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.
Managing Relationships and Customer Service
Customers Mean Business, by Harvey Blake.
You may have more dissatified customers than you think? The truth is you probably don't know how many you actually have - most do not complain. The average business does not hear from 96% of its unhappy customers.
Claims
Symbility Solutions Joins Motion Computing Partner Program.
WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(May 14, 2007) - Symbility Solutions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Automated Benefits Corp., today announced it is an Alliance Partner of Motion Computing(TM), a leader in mobile computing and wireless communications. Under this agreement, both companies will invest in a marketing and sales strategy that focuses specifically on the insurance market.
eBusiness and Technology
SAS in Leaders Quadrant for Customer Data Mining Magic Quadrant.
CARY, NC (May 09, 2007) - SAS, the leader in business intelligence, announced today that it is positioned in the Leaders quadrant in Gartner Inc.'s Customer Data Mining 2007 Magic Quadrant. [i] According to the Gartner report, "leaders are vendors whose performance excels in the customer data mining market."
More IT Vendors to Embrace Business Transaction Management as Next Step in IT Management, Says IDC.
TEL AVIV, April 19, 2007 - Business transaction management (BTM) looks set to become a new industry buzzword. It does appear to tick the right boxes - a three-letter acronym with undefined boundaries - but, according to a new study from IDC's Emerging Technologies Group, BTM also represents a major leap forward in IT management philosophy and one that will help firms manage complex IT environments from a business perspective.
Virtualization Will Drive Major Change in IT Infrastructure and Operations in the Next Three Years, According to Gartner.
SYDNEY, Australia., May 8, 2007 - Virtualization will be the most important technology in IT infrastructures and operations up to 2010, according to Gartner, dramatically changing how IT departments manage, buy, deploy, plan and charge for their services.
Blue Gene, Progeny of IBM's Chess Champ, Deep Blue, Becomes an Engine of Scientific Discovery.
Armonk, NY - 11 May 2007: Ten years ago today, IBM's Deep Blue became the first computer to win a chess tournament against a reigning world champion chess master. Deep Blue had 32 processors and could process about 200 million chess moves per second in its historic six-game match against Garry Kasparov. Ten years later, Blue Gene, the fastest supercomputer in the world and the descendent of Deep Blue, uses 131,000 processors to routinely handle 280 trillion operations every second.
Distribution
Worksite industry performance earns a C+ from LIMRA
WINDSOR, Conn., May 14, 2007 - Discovering gains in some areas and setbacks in others, LIMRA is giving the worksite marketing industry an overall grade of C+ for its progress in growing the use of voluntary benefits over the past four years. "There have been some great successes in this market," said Ron Neyer, LIMRA worksite research analyst and author of the recently-published Voluntary Benefits Report Card, based on an in-depth survey of U.S. employers.
Business of Insurance
New Eastbridge Study Examines the Emerging Voluntary Medical Market.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (May 1 , 2007)-The voluntary medical market will continue to grow and change. To remain competitive, carriers that are either entering or currently in the market will need to stay abreast of the latest trends and product changes-and be flexible enough to adapt to these changes.
Conning Research : U.S. Life Reinsurers Evolve their Business Models in a Consolidating Market with Multiple Challenges.
Hartford, CT, April 12, 2007 - Continued consolidation among U.S. life reinsurers, combined with a drop in new recurring reinsurance are just two issues in an array of challenges facing U.S. reinsurers, who are responding by reevaluating their value propositions, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc.
Consumer Information
Manitoba Road Safety Week shifts into gear: RCMP, Winnipeg Police and Manitoba Public Insurance.
May 15, 2007, Winnipeg MB -- If you routinely drive faster than the speed limit, drive unbuckled on short trips or take the wheel after consuming alcohol, Manitoba Road Safety Week is designed especially for you. Community partners kicked off Manitoba Road Safety Week today with the annual launch of the neighbourhood SpeedWatch Program, a volunteer-based initiative designed to make speeding motorists aware that they are traveling over the limit.
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's zero tolerance for fraud saves motorists $75 million.
B.C. motorists saved more than $75 million in 2006, thanks to Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's (ICBC) anti-fraud programs. ICBC's anti-fraud efforts led to 104 convictions against 69 defendants in 2006.
New Acura and Ford models are top performers in crash tests: IIHS.
ARLINGTON, VA -The 2007 Acura MDX luxury SUV plus the 2008 Ford Taurus and twin Mercury Sable large family cars earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's TOP SAFETY PICK award. Vehicles earning this designation afford superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their class. To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, vehicles must earn the highest rating of good in all three Institute tests - front, side, and rear.
Renting a Car for Vacation? The I.I.I. Provides Rental Car Insurance Tips (USA-based advice)
NEW YORK, May 9, 2007 - With so many people planning to visit family and friends this summer, there are likely to be long lines at rental car companies across the country, properly insuring a rental car can be tricky. Unfortunately, many consumers don't even think about car rental insurance until they get to the counter, which can result in costly mistakes, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
Emerging risks impeding business development says Lloyd's.
9 May 2007, London, UK -- Increased concerns at board level regarding terrorism and political violence risk is causing businesses to avoid investing in politically sensitive areas or locating offices in large cities, according to Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance market.
Marketing and the Market Place
Ipsos-Reid Survey Indicates Canadians Would Rather Clean The Garage Than Do Financial Spring Cleaning!
May 16, 2007 Toronto, ON - An Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of Capital One Canada shows that forty-one percent would rather clean out their basement or their garages than look at their taxes or finances. Nearly four-in-ten (39 percent) want to wrap up their taxes and forget about their finances till next year. When asked which they would be most likely to do this spring to "spring clean" their finances, twenty-nine percent said they would determine whether they are getting the best deal on interest rates and fees for their credit cards and change if they are not.
Manulife Bank survey finds almost half of Canadians have a host of banking products - and no game plan.
WATERLOO, ON, May 15, 2007 - Almost half of Canadians say they do not have a strategy when they apply for a new bank product, according to a national survey for Manulife Bank of Canada. When asked what best represented their approach to banking, 48 per cent said they simply open an account or apply for a banking service as they need it.
from Doug:
It was a pleasant Victoria Day holiday weekend. Although a bit cooler than the seasonal norm for Toronto of about 20 degrees C, the all-weekend sunshine more than made up for it. Three of the four of us arrived from a distance - Ottawa, Seattle and Paris. A bit of gardening, heritage stuff, visiting, etc. A low-key pleasant weekend. I hope yours was a good one too.