The Chronicle:   Issue 2011-04,   January 25, 2011




Claims

HCAI Becomes Mandatory on February 1, 2011.
January 7, 2011 - Effective February 1, 2011, every health care facility and health care provider that practices in Ontario and mails or delivers any document to which the Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI) September 2010 Guideline - No. 07/10 applies will be deemed to be a Participating Provider . This means that effective February 1, 2011, every Ontario health care facility (and every associated health care provider) that submits OCF-18s, -21s and -23s to insurers in Ontario must do so only through HCAI.

MPI Selects Mitchell TechAdvisor™ for OEM Collision Repair Data.
San Diego, CA-January 10, 2011- Mitchell International, Inc., a leading provider of information, workflow and performance management solutions to the Property & Casualty claims and Collision Repair industries, today announced that Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI)-one of Canada's largest insurers-has selected Mitchell TechAdvisor™ for its source of real-time collision repair reference data for all of its service centres.

CDRG Joined by Master Contract Services Ltd..
Master Contract Services joined the CDRG team in February 2010 and they hit the ground running. MCS dedicated staff of service professionals, led by David Koop, are the heart of the business. Master Contract Services is an active and fully contributing member to the CDRG team. David serves on our national CAT committee and has always provided valuable insight in a timely manner.

FINEOS Customer Wins Model Carrier Award for its Claims System.
Dublin, Ireland, Jan 20, 2011 - FINEOS Corporation, a market leading provider of claims management software solutions for Insurance and Government Insurance, today announced that its customer, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Victoria, Australia, has been named as a 'Model Carrier' by industry analyst, Celent, in the claims category of this year's Model Carrier Report for Asia.

Guidewire Software Selected by Nationwide for Claims Processing.
COLUMBUS, Ohio and SAN MATEO, California, January 19, 2011 - Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide), one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the United States, and Guidewire Software, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty (P/C) insurers, today announced that Nationwide has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims handling system for its P/C business.


eBusiness and Technology

IBM Study: Midsize Businesses Increasing IT Budgets; Investing in Analytics and Cloud Computing.
ARMONK, N.Y. - 14 Jan 2011: More than half of midsize companies are planning to increase their information technology (IT) budgets over the next 12 to 18 months, according to an IBM global study of more than 2,000 midsize companies representing more than 20 countries. As a result, these companies are investing in a wide range of priorities including analytics, cloud computing, collaboration, mobility and customer relationship solutions.

Managing Relationships and Customer Service

Ward Group Study: Insurance Electronic Billing Practices Slow to Take Hold.
December 8, 2010 - CINCINNATI - Ward Group®, the leading provider of benchmarking and research studies to the insurance industry, recently published its findings from an in-depth study of billing and collections practices for insurance companies.

Marketing and the Market Place

eMarketer: Insurers Slowly Move to the Web.
Michael Costonis manages Accenture's insurance practice for North America. Costonis spoke to eMarketer's Lauren McKay about what insurance customers need today and how providers are stepping up to meet these demands.

eMarketer: Insurance Marketing Gets a Digital Makeover.
JANUARY 19, 2011 - The weakness of the economy for the past few years has positioned the insurance industry for growth. During the downturn, ultra-price-sensitive consumers and businesses became more likely to comparison shop and delay insurance purchases. The resulting competition among insurers fueled a host of innovations and improvements in how industry players leverage technology.

eMarketer: Nationwide Explores Emerging Online Tactics.
JANUARY 21, 2011 - At Nationwide, Shawn Morton is focused on bringing emerging areas such as social media, mobile marketing and gaming to the forefront. Morton spoke to eMarketer's Lauren McKay about the significance of online channels to Nationwide's growth and customer relationships.


Reference and Statistics

FSCO: Auto Insurance Rates for the Fourth Quarter of 2010.
The Government passed regulations to enact auto insurance reforms effective September 1, 2010. These reforms are designed to reduce excess assessment costs in the auto insurance system and ensure more accident benefit dollars go to treating people injured in auto accidents.

Business of Insurance

Great-West Life launches new simplified group retirement and savings plan for smaller businesses to help Canadians save for retirement.
LONDON, ON, Jan. 13, 2011 - The Great-West Life Assurance Company today launched a simplified group retirement and savings plan designed for businesses with fewer than 35 employees, who want to offer their employees a convenient way to save for retirement.

CIGNA Expands Expatriate Benefits Network in Africa.
CLAYMONT, Del., January 12, 2011 - CIGNA (NYSE:CI), the global leader in expatriate benefits, has added 500 doctors and hospitals to its CIGNALinks® networks in Egypt and Nigeria through a new alliance with Medical Services Organisation based in South Africa. This brings the CIGNA network in Africa to 47,500 health care professionals and facilities ready to serve the globally mobile workforce and their families.

Consumer Information

Sun Life study shows half of all Canadians not making health a priority .
TORONTO, Jan. 18 2011 - According to the Sun Life Canadian Health Index(TM) almost half of Canadians (45 per cent) don't have health near the top of their priority list and in some cases, it's not on the list at all. Overconfident or overextended may not be words we normally associate with our health, but that's what analysis of the data revealed when it comes to Canadians concentrating on their well-being.

IBAO Brokers Urge Ontario Motorists to Drive Safely on Dangerous Winter Roads.
(Toronto, Ontario), January 18th, 2011. Today, the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) is reminding Ontario motorists to exercise caution when driving on the province?s icy roads this winter.Recent winter storm weather has made Ontario roads increasingly dangerous, resulting in a number of fatal vehicle collisions.

from Doug:

A sad time this week in our family. Although she suffered from increasing dementia for a few years, Mom lived in a senior's residence with Dad until a fracture and a second medical condition put her in hospital at the end of Sept. A stay initially expected to be brief became longer when the Doctors decided she should go to Long Term Care, where she arrived at the beginning of Nov. The challenges continued and in early January they applied for a hospice room where she arrived on Jan 13. Rather unexpectedly the call came last Friday that she was deteriorating rapidly. Mom passed away on Sunday afternoon, with family at her side. After wandering the maze of dementia, she has found peace.


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