Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter Archive

Issue 2003-26:   July 2, 2003

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.




Business of Insurance

Great-West Lifeco and Canada Life receive Canadian regulatory approval for takeover.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. and Canada Life Financial Corporation today announced that they have received all necessary regulatory approvals from the Government of Canada to proceed with their combination transaction, which is expected to close on July 10, 2003. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/business/canada/GWLCanadaL200306.php

Distribution

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company appoints a new Broker in New Brunswick.

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (The Dominion) announced today that all offices of The Huestis Group Agencies in northern New Brunswick are now authorised to do business with the company. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfoauto/DCGNB200306.php

Compu-Quote's OmniRater with iter8's Communic8 offer Web Comparative Rating to Brokers.

Compu-Quote Inc. has transformed the insurance quoting process with a simple, easy to use Web-based rating engine that brokers can access with a standard Internet connection. OmniRater is the Web-based version of Compu-Quote's popular Win 32 rater, used by more than 2,000 brokerage offices with access to 700 insurer rating plans across the country. With a system known as communic8 from iter8, the broker can transfer seamlessly from the OmniRater service to the broker management system. communic8 is a complete solution for AL3 upload and download. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/announce/iter8CQ200306.php

Independent Agents and Brokers Rely on the Internet But Are They Prepared in the Event They Lose Their Connection? Progressive Survey.

A majority of independent insurance agencies access the Internet with a business-grade high speed (broadband) Internet connection, but many are not equipped with a backup connection should their primary provider go down. These are the results of a recent, online survey of about 1,300 independent agencies by Progressive. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/ProgAgents200306.php

Royal & SunAlliance USA Offers Real-Time Billing, Claim Inquiry Through Transformation Station.

Royal & SunAlliance standard and preferred personal lines agents who use Applied Systems agency management software can now access real-time claim and billing information through IVANS Transformation Station(TM). Transformation Station directly links the Applied Systems software used by Royal & SunAlliance agents to claim or billing information supplied by the company. The connection offers agents quick, easy access to previously unavailable account details, enabling agents to answer customer questions immediately rather than calling them back after tracking down information. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/distribution/other/RSAOnline200306.php

CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update

Week ending June 27: The number of brokers connected remains at 28.
Farmers Mutual Lindsay is in systems testing for Ontario Property.
CSIO is now setting up a model office with representative Broker Management Systems. They will test the Portal and the data flowing from the BMS to and from the Portal as well as follow-on transactions to the companies. As CSIO can be doing this while a company is in User Acceptance Testing and subsequent to production, the issues which brokers then uncover, and the total implementation time of new companies and functions, should be reduced.

Reference and Statistics

North American Life Insurance Activity Declines 10.8% in May: MIB.

May applications for life insurance in North America declined 10.8% on a year-over-year basis; the tenth such decline in the last twelve months. U.S. application activity was off 12.2% from May 2002, marking the lowest Index value for the month of May since 1999. Canadian activity levels remained flat, declining slightly at 0.3% compared to activity for the same period last year. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/refstat/canada/MIB200306.php

Technology and eBusiness

Where will you be when the market turns? Anthony Kumnick, OARBIC Inc.

Whether you are a company IT department struggling through the downturn, an employee or an under-utilized consultant make the most of your time now. What are you waiting for - get motivated; get planning, get educated and get ahead. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/ebusiness/canada/OARBICYouBe200306.php

Product Information

Transamerica strengthens Transamerica Investment Portfolio(TM) with five new guaranteed investment funds.

Transamerica Life Canada today announced plans to enhance its segregated fund family with five new guaranteed investment funds (GIFs). The new funds will be introduced to the Transamerica Investment Portfolio(TM) (TIP) in July, 2003, subject to regulatory approval. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/business/announce/TransamIP200306.php

National Life Introduces Hedge Accounts for Flex Account and e-Universal Life Policies.

National Life now offers Hedge Accounts to new and recently issued Flex Account and e-Universal Life policies, providing policyowners with greater protection against the volatility of stock markets. As a new and unique category of investments, Hedge Accounts act as a convenient access point to the benefits of hedge fund investing. National Life is the first Canadian insurance company to offer Hedge Accounts in universal life policies. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfolife/NatlHedge200306.php

New Insurance Consumer Information

Nova Scotia Government Delivers Lower Rates, More Protection for Consumers.

Nova Scotians can look forward to lower auto insurance rates and more protection based on a government plan announced today, June 25, by Environment and Labour Minister Ron Russell. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfoauto/NSGov200306.php

The Co-operators first to lower auto insurance premiums in New Brunswick.

As a direct result of the government's implementation of pain and suffering caps for minor injuries, Co-operators General Insurance Company today filed a 25% reduction in liability premiums with the New Brunswick Public Utilities Board. The 25% liability premium reduction, effective July 1, 2003, will automatically apply to all Co-operators clients. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfoauto/CoopNB200306.php

Marketing Insurance and the Market Place

How Marketers Are Measuring SEM Efforts: eMarketer.

According to a recent survey from WebTrends and iProspect, 41% of US marketers are currently running paid search engine marketing (SEM) efforts. And, 41% of those marketers who are implementing SEM strategies are measuring such efforts based on click-through and general site traffic. Only 11% are using a detailed ROI analysis of their SEM efforts, which includes lifetime value as well as revenue by phrase. More at http://www.insurance-canada.ca/market/other/eMarketSEM200306.php

from Doug:

I hope you celebrated Canada Day with appropriate pride in our country. What a great place to live - well, other than for.....
I helped staff a booth at Fort York in Toronto where we had good crowds - interestingly among early visitors from our booth were some from the UK and Texas - so often those from afar, or new Canadians, have a thirst for details about our history.
Our Insurance-Canada.ca June was a good one after all. One expects a bit of a slow down as people approach summer and wind down Second Quarter. That said you and others visited enough to set a new record for daily "hits", although our total hits were down a tad from May.
Also, several firms have purchased some of our advertising services in the last weeks - some of those are noted above as sponsors this week.
We at Insurance-Canada.ca wish you and yours a happy, and safe, summer.