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JANUARY 21, 2020

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INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Cyber Leads Global Business Risks For First Time
For the first time ever, cyber incidents are ranked as the most important business risk globally, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2020, relegating Business interruption (BI) to second place. Awareness of cyber threats has grown rapidly: seven years ago, cyber risks ranked 15th. Read more.

Keeping Pace With Expectations For A.I.
In the next decade, artificial intelligence will broadly impact daily business operations and provide tangible benefits to employees and consumers, according to a new study from KPMG LLP. But before realizing AI's true potential, industries and enterprises must navigate various challenges in order to increase adoption and deployment. Read more.

WEF Releases 2020 Global Risks Report
Economic and political polarization will rise this year, as collaboration between world leaders, businesses and policy-makers is needed more than ever to stop severe threats to our climate, environment, public health and technology systems. This points to a clear need for a multistakeholder approach to mitigating risk at a time when the world cannot wait for the fog of geopolitical disorder to lift. These are the findings of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2020. Read more.

Insurers Actively Adopting Emerging Technology
In its latest report, Novarica analyzes a study of insurer CIOs and tracks deployment and pilot plans across 11 emerging technology areas: APIs/microservices, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data, blockchain, chatbots, drones, robotic process automation, smart assistants, telematics and IoT, as well as wearables. Read more.

“Conversation Threads For 2020”: Sedgwick
Sedgwick, a leading global provider of technology-enabled risk, benefits and integrated business solutions, has introduced a list of “Conversation threads for 2020,” which highlights the topics and trends that employers, risk management and human resource professionals, and carriers should watch for in the new year. Read more.

Majesco Expands Digital1st Capabilities
Majesco, a global leader of cloud insurance software solutions for insurance business transformation, has announced the availability of expanded capabilities of Majesco Digital1st Insurance® to evolve and accelerate insurers' business and technology models in their digital transformation. Read more.

Apollo, Navacord Partner On Digital Purchasing
Apollo has partnered with Navacord Corp., a leading Canadian insurance and risk management brokerage, to provide innovative products and technology to its insurance professionals across Canada. Navacord will begin to utilize the Apollo Exchange technology platform that enables brokers to instantly transact insurance online. Read more.

John Hancock, Human API Join Forces
John Hancock is pleased to announce a major step forward in significantly streamlining the life insurance buying experience through a strategic collaboration with Human API, a leading health data platform, offering a simple, digital way for consumers to share access to their electronic health records in real-time. Read more.

Davies, Keoghs Sign Deal To Form Powerhouse
Davies, the leading specialist professional services and technology firm, is pleased to announce a significant move into the insurance legal services sector, with Keoghs, the insurance-focused, top-50 law firm, set to join the group. Read more.

Markel Partners With Interpodia Technology
Markel Canada Limited, the division of Markel International that provides insurance solutions for commercial liability needs across Canada, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Interpodia Technology to increase compliance and mitigate risk in Canadian sport. Read more.

CapriCMW Insurance Acquires Whitehorse Office
CapriCMW Insurance Services Ltd., one of Western Canada's leading independent brokerages, is pleased to announce its expansion into the Yukon Territory with the acquisition of a new office in Whitehorse. As part of this acquisition from Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc., this longstanding office with its experienced team of insurance professionals will begin operating as CapriCMW, effective March 2nd. Read more.

Agile Underwriting Expands Into Western Canada
Agile Underwriting Solutions is pleased to announce its expansion across Canada with the opening of a new office location in Burnaby, British Columbia, and the appointment of Mashood Ali as Vice President for Western Canada. Read more.

Sedgwick Acquires G&E Enterprises
Sedgwick, a leading global provider of technology-enabled risk, benefits and integrated business solutions, is pleased to announce its acquisition of G&E Enterprises, provider of the software-as-a-service offering T&M Pro, a premier billing and data management system for insurance restoration contracting. Read more.

Wawanesa Implements CSIO Solution
Wawanesa Insurance, Canada's largest property and casualty mutual insurer, has successfully implemented CSIO's My Proof of Insurance (MPOI). Wawanesa's broker partners in Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia can now send electronic pink slips directly to their customers using the MPOI solution. Read more.

2019 Saw Underwriting Gains, Record Surplus
The private U.S. property/casualty insurance industry saw its net underwriting gains increase in the first nine months of 2019, bolstered by growth in premiums and a drop in catastrophe losses, and its surplus reach a record high, according to Verisk and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Read more.

Q4 Global Net Catastrophe Loss Estimates
Chubb Limited has announced net catastrophe loss estimates for the fourth quarter of 2019. The losses are primarily attributable to severe weather-related events around the globe. Read more.

Messagepoint Touchpoint Exchange Version 4.0
Messagepoint Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of version 4.0 of the Messagepoint Touchpoint Exchange for Medicare, a SaaS solution for Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) that automates much of the document creation and annual update process for Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), Evidence of Coverage (EOC) and Summary of Benefits (SB) documents. Read more.

Accenture Opens Intelligent Operations Center
Accenture is pleased to announce it has opened an intelligent operations center in the Niagara region to serve as the hub for its newly launched intelligent sales and customer operations business. Read more.

Slice, SOMPO Launch On-Demand Travel Product
Slice Labs Inc., the first on-demand insurance platform, and Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte. Ltd., part of top international insurer Sompo Holdings, have released an enhanced version of the TravelJoy travel insurance product in Thailand using social distribution through an electronic communications platform to make on-demand trip protection services available to 44 million users in the country. Read more.

U.S. Worksite Wellness Programs: Time to Connect
As consumers have become more tech-savvy and connected device usage grows, group voluntary benefit providers (such as life insurance carriers) can develop worksite-based loyalty and wellness programs in support of employers' need to be competitive while also gaining insights to consumer health and behavior. Aite Group's latest report explores the appeal of various programs that offer rewards and benefits in exchange for employees' information. Read more.


The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog

What's going through the Intersection
of insurance and technology?

Artificial Intelligence In Insurance: Overhyped Or Underestimated?
By Mark Breading, Strategy Meets Action
Technologies in the artificial intelligence family have great potential in insurance, according to a recent SMA survey of P&C executives, which should come as no surprise. After a long and varied history of AI technologies, we are now on the verge of the golden age of AI. Or at least that's the storyline most have bought into. But in the context of the insurance industry, is the potential of AI overhyped? Or, despite all the enthusiasm, is the ultimate impact perhaps even underestimated? Read more.


ICTA NOMINATIONS

Crawford Streamlines Claims With Self-Service
Crawford's YouGoLook self-service app makes it easy for anyone to submit their own photographs related to their insurance claim. Crawford's Vehicle Services team leveraged the technology to accelerate the industry shift from field-based appraisals of damaged automobiles to desk-based appraisals. This technology has eliminated travel time, lowered costs, and reduced time to complete an appraisal. Read more.

Storm Insurance Builds Out Its Digital Strategy
In 2019, Storm Insurance Group, a national multi-distribution insurance solutions company, set out to accelerate its digital insurance business strategy with help from its own, in-house Innovation Hub – designed not only to automate, but to innovate. Read more.

Aviva Improves Auto Claims With Analytics Tool
Aviva Canada deployed a real-time analytics service to help claims adjusters decide rapidly at first notice of loss if damaged vehicles are likely to be repairable or total losses. The new service, deployed on Aviva's data science platform, leverages data and predictive analytics via API called directly from the Guidewire ClaimCenter user interface. The new tool and supporting technical innovations have decreased costs and improved customer satisfaction. Read more.

Discover the winners at ICTC2020!


ICTC2020: “20/20 Foresight: Keys To Success in a Dynamic World” — 18th annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference — Feb. 25-26, 2020, at the Beanfield Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

“20/20 Foresight:
Keys To Success in a Dynamic World”

Feb. 25-26, 2020, in Toronto

InsurTechs have been, and continue to be, a key part of the rapid transformation and innovation in insurance. At ICTC2020, a panel of high-profile InsurTech leaders will discuss how they are “Winning in the Marketplace.”

Hear from:
Ron Glozman, Founder & CEO, Chisel AI
Jiten Puri, CEO & Founder, PolicyAdvisor.com
Danish Yusuf, CEO & Co-Founder, Zensurance

Whether you are an incumbent in the process of transforming into an InsurTech or a startup insurance practitioner or technology provider, learn from these innovators as they discuss success factors for InsurTechs, from ideation through the many stages to successfully competing in the marketplace.

Register Now!

Mark your calendar now for Feb. 25-26, 2020:

Visit insurance-canada.ca/ictc for more information.


Insurance Works

Featured job opportunities:

Registered Insurance Broker/CSR
D.B. Thomas Insurance Brokers Inc.
Burlington, ON

Vice President, Corporate Business Development
SGI
Edmonton, AB


From Doug

Claims: MIA?

In my younger days, I worked at a technology vendor where a sizable group of us focused on the insurance industry. A colleague noted that 20% of P&C insurance revenue was being spent on marketing and distribution, but 70% was spent on claims. From an IT perspective, IT expenses were the opposite – 80% on the front end and 20% on the back end.

It may well have made sense then, because if you didn't get the business in the door, you wouldn't have any claims to settle anyway.

But in the social media age, with much greater focus on the customer – both experience and satisfactionclaims seems to be getting much more attention.

That said, the first eight ICTA nominations revealed did not reflect that: six are in the quoting, binding, issue space, directly or in support of brokers.

The remaining two are unique among the nominations: One addresses work flow management including the opportunity for participants to identify opportunities of self-improvement. The other tackles the approach to transforming into an "InsurTech" with repeatable processes.

Two of the latest nominations – above – have swung the balance a bit.

Next week's Chronicle will feature the last five nominees.

Doug Grant, CIP
Partner
Insurance-Canada.ca

Doug Grant

The Chronicle weekly newsletter features news, events, and general information relating to technology and innovation in the Canadian insurance industry and marketplace. Subscribe here or view past issues.

If you would like to recommend an item for inclusion – with a focus on technology in insurance relevant to the Canadian Property & Casualty insurance industry – please contact [email protected].

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