INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

IoT To Unleash More Insurance Innovation
The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to increase complexity and amplify risk, but it could also enable more innovation throughout the entire insurance value chain, including the way claims are settled in future, according to new research from Lloyd’s. Read more.

Global Economic Growth Slowing: Swiss Re
Global economic growth will remain strong over the next two years, although momentum has peaked. Swiss Re Institute's latest sigma report indicates that still-positive economic momentum will support the insurance sector, with global premiums up more than 3% annually over the next two years in real terms, an increase of one percentage point from 2018. Read more.

Risk Management Function Must Evolve
As technology and ongoing competitive disruption force banks to reinvent themselves, the risk management function must undergo a revolution in risk management professionals balancing their roles and operating models, according to the ninth annual global bank risk management survey. Read more.

Sonnet Launches Online Insurance Purchase
Sonnet Insurance is proud to join Kanetix.ca as the only Canadian insurer that allows Kanetix.ca users to not just quote, but buy home and auto insurance online. Sonnet launched in 2016 as Canada's first national fully-online insurance provider, and now extends that offering to customers using the one-stop shopping platform Kanetix.ca. Read more.

On-Demand Rental Coverage Continues Rollout
duuo by co-operators™, The Co-operators new digital insurance brand, is pleased to announce it has made its on-demand, pay-per-use insurance solution available to short-term rental hosts in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Read more.

Humania Assurance Creates New InsurTech
Humania Assurance has announced it has just created a new internal start-up, Lead2action.ca. Its technology is based on two key marketing functions: targeting process and personalized communication. Read more.

KixPay, ClientDesk Launch Mobile Payments
KixPay has partnered with ClientDesk to boost the availability of mobile payment processing through mobile apps and web-based client portals to address the growing demand from policyholders looking for fast, secure and convenient mobile payment options. This collaborative offering is fully integrated with Power Broker to provide unparalleled connection and reconciliation capabilities. Read more.

Aon Launches Intangible Asset Insurance Cover
Aon plc has announced the launch of a new Non-Damage Business Interruption cover to protect the income streams of companies with high levels of intangible assets. NDBI policies protect companies' revenues against business interruption costs that result from an event where there is no physical damage. For an increasing number of firms, physical damage is a lesser risk priority than risks related to income streams and cash flows. Read more.

Bridges Insurance Selects Applied To Transform
Applied Systems has announced that Bridges Insurance Brokers has selected Applied's Digital Broker® software to digitally transform. In becoming a digital broker, Bridges Insurance will utilize a cloud-based, foundational broker management system to provide a single view of the business across all lines of business, integrated with customer self-service software to provide a connected customer experience. Read more.

Burns & Wilcox Partners With BreachAware
Burns & Wilcox, North America's leading wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager, has announced an exclusive partnership with London-based BreachAware, a cyber-security company specializing in data breach research and analysis. Read more.

Manulife Vitality To Make Canadians Healthier
Manulife is taking a stand on improving employee health in Canada by giving millions of group benefits employees access to the largest behavioural change platform in the world – starting this spring. The Vitality platform has been proven to help prevent chronic diseases, which account for about 88 per cent of all deaths in Canada. Read more.

CSIO Commercial Lines Minimum Data Set Ready
The minimum data set for CSIO XML standards in commercial lines has been finalized, paving the way for implementation of commercial data standards in the broker channel. Read more.

Canadians Pick Coffee Over Financial Security
Almost three-quarters of Canadians aged 25-50 are losing sleep over their financial situation, an RBC Insurance poll reveals. But despite their concerns, relatively few Canadians are willing to forego specific luxuries or conveniences when presented with the option of gaining increased financial security through life insurance. Read more.

CLHIA Updates Compensation Disclosure
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has completed in-depth consultations on its Guideline G19 on Compensation Disclosure in Group Benefits and Group Retirement Services. Based on the feedback from advisors, the CLHIA is pleased to announce a number of changes to key elements of the Guideline. Read more.

17th annual Technology Conference
“A New Insurance Order”
Feb. 26-27, 2019 — Beanfield Centre, Toronto

The insurance world is morphing. As traditional participants bring the InsurTech principles - digital when practical, innovative culture, customer focus, new technologies - to bear, the customer becomes the ultimate winner. Insurance becomes just part of living and losses are prevented, not just protected.

Explore aspects of this evolution at ICTC2019. Mark your calendar for February 26 & 27. Registration will open shortly and early-bird rates will be in effect for the rest of the year. Join us to learn and celebrate.

Visit insurance-canada.ca/ictc for complete details.

Deadline: Friday, November 30

Celebrate those who have used technology in innovative ways to take their insurance business to a new level.

If you haven't yet submitted an ICTA nomination, you have still three days to do so. Join those who are being celebrated. “Do the ICTA” – reward your team and highlight your success.

Visit insurance-canada.ca/icta for complete details.

From Doug Our MGA Symposium, “Technology: The Heart of Your Enterprise” is in progress as this newsletter is published. It has been a learning experience for me. I have worked for many years with the insurance industry in Canada, but never much with the MGA sector. It is one with great diversity. As we develop the program for the annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference in three months' time, some of the learnings from this MGA experience will influence the content. ICTC2019: A New Insurance Order will take place February 26 & 27, 2019. A blog post by Sherif Gemayel grabbed my attention: “DATA​: The Common Denominator.” As the Canadian Broker distribution network continues to innovate and drive towards much improved transaction connectivity, leaders are looking beyond. With data as the new gold, is there an opportunity to take the competitiveness of this channel to a whole new level? If data is a key to that progress, then removing the many restrictions – technical, procedural, and political, too – is a new challenge. This would make an interesting topic for ICTC2019. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca