INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Measured Approach To April Renewals
Reinsurers took a measured approach to the April renewals, which saw significant rate increases on loss-affected accounts and more modest rises on loss-free business. The global reinsurance sector smoothly moved to the new working-from-home model following the COVID-19 outbreak and was able to provide uninterrupted service, according to the latest 1st View renewals report from Willis Re. Read more.

Antigonish Farmers' Mutual Goes Live In The Cloud
With the assistance of their technology partners Cognition+ and iVedha, Antigonish Farmers' Mutual has successfully implemented a cloud-based solution for their complete business operations, enabling a 'Work from Home' strategy to ensure service to their community and policyholders. Read more.

Sapiens, Splice Partner To Automate Customer Communications & Boost Engagement
Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, is pleased to announce it is partnering with SPLICE Software, an InsurTech company that specializes in using big and small data, and voice technologies, to drive customer engagement. Read more.

Majesco Acquires InsPro Technologies
Majesco, a leading cloud and SaaS provider for insurance businesses, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of InsPro Technologies Corporation, a US-based software leader in the life and annuity insurance market. Read more.

Til-Ka Construction joins DKI Canada
DKI Canada is pleased to announce that Til-Ka Construction has joined DKI. Based in Thunder Bay, Til-Ka Construction provides full property restoration services in the surrounding region. Read more.

NWT Approves Electronic Proof Of Auto Insurance
The Northwest Territories has approved the use of Electronic Proof of Auto Insurance, or eSlips. This allows drivers in the territory to digitally store and present their eSlips when required, without having to carry the paper copy. This change is effective immediately. Read more.

Dacadoo Enhances Manulife Asia Health Platform
Manulife is pleased to announce its collaboration with dacadoo, a Swiss-based global digital health platform provider to enhance the company's digital offerings in Asia. Under this new partnership, dacadoo will strengthen Manulife's existing health engagement platform, ManulifeMOVE, to enable customers to more easily understand their health and be guided to develop healthier habits. Read more.

EQ Care To Power Hub's Health Platform
EQ Care, Canada's pioneer in telemedicine, is pleased to announce that its virtual health platform will be integrated into a care management and navigation service provided by Hub International, one of the world's largest insurance brokerages, to workforces across Canada. Read more.

INSURANCE & CORONAVIRUS NEWS

Pandemic Exposes Outdated Risk Management Practices: Gartner
Organizations' current approach to risk governance is not sufficient to tackle the complex risk environment organizations are facing today, and the pandemic is just the latest in a line of risk events illustrating how organizations are not properly set up to manage risks – especially fast-moving ones. Read more.

AIR Worldwide Updates COVID-19 Estimates
Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has released updated global estimates for COVID-19 infections as the outbreak in the United States eclipses both China and Italy. Read more.

MIS Launches COVID-19 Intelligence Dashboard
Imagery and geospatial intelligence consultancy firm McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) has unveiled the world's first re/insurance industry-specific COVID-19 interactive incident dashboard. MIS has been curating data since the outbreak began, and various datasets are available to examine in real-time. Read more.

Mitchell & Whale Shares Pandemic FAQs
Mitchell & Whale has built a public, searchable database to help brokers and customers easily get answers to their pressing questions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more.

Sun Life Launches Free Virtual Health Care For Group Benefits Clients
As Canada and its health care system contend with the pandemic, Sun Life is rolling out free access to virtual health care services for its Group Benefits Clients with an Extended Health Care benefit in order to provide clients with enhanced medical support while social distancing. In partnership with Dialogue, clients will be able to use the virtual clinic to connect directly with a health care professional. Read more.

Aviva Canada Unveils COVID-19 Support Package
Aviva Canada has pledged to support Canadians with an extensive pandemic relief package, ranging from cash donations and flexible payment options for vulnerable customers to free roadside assistance for healthcare workers. Read more.

Aon Rallies London Market To e-Trade During Coronavirus Pandemic
Aon plc is pleased to announce it has enhanced its reinsurer trading portal to electronically bind treaty placements with Lloyd's of London and International Underwriting Association (IUA) markets from April 1 renewals. The new bind feature enables Lloyd's and IUA markets to complete and bind Aon's treaty reinsurance placements without the need for face-to-face meetings. Read more.

Gore Mutual Matching Charitable Donations
CanadaHelps, in partnership with Gore Mutual Foundation, is making it possible for Canadians to double the impact of their charitable donations. Canadians can support broad pandemic response efforts in Canada through a newly launched CanadaHelps COVID-19 fund, and each donation will be doubled by Gore Mutual Foundation which has committed $2 million in matching funds. Read more.

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Free Webinar, Today at 2pm:
Improving Auto Claims With Analytics

Within auto claims, the process of determining whether a vehicle is repairable or should be scrapped can be a very stressful period for the customer.

Join us this afternoon at 2pm to hear about how Aviva Canada tackled this issue by integrating real-time predictive analytics into the process.

If you can't attend live, the webinar recording will be available on-demand afterward.

Featuring:

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

HealthyVoyage
HealthyVoyage – Virtual Travel Health, right at your fingertips. HealthyVoyage makes sure travelers are well equipped for their journey, reducing risk through prevention. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

We asked some of the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto for their outlook on the industry...

Q: How do you see upcoming technology landscape changing the insurance industry or propelling it into the future?

A: Looking at how tech is going to change the industry doesn't take a crystal ball. Currently, the industry is at nearly analog levels, so basic development makes companies stand out relative to their peers. In this immediate environment, interest rate pressure on investment income is driving companies to look at margins. There is an opportunity for tech to be integrated at every level of the insurance ecosystem. Carriers have begun to drive this investment in Canada through direct writing platforms. They have an advantage, because they can use their data (assuming they gain mass adoption amongst the public). Most companies don't have their data in a workable format. Until companies are able to leverage their data and apply it against holistic processes, we – as an industry – will continue to put band-aids on flesh wounds. Tech advancements are coming at breakneck speed. Planning and education should outweigh fear.

From Doug We are more than a month into a new and different world in which every Canadian has felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope for a return to “normal” ... “soon.” For many in insurance – an essential service – business carries on. What has changed for you? Customer engagement: With more time on their hands, are customers more engaged now – or less so, because other challenges are more pressing than before? Distribution: Has the perceived value of a broker's local presence, unbiased advice, "representing" the customer, choice been enhanced? Claims: How much more difficult is it today to say "Sorry, your loss is not insured." Digital Transformation: More of us are doing more things digitally. Will this accelerate our industry's transformation? Innovation: If necessity is the mother of invention, will we see more investment in innovation? We will emerge from this rather slowly, I suspect, to guard against a second wave of infections. How many of our adjustments will stick? For now, be safe, keep your distance, and stay healthy. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca