The Chronicle: Issue 2015-48, December 1, 2015


What's Going Through The Intersection of Insurance and Technology?

Selective Innovation: Reason for Celebration or Contradiction in Terms?
Criticizing insurers for their lack of innovation and technical progress has been a sport for at least three decades. The most recent focuses on “digital transformation.” The reality is that many insurers are very innovative, but not always focused on organizational transformation. As an industry, are we missing the boat?

Whose Biz? uBiz!
Small commercial business is highly competitive. While the majority of the business continues to be written by brokers, direct writers and direct marketers are making inroads, primarily because of their ability to process the business quickly and efficiently. Gore Mutual recently announced an offering which provides efficiency, effectiveness, and the value of an independent broker.

7 Essential Technologies for Engaging Insurance Customers, by Kevin Haydon, EIS Group
You got the email. “We need to improve our customer experience. Our conversion and retention numbers are down. What can you do?” In fact, you got several emails and briefings from marketing and line-of-business leaders, and you were copied on a complaint from a key producer citing frustrated policyholders. You know what it will take, but how do you explain in a simple and concise way to peers that it will entail a whole new level of integration between your sales, marketing, and core systems?

The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog
The Intersection

an Insurance-Canada.ca Blog


Business of Insurance

Swiss Re: A strengthening economy to support insurance industry growth
The global economy is expected to strengthen moderately next year, supporting insurance premium growth in most regions, according to Swiss Re's latest publication, Global insurance review 2015 and outlook 2016/17. Demand for non-life insurance is expected to grow, led by an 8% to 9% annual gain in the emerging markets in 2016 and 2017. The life insurance sector faces challenges, in particular from ongoing low interest rates. Nevertheless, global life premiums are forecast to rise by about 4% in each of the next two years, led also by the emerging markets.

IBC steps up to contribute to a national flood program
Insurance Bureau of Canada has outlined the significant costs of climate change to Canadian taxpayers, governments and businesses and for the first time has called for a collaborative national flood program to be led by the private sector. As world leaders convene in Paris for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, a topic of discussion will be the costs of climate change. Globally, the annual economic costs of disasters have increased five-fold since the 1980s, and Canada has not been immune to these costs.

Intact donation launches University of Waterloo climate change centre
Intact Financial Corporation and the University of Waterloo have announced the creation of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. The centre will focus on research and building awareness for innovative adaptation solutions to climate change risks facing Canadian homeowners, communities, industries and governments. The ICCA, based in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, will be an incubator for new adaptation measures to climate change. Under its aegis, university researchers, consultants, industry specialists and NGOs will monitor applied research developments, conduct their own research, and mobilize adaptation technologies and practices.

The Co-operators discloses carbon footprint of equity investments
The Co-operators is the first Canadian insurance company to sign on to the Montreal Carbon Pledge to publicly disclose the carbon footprints of its equity portfolios. By signing the Pledge, organizations commit to annually measure and disclose their investments' carbon footprints as part of an effort to better understand the investment implications of climate change. The Montreal Carbon Pledge was launched in September 2014 and is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the Principles for Responsible Investment. More than 100 organizations from around the world have now signed on, and 2015 is the first year they are required to disclose the carbon footprints of their equity portfolios.

Policy Management

IBC selects LexisNexis as lead vendor for National Flood Program initiative
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data, analytics and technology to help organizations predict and manage risk, has announced that the Insurance Bureau of Canada has selected the company as the lead partner to help it develop and manage its flood risk and exposure assessment initiative for Canada. As a result of record flood losses in 2013 and the increasing threat of climate change, IBC has been tasked by the industry to accurately quantify the extent of flood risk and exposure in Canada. The goal of the initiative is to help IBC, its members and government stakeholders further explore the industry's role in mitigating flood risk through the creation of a national flood program.

Distribution

e-SignLive to provide e-signatures for Equitable Life's upcoming online application
e-SignLive by Silanis, the e-signature choice for business, has announced that Equitable Life of Canada will use e-SignLive e-signatures in its new online application, expected in early 2016. By adding e-SignLive e-signatures to the online application process, Equitable Life expects to make the sales process even more efficient. Equitable Life's main goal is to make it even more efficient for advisors to walk their clients through the application process, as well as to eliminate paper.

L'Unique General Insurance obtains CSIO certification for commercial lines eDocs
The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) is pleased to announce that L'Unique General Insurance has obtained CSIO Certification for both Personal and Commercial Lines eDocs. CSIO Certification is available to member companies and vendors. eDocs for personal lines has been available for certification since September 2013, with the recent additions of eDocs for commercial lines and eDelivery as the second and third business activities available for certification.

Marketing

eMarketer: Internet of Things market set to grow in Canada
Marketers in 2016 will turn to creative new applications of technology to gain the attention of consumers, already deluged with brand messages. Data crunching will be an essential marketing skill in 2016, and a major reason is the internet of things (IoT), with the vast amounts of new consumer data it provides. If marketers interpret this source correctly, they will cut down on guesswork and more effectively target consumers, delivering more relevant, contextual marketing messages.

Consumer Information

FCAC: Most Canadians lack a personal financial budget
Canada's Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney has released Managing Money and Planning for the Future: Key Findings from the 2014 Canadian Financial Capability Survey at the University of Toronto's Financial Literacy & Financial Well-Being Forum. The report offers insights on Canadians' knowledge, abilities and behaviours when it comes to managing money and debt wisely, as well as planning and saving for the future. The study concluded that many Canadians can improve their financial well-being by the simple act of following a budget.

SGI: Saskatchewan government rewards safe driving with auto insurance discounts
The Saskatchewan Government has approved a number of recommendations put forward by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) for changes to its Safe Driver Recognition program. The changes are in response to customer input and analysis undertaken by SGI over the past few years. The changes will be implemented mid-2016, following regulatory changes.

Allstate Canada study finds collisions on the rise
The seventh-annual Allstate Insurance Company of Canada Safe Driving Study has revealed that collisions are on the rise across the country. The Safe Driving Study uses Allstate Canada data to track collision frequency among Allstate Canada customers in Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. Using this data, Allstate was able to rank 81 cities across the country based on collision frequency. The community with the highest frequency in collisions was Halifax.


Subscribe here or view past issues.