Issue 2008-26 -- July 1, 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.




Distribution

NewLink Group announces the launch of The Distribution Service Satisfaction Survey 2008
Following the success of the surveys in 2006 and 2007, NewLink is pleased to announce the launch of the 2008 Distribution Service Satisfaction Survey.

Red River Valley Mutual Insurance Company, SGI CANADA and Peace Hills Insurance Company continue their investment as Full Partners of the IBAC Broker Identity Program
June 20, 2008/Toronto – The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is pleased to announce that Red River Valley Mutual, SGI Canada and Peace Hills are maintaining their investment as a Full Partners of the Broker Identity Program for 2008.

eBusiness and Technology

CompuOffice Software Inc. enhances the Mortgage, Investment and Loan Analysis module in LifeGuide
June 24, 2008 RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO -- CompuOffice Software Inc. is pleased to announce further enhancements to the Mortgage, Investment and Loan Analysis module of the LifeGuide Professional Software with the addition of several additional functions. Among others, the enhancements include the addition of Reverse Mortgage analysis, along with added capabilities relating to Variable Rate Mortgages and loans.

Claims

Xactware and KLJ announce the integration of Xactware tools with KLJ's Venue
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia & OREM, Utah — Jun. 26, 2008 — Xactware Solutions, Inc. and KLJ Computer Solutions announced the integration of Xactware's leading claims products with KLJ's Venue claims management system.

Product Announcements

Atradius Modula Start Now Available in Canada: New trade credit insurance policy to be offered through RBC Insurance's Agreement with Aon Reed Stenhouse
OTTAWA, June 24 2008 -- Atradius Credit Insurance N.V. today announced the introduction of the Modula Start policy in Canada. Modula Start is the latest product in the Atradius Modula family of products launched in 2006 and is designed to provide small and mid-sized companies with comprehensive yet easy-to-understand credit insurance to protect them against the risks of non-payment of their customers.

Consumer Information

Newfoundland parents: are you ready for the new booster-seat law?: The Co-Operators
GUELPH, ON, June 25 - A new law mandating booster seats for children until their ninth birthday becomes effective on July 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador. The legislation applies to children riding in cars, trucks, taxis, vehicles used by day cares, and some school contract vehicles.

I.I.I. Offers Tips on How to Talk to Loved Ones about Retiring from Driving
NEW YORK, June 19, 2008 — Most older drivers believe they will know when they should stop driving. But giving up the car keys and the many benefits of owning a car, including a sense of independence, is often one of the most difficult decisions an older person must make, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

Marketing and the Market Place

Municipal Spending Soaring and Unsustainable: CFIB
June 11, 2008 - Calgary/Edmonton - In its first annual Alberta Municipal Spending Watch released today, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found growth in municipal operating spending is out of control: Population and inflation increased only 34 per cent between 2000 and 2006, while operational spending increased 56 per cent – or 1.65 times more.

IDC Finds More of the World's Population Connecting to the Internet in New Ways and Embracing Web 2.0 Activities
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 25, 2008 - Nearly a quarter of the world's population – roughly 1.4 billion people – will use the Internet on a regular basis in 2008. This number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion unique users, or 30% of the world's population, in 2012, according to IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast.

Email Marketing : Canadians See More Email On A Weekly Basis, But Cracks Starting To Appear In Permission Based Marketing: Ipsos Reid
June 25, 2007 - Vancouver, BC - "Email Marketing 2008", a new study released by Ipsos Reid, has found that Canadians are continuing to receive more and more email on a weekly basis. This continues the trend seen over the past few years. The average number of emails received increased by 9% in the past year, although the increase is much smaller than the 26% increase observed between 2005 and 2006.

AXA Art Establishes Partnership with 'Behind Closed Doors'
NEW YORK, June 24 2008 -- AXA Art is pleased to announced that it has cemented a partnership with "Behind Closed Doors -- An Entree to Private Collections." The brainchild of co-chairs, Arlene and Stephen Heller, Behind Closed Doors is quickly becoming one of Toronto's most successful "must see, must attend" art events.

Reference and Statistics

Individual Annuity Sales Improve in first quarter of 2008: LIMRA
WINDSOR, Conn., June 2, 2008 - For the first quarter of 2008, U.S. individual annuity sales rose nine percent over the first quarter of 2007 reaching $63.4 billion, according to LIMRA.

Voluntary sales record another year of steady growth based on Eastbridge's study of 64 leading carriers
AVON, CONNECTICUT, USA (June 10, 2008) - In 2007, worksite sales increased nearly 7 percent, very close to the same percent as for 2006. This is a big jump from the increases we saw from 2003-2005 . Total 2007 worksite sales are estimated at $5.038 billion, up from $4.715 in 2006.

USA P/C Industry Net Income and Overall Profitability Drop by Half in First-Quarter 2008 on Deterioration in Underwriting and Investment Results
JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 24, 2008 - The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry's net income after taxes fell to $8.2 billion in first-quarter 2008 from $16.2 billion in first-quarter 2007 and a cyclical peak of $17.7 billion in first-quarter 2005. Reflecting the declines in net income, the property/casualty industry's annualized rate of return on average policyholders' surplus (statutory net worth) dropped to 6.4 percent in first-quarter 2008 from 13.2 percent in first-quarter 2007 and 17.9 percent in first-quarter 2005, according to ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

Business of Insurance

Conning Research: USA Regional Property-Casualty Insurers Holding their Own in the Small Commercial Market
(Hartford, CT) June 11, 2008 - Property-casualty insurers are competing aggressively for the small commercial market, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting.

from Doug:

One son has been here for a five day weekend. We did a couple of bike rides, one was a loop around east central Toronto where it was great to see so many people enjoying the park facilities. He announced we had gone more than 30 km; I guess my program to regaina little fitness is working. Part of our ride was out along the man-made spit into Lake Ontario. It was fascinating to hear the cacaphony from the colony of thousands of cormorants on one of the little peninsulas - how quickly Nature adjusts to new opportunities.
I will celebrate Dominion - Ooops Canada - Day today with our heritage group at Fort York, where one of the oldest buildings in Toronto exists. It was obviously built after April 1813, when the Americans invaded and burned the Parliament Buildings and ransacked over a week much of Toronto - then York - with a total population of then 700 residents. When the Americans attacked and the British and militia retreated, the British blew up the magazine at Fort York, a devastating blast which rattled glass windows at Fort Niagara some 30 km away and killed the leader of the attacking combat troops, Zebulon Pike (Pike's Peak is one of many things named after him). The British burning of the White House in Washington a year later in August 1814 was in retaliation.
Enjoy Canada Day - and to our neighbours, a good Independence Day.


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