is pleased to announce the Allstate All-Canadians program, one of the most significant player-driven initiatives in hockey history, designed to re-invest in the grassroots of the game. Unveiled today, Allstate All-Canadians is a mentorship program designed to guide the next generation of Canada's hockey youth.

eMarketer: What Are the Benefits of Email-Social Media Integration?.
NOVEMBER 15, 2010 - Several studies have shown that a majority of email marketers are making use of social media tactics, both to boost their social media efforts as well as to improve email campaigns. A June 2010 survey of North American email and online marketers by email marketing firm Lyris found that most of them were seeing positive results.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Guidewire BillingCenter® selected by Canal as its new billing system.
GREENVILLE, South Carolina and SAN MATEO, California, November 16, 2010 - Canal Insurance Company (Canal), a leading commercial trucking insurer, and Guidewire Software®, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty insurers, today announced that Canal has selected Guidewire BillingCenter® as its new billing system. Canal, an early Guidewire customer, has already successfully deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter®. BillingCenter will replace the company's existing legacy billing environment and will give Canal more billing flexibility and receivables processing capabilities within a single system.


eBusiness and Technology

Novarica: Business Intelligence in Insurance: Current State, Challenges, and Expectations.
November 2010 - The need for continued investment by insurers in business intelligence capabilities is widely understood, and the industry is acting. A vast majority of insurers are planning extensions and enhancements of their existing BI environments, while some are leveraging new vended and SaaS offerings to deliver completely new platforms.

Zurich, Canada launches online builders risk website offering fast and easy service to brokers and customers.
Toronto, ON, September 23, 2010 - Zurich, Canada today announced the launch of ZurichBuildersRisk.ca. The new website allows Zurich, Canada contracted brokers to rate, quote, issue and manage builders risk policies anytime, anywhere right from their computer. When using the system, most builders risk policies can be issued in as few as nine steps and as fast as nine minutes.

Our People

Info-Tech Research Group: Managing the Work-Life Boundary.
That the nature of our workforce is changing is not news: work-life boundaries are blurring and employees expect to be able to access their personal and work information anytime, anywhere, and with any device. And yet this trend is leaving many IT policies in the dust. IT device and use policies should be updated to account for these changes, and even if you're not comfortable allowing unrestricted device and personal information access, offer your users rationale around IT policy decisions to improve compliance.

Business of Insurance

ICMG Finds Interest and Activity in Insurance Strategic Alliances.
ASHBURN, Va. (November 17, 2010) - Two-thirds of life, health and benefits insurance market participants have added revenue to their firms in the past three years by engaging in strategic alliances, according to an industry sample taken by the Inter-Company Marketing Group (ICMG).

Consumer Information

Ontario Government Improving Road Safety.
November 11, 2010 - Starting November 29, a new system will help keep uninsured drivers off Ontario's roads by providing on-the-spot confirmation of insurance when drivers go to renew their licence plate.In Ontario, it is mandatory for all vehicles to have valid insurance coverage.

TIRF National Program Launch - Speak Your Mind - Change the Conversation.
OTTAWA, November 17, 2010 - It?s time to Change the Conversation! The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), arrive alive DRIVE SOBER and Student Life Education Company (SLEC) are pleased to launch a new national education program to reduce impaired driving, Change the Conversation.

Canadian Tire National Survey Uncovers Quirky Winter Driving Habits.
TORONTO, Nov. 17 2010 - In a national survey released today by Canadian Tire, Canadians identified their unusual winter driving habits, with 18 per cent using kitty litter to gain traction on ice; more than a quarter (27 per cent) using a credit card to scrape ice off their windshield; and 38 per cent using sandbags or weights in their trunk to prevent fishtailing, instead of installing winter tires.

TitlePLUS® Essay Contest: $3,000 prize for one real estate law student.
Toronto, November 17, 2010 - One Canadian law student will have an extra $3,000 to put towards his/her education next year: He or she will be the winner of the 2011 TitlePLUS Essay Contest, created by LAWPRO® to encourage and recognize outstanding legal scholarship in the practice of real estate law.

from Doug:

One of the members of the local branch of the heritage group I belong to has run into some problems and the task of finding speakers for our meetings fell by the wayside. I have just taken on that task. Scouting around, one can find a lot of speakers with a suitable topic. I find it wonderful speaking with them as they are often brimming with enthusiasm over what is often their hobby and passion. So many people have such talents that we often never see at work - quite amazing.


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