INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Consumer Expectations Rising: Majesco
Majesco, a global leader of cloud insurance software solutions for insurance business transformation, has released a new thought leadership report which underscores why insurers must rapidly shift to a new era of insurance for growth and retention of customers. Read more.

Trends Among Large Commercial Brokers
Large commercial brokers are prioritizing workflow, analytics, and AI technologies to differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. In a new report, research and advisory firm Novarica provides an overview of large commercial brokers' business and technology issues, data about the marketplace, and several examples of recent technology investments by large commercial brokers. Read more.

Innovative CMOs Create Superior Business Value
A small number of innovative chief marketing officers are helping their organizations generate shareholder returns 11 percent higher than those of their industry peers by delivering hyper-relevant customer experiences, according to a new report from Accenture. Read more.

Slice Labs Inc. Launches Slice Mind
Slice Labs has announced Slice Mind, a new business unit to help companies with personalization, experimentation, simulations, predictions, risk modeling, and product recommendations. Slice Mind combines AI, machine learning and behavioral psychology into an insight engine that transforms data insights into actions in order to deliver real business value. Read more.

Marsh Launches Cyber Catalyst
Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and innovative risk management solutions, has announced the launch of Cyber Catalyst by Marsh, a new way to assist organizations in making more informed choices about cybersecurity products and services to manage cyber risk. Read more.

Intelligent Automation Adoption Powers Success
According to KPMG International's new global survey, most enterprises are not scaling Intelligent Automation (IA) technologies – AI, advanced analytics, and RPA – fast enough to meet desired objectives and returns. But organizations that are scaling IA technologies are seeing strong financial performance. Read more.

Process, Not Just Tech, Impacts Speed To Market
Insurers are under pressure to seize new market opportunities, and new research indicates that poor business processes can be just as much of an obstacle as poor technology. In two new studies, research and advisory firm Novarica provides high-level benchmark information on product introduction and modification speed, analyzing which factors correlate to faster or slower total cycle times. Read more.

Life PAS Vendors' Data Integration Capabilities
The latest Aite Group report examines the life insurance and annuity core policy administration vendors in North America, with a focus on the integration capabilities of external third-party data and usage of API frameworks. The ability to seamlessly integrate internally and externally, with minimal effort, is key to the success of these platforms. Read more.

Archway Insurance Moves Into Saint John
Archway Insurance, one of Atlantic Canada's largest and fastest growing insurance brokerages, is expanding its footprint in New Brunswick with the purchase of Hall and Fairweather Insurance in Saint John, effective April 1st. Read more.

My Mutual Implements MCCG Business Solution
My Mutual Insurance successfully completed their implementation of the Insurance Business Solution (IBS) as their enterprise back-office. The IBS product provides My Mutual with a fully integrated solution for their insurance operations including a technology path as they welcome digital changes in the industry. Read more.

Automation + Empathy = Customer Satisfaction
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions has released its 2019 “Future of Claims” report, revealing strong alignment between insurance carrier practices and consumer desires bringing opportunities to expand in automation for greater mutual benefit. With automation becoming more pervasive, consumers expect insurers to offer easy digital access to products and services – but they also want a personal touch. Read more.

GCU Deploys Equisoft Cloud Offering
Equisoft and GCU are pleased to announce the signing of a multi-year agreement that will allow GCU to consolidate all lines of business on a single, modern and agile policy administration system and offer an enhanced digital experience. The project will be deployed using the Equisoft Composite Cloud offering. Read more.

Aviva, The Hartford Offer Cross-Border Services
Aviva Canada is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with The Hartford, a leading U.S. insurer, to support the full service and strategic requirements of our Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) and Large Commercial insurance clients and brokers in Canada with operations and assets in the United States. Read more.

Sun Life Launches Extended Health Coverage
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is proud to offer gender affirmation coverage through Extended Health Care plans. Everyone experiences gender in their own unique way, for some this may mean being born a male but identifying as a female – or vice versa. Sun Life's extended coverage will help people transitioning embody their authentic selves. Read more.

Finaeo Secures Funding To Transform Distribution
Finaeo has announced an oversubscribed funding round led by fintech-focused investor Luge Capital with follow-on participation from all previous major investors, including Impression Ventures and iGan Partners. The diverse group of investors provides Finaeo unparalleled access to both strong capital partners and industry support. Read more.

J.D. Power Home Insurance Satisfaction Study
When it comes to addressing insurance pain points of homeowners in Canada, insurance companies are falling short in meeting their expectations, according to the J.D. Power 2019 Canada Home Insurance Satisfaction Study. Read more.

The InsurTech Spotlight features insurance practitioners and InsurTech(nology) providers which are – or are becoming – InsurTechs. In the spotlight this week are:

Bobtrak
BobTrak builds enterprise software for Insurance and Financial Services providers to help them manage and analyze their distribution channels' books of business. BobTrak maintains date-effective servicing relationships, allocates transactions to the correct producer hierarchies, aggregates values across time, and calculates commissions and bonuses. Learn more.

ClientDesk
One of Canada's leading software platforms for independent insurance brokerages, ClientDesk powers core functions of the digital insurance experience, such as engagement, self-service, and claims management. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

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From Doug Continuing the “insurance platform” theme from last week, a look at basic implementation. Many refer to their own processing system(s) as their processing “platform.” In this definition, a platform describes an entity's technology stack of hardware and software, whether on-premises, outsourced, or in the cloud. The entity controls and manages the functionality and processes. In the case of an organisation dealing with the end customer directly or through an intermediary, the users could be staff, a representative or the customer directly. Direct writers with consumers and brokers with insurers, etc. Today the most common usage would be through portals of one type or another. Other firms well may be connected to digitally submit transactions system-to-system. A broker to an insurer connected by an API; a drive-in claims centre reporting a FNOL through an API. The main entity almost certainly then uses other services which operate on their own platforms to request additional information or to validate information – peril scores, prior claims, credit checks – by some API connection; the list of available data sources, the types of date and the purposes seem to increase almost daily. Next week we look at extending the reach of one's platform. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca