Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter Archive

Issue 2002-06:   February 12, 2002

This newsletter is for members of the Canadian Insurance Industry, and those who serve it. The newsletter is published weekly, and notes information mostly about the use of the Internet and related technologies in the industry. Some is international, where we feel it is relevant to Canada.




Claiming Benefits from new Technologies in Claims - a half day seminar Hosted by Insurance-Canada.ca this Thursday. There are still a few seats available. See where we are going, and how we may get there. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/seminars/seminar20020214.php or contact me. Sponsored by 43r.ca and ci - Canadian Insurance Magazine

Distribution

Industrial-Alliance Life Insurance Company announced today that it has acquired ISL-Lafferty Securities Inc. and certain assets of BNP (Canada) Securities Inc., thereby marking its entry onto the stock brokerage scene. These two acquisitions will allow Industrial Alliance to manage initial assets of more than $180 million on behalf of some 1,500 clients. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/canada/In-All200202.php

Zurich Life USA announces the successful launch of its new, online, paper-less pre-application service. "We are very pleased with how well this has been received by our GAs," said Marty Manning, sales vice president of Zurich Life. "Our general agents are always looking for ways to offer their writing agents a competitive advantage, and Zurich Life's online process does just that by eliminating the paperwork and any delays caused by incomplete information." More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/ZurichLUS200202.php

CSIO Insurance Portal

Week ending Feb 8: Each of the Portal function bundles is progressing well. Quick Quote Auto and Full Quote Property and Auto will all advance over the next month and a half to the same CSIO Quality Assurance status before the collective group of functions move to the next status level, according to Bill Wallace, CSIO Project Manager. Application level infrastructure or common functions, such as advanced search and retrieve for existing quotes, are being developed now and will be used by all the Quotes functions in that timeframe.

CSIO announces Insurance Systems Inc. as a new CSIO Vendor Member. ISI specializes in Web-based solutions for the insurance industry. Webwriter, ISI's suite of products, allows insurers to transact business over the Internet through quotations, policy issuance and endorsements. ISI recently launched Webwriter Portal, which allows insurers to easily integrate with the CSIO Portal utilizing the Webwriter rating engine for automobile and property. It can also handle commercial lines rating. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/canada/CSIOISI200202.php

Claims

Time for Change, Time for Revolution: by Brian Gordon, Correlation Technologies Inc
In this complex business age, many companies are struggling to maintain the delicate balance of managing top and bottom lines while maintaining customer loyalty. Technology and the Internet will play a key role in overcoming these barriers to shape the future of business. Though there may be many roadmaps ... the destination is clear. Only technology can link business processes and information systems of different companies together more closely to achieve common goals. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/announce/Correlation200202.php

Statistics and Reference

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has released a much-anticipated study that sheds new light on some of the factors responsible for higher auto insurance costs in Nova Scotia. The Closed Claim Study on Auto Insurance shows that the primary factor linked to auto insurance costs is the number of soft tissue injury claims (sprains and strains). More at www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/IBCAuto200202.php

e-Business & Technology

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (The Dominion) and CGI Group Inc. (CGI) announced the signing of a multi-million dollar, five-year information technology contract for the support and maintenance of The Dominion's commercial property lines applications Canada-wide. The Commercial Lines Applications support The Dominion in the administration of Commercial Property underwriting. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/canada/DCGI200202.php

Marketing

10 proven steps to increase your marketing effectiveness - Your Virtual Insurance January 24 2002. From auditing your brand to embracing your database, from controlling costs to enhancing service, there are several things you can do to increase your marketing effectiveness. In these tough economic and increasingly competitive times, being out in front is important. More at www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/VIMktg200202.php

from Doug:

The winter chills have returned to kick off the week here in Toronto, but warmer days are predicted. The two Claims gatherings here last week illustrated how much things are changing in this industry, and yet at the same time the objective at day's end is to restore the customer to prior status. New products and services, more and different skills, and throughout it all improved technologies - all focused on customer service with effective cost controls.