Issue 2008-10 -- March 11, 2008

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.




eBusiness and Technology

OARBIC Solutions Inc. and Picom Software Systems Ltd. sign distribution agreement for North America.
TORONTO, ON, Feb. 8 – OARBIC Solutions Inc. (OARBIC) and Picom Software Systems Ltd. (Picom) jointly announced the signing of a distribution agreement covering Canada and selected regions in the U.S. OARBIC will provide sales, configuration and support services for Picom's leading-edge Content Archive and Delivery solutions to the Insurance marketplace.

Accenture Unveils Enhanced Claims, Underwriting & Policy Administration Solutions to Help P&C Insurers Industrialize Their Operations.
PARIS; Feb. 19, 2008 - Accenture has unveiled newly enhanced claims, underwriting and policy administration solutions designed to help property and casualty (P&C) insurers industrialize their operations by simplifying and modernizing their core systems and streamlining their customer service and underwriting capabilities.

Distribution

York Fire hears broker needs, delivers real-time inquiry with Applied Systems WARP.
University Park, IL - February 19, 2008 - York Fire & Casualty this month became Canada's first insurance carrier to implement true XML real-time inquiry, answering the call from independent brokers who said they need real-time carrier communication to remain competitive.

Western Financial Group Requests Opportunity to Acquire Community Savings Credit Union.
HIGH RIVER, AB, March 6, 2008 - Western Financial Group (the Company) announced today that it intends to submit a proposal to acquire the assets and liabilities of Community Savings & Credit Union of Red Deer, Alberta. Community Savings is the second largest credit union in Alberta, with assets of $2.72 billion. [March 10 - Offer will not be considered by Credit Union's Board.]

Retirement Income and Distribution Planning: Report Published by Celent.
New York, NY, USA - February 26, 2008 - Beginning in 2008, 73 million baby boomers will start to retire or qualify for Social Security, putting US$19 trillion in assets, $12 trillion of which are currently in retirement accounts, into liquidation mode. If firms are not ready to advise on the distribution phase and build an appropriate business model that rewards financial advisors while creating a good value proposition for the clients, they could see a considerable outflow of assets.

Guy Carpenter Publishes Sixth Annual Review of Catastrophe Bond Market.
New York, February 28, 2008 - Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist, and GC Securities, Guy Carpenter's investment banking arm, today announced the publication of The Catastrophe Bond Market at Year-End 2007: The Market Goes Mainstream. The report – Guy Carpenter's sixth annual review of catastrophe bond transaction activity and market dynamics, and its first jointly conducted under the GC Securities banner – provides an overview of 2007 securitization activity involving natural catastrophes, including catastrophe bonds and sidecars.

Both carriers and brokers expect persistency and retention to improve, according to the latest Eastbridge Voluntary Industry Confidence Index.
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (January 24, 2008) - Nearly half (41 percent) of the respondents to the latest Voluntary Industry Confidence Index study expect improvements in worksite/voluntary persistency and retention over the next 12 months. This is an improvement over the December 2006 results (at 36 percent), a slight decrease over the mid-year 2007 results of 46 percent. Even more brokers (67 percent) expect these measures to improve in 2008.

Consumer Information

Consumer Vigilance is Key to Fraud Prevention - First Canadian Title.
Oakville, Ontario - March 3, 2008 - March is Fraud Awareness Month in Canada, and First Canadian Title, Canada's leading provider of title insurance, is taking steps to remind consumers that awareness and caution are necessary to help protect against real estate fraud and identity theft.

Canadian Snowbird Association applauds introduction of 10-year passports and notes need for travel medical insurance before leaving Canada.
TORONTO, March 4 2008 - The Canadian Snowbird Association applauds the Harper Government for acting on its recommendation to double the lifespan of the Canadian passport. Starting in 2011, Canadian travellers will be issued a higher security electronic passport that will be valid for 10 years instead of the current five.

AIG public awareness campaign dispels travel insurance myths.
Get the facts on travel insurance at AIG's new Truth About Travel Insurance public information website for Canadian travellers.

CIHI : More information on wait times reported by provinces.
Most provinces are now regularly reporting patient wait times for priority area procedures on publicly accessible websites. However, comparable provincial data are still not available, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), in its annual update on wait times reporting.

High Net Worth Mens Wardrobes Amount to a Third of Home Contents Value: Aon sponsors A View of Gentleman's Tailoring exhibition.
LONDON, 25 February 2008 - City traders, footballers and other high net worth men are spending increasing amounts on their wardrobes, which are representing as much as a third of their home contents value, according to specialist insurance broker Aon Private Clients.

Business of Insurance

Fourth Quarter Commercial P/C Rates Continue Decline: CIAB.
WASHINGTON -- Commercial property/casualty insurance rates continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2007 for all sizes of accounts although conditions were not dramatically different from the previous quarter, according to the latest commercial market index survey by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

Conning Research : Mutual Property-Casualty Insurers Positioned for Increased Competition in a Softening Market.
Hartford, CT, February 28, 2008 - Mutual property-casualty insurers are likely to face increased competition over the next few years due to overall capital buildup in the insurance industry, but they are well positioned to compete, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting.

Marketing and the Market Place

IBC consumer education campaign designed to create insurance-savvy consumers.
TORONTO, March 5, 2008 - It's official: Canadians don't know their stuff when it comes to home, car and business insurance. So Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is launching an entertaining campaign to give Canadians the information they need to properly protect themselves and their possessions. At the same time, IBC is providing free, downloadable software to help homeowners and tenants create a home inventory for insurance purposes.

Product Announcements

SunWise Elite Plus from Sun Life Financial and CI Investments to offer guaranteed income for life.
TORONTO, March 6, 2008 - For Canadians looking for help in meeting their retirement income needs, Sun Life Financial and CI Investments Inc. today announced plans to introduce a lifetime withdrawal option on the SunWise Elite Plus segregated funds rider. Currently expected to be available on March 24, 2008, the enhancement builds on the existing SunWise Elite Plus Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) by providing guaranteed income for life.

from Doug:

The sun shines brighter and longer and brings hope for Spring. Meanwhile we continue to shovel. I don't recall snow piles so high, but we have only lived here 32 years. The lady in the other half of our Victorian semi-detached has lived there for 70 years. Her memory of a major winter is of 1943 or 44, when people walked in the middle of the road, but she also commented that she does not recall a snowpile so high on her front lawn.


Subscribe here or view past issues.