Issue 2005-36: September 6, 2005
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.
Product Announcements
HealthQuotes.ca announces the addition of TIC 'visitors to Canada' travel insurance.
Toronto ON 25 August 2005 - HealthQuotes.ca is pleased to announce that we now offer Travel Insurance Coordinators travel insurance to visitors to Canada. TIC offers different levels of travel coverage, and rates depend on the amount of coverage, the plan type and age(s) of the insured.
eBusiness and Technology
InSystems FREE Interactive web seminar: Turning Compliance Initiatives into Revenue Opportunities.
Markham, Ontario, August 18, 2005 -- Insurers' focus on regulatory compliance reached a record intensity over the past year. Unprecedented levels of effort and funds are being devoted to projects driven by a range of compliance mandates. With limited budget growth, many have faced difficult trade-offs and felt forced to prioritize compliance-mandated work over other business critical IT initiatives.
Hyland Software Receives KMWorld 2005 Trend Setter Award Enterprise Content Management publication recognizes OnBase® ECM software suite.
CLEVELAND - August 22, 2005 - Hyland Software, Inc., developer of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, today announced that it has received the 2005 Trend Setter Award from KMWorld Magazine
Information Builders: iWay Software to Sell IP Rights to Microsoft for Eight iWay .NET-Based Integration Adapters.
New York, NY - August 2, 2005 - iWay Software, an Information Builders company and the leading adaptive software provider, today announced that it is selling source code and intellectual property rights for eight of its most common .NET-based application adapters to Microsoft. The adapters allow Microsoft BizTalk Server to more easily communicate with PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, Oracle applications, Oracle databases, Siebel, TIBCO Rendezvous, TIBCO EMS, and Clarify applications. Outside of these eight adapters, iWay Software will continue to build, develop, and sell directly other application and data adapters for BizTalk Server.
IBM Formally Acquires DWL, Enhancing Data Integration Portfolio.
ARMONK, N.Y., September 1, 2005 -- IBM announced it has finalized the agreement to acquire DWL, a privately held company based in Atlanta and Toronto. Financial terms were not disclosed. Customer Data Integration Software Strengthens IBM's Information Management Capabilities
Claims
MS/B CAT Crew On-site for Hurricane Katrina Support.
LOS ANGELES August 30, 2005 - Marshall and Swift / Boeckh (MS/B) augmented client catastrophe support as Hurricane Katrina hit Florida on Friday and battered Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama yesterday. Trainers and technical support staff are already on site and on standby to assist carriers and independent adjusters with field estimating tool installations, upgrades, and data updates. MS/B's research department is also gathering material and labor costs to monitor and provide storm surge pricing in all affected areas.
Consumer Information
Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) offers incentive for new drivers.
Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has introduced a safety incentive for participants in the new Graduated Driver's Licensing (GDL) program.
Government of Ontario Improves Quality of Life for Long-Term Care Residents.
August 4, 2005 - TORONTO -- The McGuinty government is continuing to improve the quality of life for people living in long-term care homes by freezing basic accommodation rates for the second year in a row, said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
WCB Nova Scotia takes rate action to help to improve workplace safety records.
HALIFAX, Aug. 30, 2005 - The Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) today mailed the 2006 experience rating package to 18,000 employers covered by workplace injury insurance. Among these employers, 264 will receive a surcharge warning notice, which is part of the WCB's latest strategic initiative to help employers embrace a workplace safety culture in Nova Scotia.
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Safety-Related Technologies Continue to Draw Strong Consumer Interest.
Premium Surround Sound Systems and HD Radio Garner High Consumer Interest Based on Their Market Price, While Consumers Prefer One-Time Fee Over the Monthly Fee Associated with Satellite Radio
California Repeats as the USA's Auto Theft Hot Spot.
Palos Hills, IL - The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported today that for calendar year 2004, California has once again set the pace for auto theft. Seven of the nation's top ten areas with the highest vehicle theft rates are in California. The communities of Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona and Seattle-Everett-Bellevue, Washington round out the top ten.
Distribution
Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) backs Kinnect.
London UK - 30 August 2005 - Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has become the fourth major broker and 21st business to back Kinnect, the electronic platform which securely exchanges risk data and wordings between brokers and underwriters. JLT, the UK's third largest broker, has pledged its support for the platform which also has the backing of underwriters representing more than 60 per cent of capacity at Lloyd's.
Marketing and the Market Place
The Internet Continues To Impact Consumers' Usage Of Other Media: Ipsos-Reid Study.
August 9, 2005 Vancouver, BC - The recent Ipsos Reid study Online News and Information Seeking: What the Future Holds1 shows that the amount of time Internet-using Canadians are spending actively using the Internet is on the rise, averaging 12.7 hours per week (up 46% from 8.7 hours in 20022). This increase appears to have come at the expense of radio as the typical Internet-using adult spends 11 hours per week listening to the radio, down from 16 hours per week in 2002. While weekly Internet usage has surpassed radio listening, television retains the number one position among media sources with Internet-using Canadians averaging 14.3 hours3 of TV viewing per week. Still, the gap between Internet and TV usage is closing (a difference of 1.6 hours per week compared to 4.5 hours in 2002), with the Internet threatening to overtake television should these trends continue.
Is Canada Losing Its Edge as an Internet Innovator and Adopter? - eMarketer.
August 30, 2005 - Although Canadian companies once led the way with high rates of Internet connectivity, there is growing concern that Canada's private sector is falling behind international competitors when it comes to the adoption of e-business solutions.
Insurance in the Community
Transamerica Life Canada's Drive For Life Golf Tournament Tees Off August 30th.
TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2005 - A major charitable commitment is driving Transamerica Life Canada's annual Drive For Life Golf Tournament. The tournament, which will feature an intimate live performance by Juno award-winning singer Gord Downie, will be held Tuesday, August 30th at the Eagle's Nest Golf Club in Maple, Ontario. Now in its ninth year, the event has already raised over $2 million for Canadian charitable organizations.
Policy and Product Management
ISO Acquires eLIENS From Xtria To Automate Insurance Coverage Notifications to Lenders.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., August 16 - ISO has acquired eLIENSTM, a unit of Xtria, LLC. eLIENS provides lien holder and mortgagee notification services for insurance carriers. Xtria is an information technology and services company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
from Doug:
"But for the grace of God, it could be me." Any of us caught at any time in an accident or storm loss, small or large, has the sense of powerlessness when events unfold, like those related to Hurricane Katrina. When the time arrives to move to high ground, but a lack of transportation, or just a personal decision to "not go" leaves one in the midst of disaster, the hindsight indicates "I should have found a way to go". Or for those being chastised now for not doing enough to help, is it possible to be prepared for a tragedy so immense and to have the relief turned out and onsite instantly?
Thanks to those in organizations like the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction who keep pushing for incremental improvements. How quickly can we think of examples where better building codes, flood controls, erosion barriers and so many other inmprovements have prevented so much loss in the last decades. Nonetheless, we must push and work for more, for both prevention and recovery.