INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Reimagining The Post-Pandemic Return
As businesses around the world consider how they can return from the torment inflicted by the coronavirus, the Brazil soccer team's journey from failure to triumph during the 1966 World Cup provides food for thought. Making this turnaround required innovation, the building a cohesive team, and leadership. But by reimagining everything, Brazil came back even stronger. Read more.

Specialty Insurers Look To Improve Flexibility Of Distribution, Underwriting: Trends Report
Specialty insurers are now differentiating themselves in a competitive marketplace through investments in distribution (especially new business submission), product development, underwriting, and claims. In a new report, Novarica provides an overview of specialty carriers' business and technology issues, data about the marketplace, and about 20 examples of recent technology investments by specialty carriers. Read more.

Photo Estimate, AI-Supported Claims Accelerate Growth During Pandemic
CCC Information Services is reporting that photo estimates and AI-supported claims have expanded at a record pace, exceeding double-digit growth, since the beginning of the year. The rapid adoption of digital technology is in direct response to social distancing and work-from-home protocols initiated to combat COVID-19. Read more.

IMS Partners With Conversational A.I. Platform Provider SmarTek21
IMS (Insurance & Mobility Solutions), a subsidiary of Trak Global Group (TGG) and one of the world's top three providers of connected car data solutions, is pleased to announce a new partnership with SmarTek21®, an industry leader in accelerating digital evolution and transformation for companies. Read more.

FRISS Partners With Eviid To Prevent Fraud
FRISS is pleased to announce a partnership with eviid, leading provider of innovative evidential video technology to risk conscious businesses. Together FRISS and eviid can help P&C insurers to raise the number of avoided claims and detect manipulations in digital footage in real time. Read more.

Foxquilt Virtual Entrepreneur Summit
Foxquilt usually hosts a quarterly Entrepreneur Summit to provide a place for business owners to learn and network. Due to social distancing amid the global pandemic, Foxquilt is hosting our first virtual Entrepreneur Summit on June 4, focusing on practical business advice about how to Take Advantage of Our New Virtual World. Read more.

Trufla Digital Summit To Explore Broker Strategies
Trufla Technology is excited to announce the launch of their new Digital Summit series, the Amplify Sessions, on June 4-5, to help brokerages across the country with their digital presence, from marketing to operations, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more.

Sun Life & Teladoc Debut Mental Health Navigator
A new Sun Life survey has found that a majority of Canadians feel the COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on their mental health; this is supported by independent Teladoc Health research. To help Clients navigate their mental health issues, Sun Life is offering Mental Health Navigator from Teladoc Health to complement the resources available through Sun Life's Lumino Health. Read more.

U.S. Independent Channel Braces For Coronavirus Economy
The independent agency channel posted an exceptionally strong first quarter (Q1) of 2020, which will help them maintain momentum through the troubled COVID-19 economy, according to Reagan Consulting. Read more.

Pandemic Elevating Customer Expectations
Significant investments in direct-to-consumer website and mobile design have helped P&C insurance companies improve their digital service and shopping experiences. Insurers have made major improvements in clarity of information, but many still struggle to balance too much information against a minimalist approach, according to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study. Read more.

Swiss Re Launches Parametric Hail Solution In U.S.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is pleased to announce it has expanded its parametric offering with the launch of HAIL, a parametric hail insurance cover designed to protect companies in the United States from the financial impact of a significant hail event. Read more.

CSIO Hosts Virtual Governance Meeting
CSIO hosted its 2020 Members' Governance Meeting virtually this week, bringing together industry partners across Canada. The meeting included highlighting the accomplishments achieved by CSIO in 2019, the introduction of a new board member, and remarks from Catherine Smola (President & CEO) and Cam Loeppky (Chairman of the Board of Directors). Collaboration within the industry was a consistent theme. Read more.

Charges In Tow Truck Industry Investigation
York Regional Police have laid charges related to an ongoing joint-forces investigation into the tow truck industry, known as Project Platinum, with the support of Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Read more.

Canadians Relying On Family, Friends For Mental Health Support
Canadians are turning to family and friends to help them manage their mental health as they navigating the pandemic crisis. In a recent survey by Sun Life, more than half of respondents said COVID-19 is negatively impacting their mental health. Of those, less than half are currently seeking treatment or support. Read more.

Optimizing Underwriting Workflows With AI
Webinar — Wednesday, June 3

Industry experts share their insights and experiences deploying the latest artificial intelligence applications to optimize the underwriting workflow and drive higher business value.

Join Element AI, with McKinsey and Groupassur, this Wednesday, June 3, at 11am (ET).

Learn more or sign up for free.

Featuring:

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

Q: How are young people changing the work force and what impact will it have on companies?

A: Young people entering the workforce are introducing new ideas and attitudes, changing the culture of the companies they work in. Any company in this day and age that doesn't offer working remotely is going to find it much harder to successfully recruit younger talent. Young people are demanding practices that encourage a better work/life balance. They think differently about work. Instead of fitting their lives around their work schedules, the new generation wants to do the opposite. They have interests outside of work and want to work at companies that accommodate their needs. This is not about laziness; it's a shifting of priorities. Instead of a work-focused lifestyle that ends in burn-out, young people are looking for an amalgamation of work and life, to make a job more than just a paycheck.

From Doug Real “Artificial” Support As we adjust to work from home, or have started returning to the old normal, there is a lingering question about the future, whether the time frame is three months or three years where will we be when we are “at work”? Meanwhile, digital transformation and innovation continue behind the scenes – perhaps more slowly than before, or possibly much faster. While adjusting to our work station, we need to also absorb changes to what we do, and how. The artificial intelligence toolkit promises to help transform processes, provide better support to each of us, assist with or automate some decisions, and much more. I look forward to the webinar Optimizing Underwriting Workflows With A.I. tomorrow. McKinsey will provide context for AI in P&C Insurance, Element AI will review considerations in commercial lines underwriting, and Groupasssur will describe their project and experience. Join us, and gain a better appreciation for A.I. in P&C insurance. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca