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FEBRUARY 27, 2024

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INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Canadians Warm Up To Their Insurance Providers, But Myriad Challenges Remain: Ipsos
The Canadian insurance industry underwent a substantial shift in its performance in 2023. Despite some regional variations, the overall sentiment of the industry reflected a significant improvement, with a tangible advancement in customer sentiment across the broader Canadian insurance landscape. Read more.

Coalition Releases Cyber Threat Index 2024
Coalition, the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, has published its Cyber Threat Index 2024, detailing insights on cybersecurity trends from 2023 and emerging threats businesses should be aware of in 2024. Read more.

The Ultimate Guide To Home Insurance
Westland Insurance is pleased to announce it has partnered with SGI CANADA to publish a comprehensive guide that aims to demystify the world of home insurance by providing homeowners with valuable insights and practical advice. Read more.

Canada’s Auto Theft Crisis Continues: Équité Association Trend Report
É quité Association has released its 2023 Auto Theft Trend Report, which illustrates the continuation of the national auto theft crisis. Auto theft trends increased sharply across the country between 2021 and 2023, and a vehicle is now stolen every five minutes in Canada. Read more.

Co-operators Enters Home Services Market
Co-operators Financial Services Limited is pleased to announce the acquisition by a wholly owned subsidiary of Co-operators of the parent company of Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd., a consulting engineering firm providing unbiased advice to help homeowners make more informed decisions about their homes, while also providing education and reporting software for the inspection profession. Read more.

SSRU Increases Property & Casualty Capacity
SSRU is excited to announce a partnership with the Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (Canada Branch), introducing increased capacity within our Residential Realty and Commercial Property product offerings. Read more.

WTW Launches Cyber And Tech E&O Facility
WTW, a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, is pleased to announce it has launched an International CyCore Facility (ICF) aimed at international clients headquartered outside of GB and US. The ICF is a tailored solution which covers malicious acts, non-malicious acts and technical failures. It provides cyber incident response costs including legal advice, IT forensics, data and cyber restoration as well as crisis communication costs and business interruption cover. Read more.

Beazley Security Formed In Lodestone Merger
Beazley, the leading specialty, is pleased to announce the merger of its in-house Cyber Services team with its wholly owned cyber security company Lodestone, creating an integrated cyber risk management company, Beazley Security. Read more.

Resilience Acquisition Boosts Cyber Protection
Resilience, a leading cyber risk management firm, is pleased to announce it has strategically expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of BreachQuest, an innovative incident response technology solution. Read more.

The Digital Decoys Enticing Kids To Click
“Social engineering” is essentially a fancy way of describing fooling people into giving away their personal info online, and the repercussions are quite serious. Read more.

First Acre Enhances Canadian Farmer Benefits
First Acre Insurance, an MGA reshaping the agricultural insurance sector, is now providing its agricultural policyholders with access to a general Legal Helpline and Emotional Support Assistance services, with the option to include Legal Expense Insurance for unexpected legal events. Read more.

Attracting And Retaining Knowledge & Talent
ProNavigator presents a free webinar, hosted by Insurance Nerds, on February 29, at 1pm (ET). Listen in on the live discussion between insurance and insurtech professionals on strategies to attract and retain talent, and preserve institutional knowledge as the industry faces a retirement wave. Read more.

Electric Vehicle Transition Impact On Auto Rates: Morningstar DBRS
Morningstar DBRS has released a commentary discussing the effects that the Electric Vehicle (EV) Availability Standard announced by Canada could have on automobile insurance premium rates as the transition to 100% zero-emission vehicle sales targets gains momentum. Read more.

Prepare For The Mid-Winter Thaw: IBC
With warmer than normal temperatures being experienced across parts of the country, Insurance Bureau of Canada is sharing tips to help Ontarians mitigate risk of damage to their property due to a winter thaw. Read more.

Sinistar Founder Named To Forbes List
Forbes has named Alexis Vertefeuille to its 30 Under 30 North America list for 2024. The Sinistar founder and CEO was honored in the social impact category for his company’s disruptive approach to insurance housing. Read more.


The Intersection: Insurance-Canada.ca Blog

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

Data Privacy's Dirty Little Secrets: Big Implications for the Auto Insurance Ecosystem
By Stephen Applebaum & Alan Demers
Data privacy is a sprawling, multi-faceted, complex, and controversial issue which means different things to different audiences but has serious implications for businesses and consumers alike. And it is sure to continue to grow exponentially with the explosive adoption of data-driven technology and digitization which will drive ever greater levels of information capture and use. Meanwhile, concerns about how personal data is captured, managed and exploited are intensifying with the emergence of more data breaches, hacking, identity theft and ransomware crimes. Read more.


InsurTech Spotlight

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Apollo
Apollo Exchange is a digitally enabled insurance marketplace, empowering brokers, consumers, and underwriters to apply for, quote, and bind insurance policies online. Our vision is an industry in which our computers do the work so our people can build relationships. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.


Insurance Works

Featured job opportunities:

Operations Assistant, Personal Insurance
KRGInsure, a division of RRJ Insurance Group
Toronto, ON

Processing Clerk - Commercial Auto Underwriting
Premier
Cambridge, ON

Bilingual Insurance Broker
YouSet
Montreal, QC, or 100% remote


From Doug

InsurTech Evolves

The term “InsurTech” is now a decade old. But what is an InsurTech? Two categories:

1. Insurance businesses – those who touch an insurance customer as part of an insurance process.

(I consider any insurance business which uses insurance technology to be an InsurTech; Simply a matter of degree.)

2. Technology – typically insurance specific systems or applications – or data providers that help an insurance practitioner “do” insurance.

An InsurTech insurance practitioner would feature these characteristics:

• A customer focus;
• Uses technology to advantage (is agile);
• Is oriented to change (innovation);
• Has a culture which inspires the previous three.

An initial focus was improved customer experience, since expanded to all user experience.

Then reengineering business processes and applying new technologies – AI, cloud, APIs.

Now, leaders and ‘wild ducks’ are innovating at a higher level, with product and service. They use new or better technologies and data to improve customer service; explore parametric, embedded, open and other insurance initiatives to find a better way.

Risks: Insurers are now helping customers manage risk as never before, as insurance morphs to a “Predict and Prevent” philosophy.

It seems “greater innovation” is the new competitive northstar, but being a strong InsurTech is the foundation.

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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