Issue 2008-21 -- May 27, 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.




Policy and Product Management

New Version of Policy Works is the First Commercial Management System to Exchange Commercial-Lines Data Electronically With Multiple Insurers.
May 20, 2008 - Calgary, Alberta - In the past, electronic commercial-lines data exchange between a single broker system and multiple insurers has been regarded as a near impossibility. As of today, however, this impossibility has become reality. The newest release of Policy Works, version 6.2 with eMarketing, is the first commercial management system (CMS) to enable brokers to exchange commercial-lines data electronically with four insurers: ING Insurance Company of Canada, Gore Mutual Insurance Company, Aviva Canada Inc. and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.

Harford Mutual Goes Live With CGI'S Ratabase®.
Andover, MA, May 14, 2008 - CGI Group, Inc., a leader in information technology and business process services, today announced that Harford Mutual Insurance Companies has gone live with CGI's rating engine and rate management solution, Ratabase®. Ratabase provided a more flexible and robust rating engine to fit into the Harford's browser-based .Net policy administration and agent systems.

Distribution

Brovada Nexisys to Improve Productivity for CIM-Data Users.
May 21, 2008 (Mississauga, ON and Saint John, NB) - CIM-Data, a leading BMS provider in Canada, announced today they have formed a partnership with Brovada to make Nexisys available to CIM-Data users.

IVANS Predicts Real-Time Transactions Will Double Again as Carriers and Agents Continue to Invest.
Stamford, CONN. - May 12, 2008 - According to a survey conducted by IVANS, Inc., insurance carriers and agents continue to increase investment in technologies that enable the independent agent distribution channel, despite the recent economic slowdown in the U.S.

eBusiness and Technology

Desjardins Financial Security Acquires the Full Suite of Newlink's Vista™ Business Models and Methodologies.
Toronto, May 16 2008 - Desjardins Financial Security has just obtained a license to use all the components of the Vista™ business and methodology model for the financial industry, thereby demonstrating its satisfaction with the results obtained from the purchase of the initial components of the model.

Gartner Says Virtual Office Deployment Can Make Good Business Sense.
STAMFORD, Conn., May 6, 2008 - In 2008, 41.4 million corporate employees globally will spend at least one day a week teleworking, but there is still resistance to this trend from those preferring face-to-face interaction, according to Gartner, Inc. Enterprises must create formal plans for establishing and sustaining virtual office arrangements to make this arrangement successful.

Claims

Beazley Group Selects Guidewire ClaimCenter.
LONDON, England and SAN MATEO, California, USA, May 20, 2008 - Beazley Group plc (Beazley), the parent company of global specialist insurance businesses, and Guidewire Software®, a leading global provider of solutions to property and casualty insurance companies, today announced that Beazley has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims handling system. ClaimCenter will support all phases of the claims handling process for all Beazley lines of business worldwide, which include professional and management liability; political and contingency risks; commercial property; marine and energy; reinsurance; and personal lines.

Business of Insurance

York Fire Congratulates the IBAO on their successful launch of MyInsuranceShopper.ca.
MISSISSAUGA, May 20, 2008 - York Fire & Casualty applauds the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) for the successful launch of their much anticipated MyInsuranceShopper.ca website�a straightforward access point for consumers to the choice, unbiased insurance advice, perfect fit coverage and client advocacy offered by independent Brokers. In conjunction, the IBAO has also developed the "Extend and Own" marketing campaign for their member Brokers which allows them to take advantage of the powerful "insurance that fits" marketing message in their own communities.

RIMS Launches Risk Management Professional Growth Model at RIMS 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition.
April 30, 2008 - SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) released its Risk Management Professional Growth Model today at RIMS 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. RIMS Quality Advisory Council developed the model as a way to assess various risk manager experience levels and corresponding skill sets, and to be used as a guide in professional development.

Marketing and the Market Place

Americans' Attitudes toward Life Insurance: Ipsos Survey for ING.
May 15, 2008 New York, NY - According to a new Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of ING about American attitudes concerning life insurance, out of 15 scenarios "having your accumulated savings stolen because of identity theft or fraud" (50%) and "your death or the death of your spouse or partner" (45%) are the two events which would have the most extremely negative impact on a family's financial health and future.

Reference and Statistics

MIB Life Index Reports North American Life Insurance Activity Down 4.5% in April.
Braintree, MA. - (May 16, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off -4.5% in April, year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Index ?. Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -2.1% compared to the same period last year. April's activity was off -6.6% when compared to last March.

Consumer Information

Royal & Sun Alliance advises consumers to contact their insurance broker if doing home renovations.
Many people don't realize that it is necessary to report any home renovations to their insurance broker or company to make sure that they have enough coverage should they experience a large loss, such as a fire, says insurer Royal & Sun Alliance.

Assurance LAWPRO(TM) partners with leading Broker to provide Québec consumers with TitlePLUS(R) title insurance.
TORONTO, May 16 2008 - Dale Parizeau LM, a leading Québec insurance broker, and Assurance LAWPRO will be working in association to bring the TitlePLUS title insurance product to the Québec real estate marketplace.

The Co-operators and the Downtown Guelph Business Association Pilot Project Designed to Help Small Businesses Prepare for Disasters.
GUELPH, ON, May 20, 2008 - Small businesses in downtown Guelph, Ontario have new resources to help them prepare for disaster-related business interruptions thanks to a pilot project launched today. The Open for business(SM) program is made available through a partnership between the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), The Co-operators and the Downtown Guelph Business Association.

First IIHS crash tests of Smart car: diminutive two-seater earns top ratings for protecting people in front & side crashes.
ARLINGTON, VA - The Smart car is getting a lot of attention for its small size and style, and now it's earning impressive crash test ratings. In recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the 2008 Smart Fortwo, the smallest car for sale in the US market, earned the top rating of good for front and side crash protection.

TIRF: New resource centre for young and new drivers launched.
OTTAWA, May 21, 2008 - The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) is pleased to announce the launch of the Young and New Driver Resource Centre. The new centre - created under funding from Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) - is a one-stop shop on young and new driver issues that is designed for parents, young and novice drivers, researchers, and policymakers.

from Doug:

My parents have just completed their next down-sizing by moving from a two-bedroom apartment into a one-bedroom senior's residence. Many of the rest of us have inherited a few more objects. Mum and Dad have a lot of organizing to do, but are already enjoying the freedom from cooking.
Spring returned a few days ago with some beautiful weather, relatives from Cleveland visited and we enjoyed Door's Open - a good weekend.


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