Insurance-Canada.ca Newsletter Archive

Issue 2003-43:   October 28, 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.




Distribution

The CUMIS Group Limited selects illustrate inc for Innovative Desktop and Web-based Point-of-Sale Illustration System.

illustrate inc, a leading developer of policy illustration solutions to the Canadian life insurance industry today announced that the CUMIS Group Limited has selected illustrate inc to provide its agency distribution channel in Canada with a flexible point-of-sale illustration system.

CSIO Insurance Portal Status Update

Week ending October 24: Gore has now commenced their CSIO Portal activities. They are defined to the portal and both Ontario Auto and Property rates are being loaded.
Royal & SunAlliance is now in production for Ontario Property rates.
Powerbroker is actively testing.

Reference and Statistics

North American Life Insurance Activity Increases 2.2%: MIB

Applications for life insurance in North America took a positive turn in September posting a 2.2% increase over 2002 levels, marking only the second month of year-over-year application growth for all 2003. Application activity in the U.S. and Canada increased 1.9% and 4.4% respectively when compared to the same period last year.

Business of Insurance and Financial Services

CBA Financial Services Corporation awards Manulife Financial Canadian Pension Operations exclusive contract.

The CBA Financial Services Corporation (CBAF) has awarded Manulife Financial Canadian Pension Operations an exclusive contract to market its group registered retirement savings plan (RRSP).

Manulife-Sinochem receives Beijing branch office license.

Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd. will open a branch office in Beijing, China. This is Manulife-Sinochem's second branch license and the first multiple-branch license granted to a foreign-invested joint venture life insurance company by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Sun Life Financial granted approval to begin business in Beijing.

Sun Life Financial Inc. today announced that it has been granted approval by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to begin preparing operations for selling life insurance in Beijing with its joint venture partner China Everbright Group Limited.

Manulife Indonesia acquires ING-Aetna Life Indonesia.

PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (Manulife Indonesia) has entered into an agreement to acquire PT ING-Aetna Life Indonesia (ING), subject to regulatory approval. ING selected Manulife Indonesia as a result of its decision to re-focus its insurance activities in the Asia/Pacific region to markets and products where it can command a leading market position. Manulife Indonesia is committed to protecting the ongoing benefits of ING-Aetna Life's policyholders.

Manulife Bank launches Business Advantage Account.

Manulife Bank announced the launch of their Business Advantage Account, a high-interest investment account designed to help Canadian businesses earn income on their short-term cash.

Managing Relationships

DWL Releases Version 4.5 of DWL Customer™

DWL, the leader in Enterprise Business Services software, today announced the release of DWL Customer™ version 4.5 which has enhanced customer management functions to support legislative compliance issues around Privacy and the National "Do Not Call" list. A leading provider of customer data integration (CDI) solutions and based on a services-oriented architecture, DWL Customer serves as the enterprise's system of record for all customer-related information and transactions.

Claims

Property/Casualty Claims Technology Strategies: Report Published by Celent.

Implementation of new claims technology has the potential to improve the Property/Casualty industry's combined ratio by up to 7 points, resulting in an industry-wide increase of $25 billion in underwriting profitability.

Marketing and the Marketplace

The Internet Is A Key Tool In Looking For A New House: Ipsos-Reid.

Canadians' use of real estate websites has remained at a very high level, according to a new Ipsos-Reid study. The study, which involved 1,000 telephone interviews with Canadian adults and 1,000 online interviews with Canadian adults who have Internet access in June shows that the Internet is a key component in the new home purchase process for online Canadians. In fact, 85% of those who have purchased a new home in the past two years have used the Internet to look for home information, slightly above the 80% who had done so in 2001.

Ontario auto insurance rate freeze not unexpected -- further reforms welcomed: IBC.

The insurance industry will cooperate fully with the Ontario government in respecting today's auto insurance rate freeze. "Today's rate freeze following the swearing in of the new government was not unexpected," says Mark Yakabuski, Ontario Vice President, Insurance Bureau of Canada. "The government campaigned on this promise and now they are following through on that commitment. Our industry will respect that," he adds.

Technology and e-Business

Is STP Dead? TowerGroup Offers a Eulogy for an Overexposed Acronym.

In recent years, straight-through processing (STP) has generated increasing discussion and marketing momentum throughout the securities industry. Today, this catch-all acronym for post-trade technology, integration and automation has become so pervasive that it seems to have taken on a life all its own. However, new research from TowerGroup says it may be time to deliver a eulogy for the usefulness of this acronym, particularly when it comes to one key audience: the asset manager. The reticence of the buy-side to buy in to STP hype validates TowerGroup's claim that STP evangelists too often put the cart before the horseextolling the virtues of integration, rather than the business objectives that integration can help to achieve.

Conferencing Technologies Save Time and Money: eMarketer.

A recent survey of US business professionals sponsored by MCI WorldCom and conducted by Impulse Research Corporation determines that 75% of respondents have participated in a Web conference in the past year. The conferencing market is gaining ground, with many senior executives already in on the trend. Impulse Research, sponsored by MCI WorldCom, reports that 75% of business professionals in the US have participated in a Web conference in the past year, and 70% think it's more efficient than business travel.

Consumer Information - ViewPoint

Raise the Drinking Age Back to 21 -- A Broader Perspective: Gary Direnfeld.

Mrs. Whiteford provides an emotional and compelling argument to raise the drinking age across Canada, back to 21 as a solution to crash statistics involving drivers ages 16 to 24. Unfortunately, her argument perpetuates the myth that drinking and driving is the leading cause of car crashes in the age group when it is not. Certainly alcohol is a contributing factor in some car crashes, but it is actually speed that is the greatest cause of most crashes involving young drivers.

Use extra hour to think about Home Safety - IBC.

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) wants Canadians to use the extra hour they'll have when the time changes this weekend to think about home safety. "When you wake up Sunday morning, you'll have an extra hour, so why not take some of that time to make sure your family is protected?"

from Doug:

Next Friday November 7 is our seminar on marketing, with the primary focus obviously being marketing of insurance. If you are in marketing, or are interested in the discipline, review the agenda and topic/speaker details and register today.
The gentle but soaking rains here are most welcome; our hearts reach out to those in BC where Mother Nature turned the taps on full blast.