Issue 2008-45 -- November 25, 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

New Policy Works Makes Handling In-Force Policies Much Easier.
Calgary, Alberta - Policy Works Inc. is proud to announce the release of the newest version of Policy Works, its industry leading Commercial Management System (CMS). The focus of this release is making it easier for brokers to manage in-force policies.

Keal Technology and York Fire Announce Policy Inquiry Using WARP.
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada - November 19, 2008 - Today, Keal Technology and York Fire & Casualty Insurance (York Fire) have jointly announced that they are working together to introduce new functionality to their mutual clients. This partnership will allow brokers using Keal's flagship Broker Management System (BMS) sigXP to access policy, claims and billing inquiry through York Fire's York Connection, a web based application, using the real time solution, WARP.

CompuOffice Software Inc. enhances CompeteUS software with OptiSearch™.
NOVEMBER 18, 2008: MIAMI FL: CompuOffice Software Inc., a leading independent North American developer and producer of life insurance and financial software is introducing the addition of OptiSearch facilities to the CompeteUS life insurance software. The CompeteUS software is an advanced and comprehensive multiple company life insurance comparison and research software for the United States.

CSIO calls for nominations for 2nd Annual Achievement Awards.
November 18, 2008, Toronto - The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) is calling for nominees to recognize the most useful improvement of the independent broker distribution channel. Nominees can be either an insurer or vendor who has developed an innovative solution using CSIO XML standards.

Advocis: CCIR/CISRO miss the opportunity to set the bar higher.
Toronto - November 14, 2008 – Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, is lukewarm about the content of the report by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) on the incidental selling of insurance.

Claims

Accident Support Services Ltd. Receives Approval to Open a Collision Reporting Centre in Partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.
Sault Ste. Marie, November 17, 2008 -- Accident Support Services Ltd., Facilitators of Collision Reporting to the Insurance Industry, are pleased to announce that on November 18, 2008 we will open a Collision Reporting Centre in partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service. The grand opening on the 18th will include a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. and will include Police Officials and local dignitaries.

ICBC: Collision repair shops win international customer service awards - November 13.
Collision repair shops across the province have been recognized internationally for excellent customer service in the collision repair industry. Twenty-one ICBC accredited repair shops won 2008 AutocheX Premier Achiever Awards. The winners were recognized at the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) on November 6, 2008. Winners were selected out of 9,000 entries from across North America for achieving customer satisfaction scores in the top five per cent of shops measured in 2008.

eBusiness and Technology

IBM Builds Trust and Confidence in Human Identity Systems to Better Protect Customer and Corporate Intelligence.
ARMONK, NY - 11 Nov 2008: With increased government and consumer pressures on companies to provide higher levels of identity assurance, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced technology that helps customers better control identity and access management in order to build trust and confidence in the critical systems running their businesses.

Gartner Says Companies Can Save 1 Million Kilowatt Hours by Implementing 11 Best Practices in the Data Center.
STAMFORD, Conn., November 13, 2008 - In a conventional data center, 35 percent to as much as 50 percent of the electrical energy consumed is for cooling versus 15 percent in best-practice "green" data centers, according to Gartner, Inc.

Policy and Product Management

Guidewire Announces Release of Guidewire PolicyCenter 3.0.
LAS VEGAS, NV, November 10, 2008 - At the ISOTech 2008 Conference, Guidewire Software®, Inc., a leading global provider of solutions for property/casualty insurers, today announced the release and immediate availability of Guidewire PolicyCenter® 3.0, a comprehensive all lines underwriting and policy administration system. Guidewire PolicyCenter 3.0 is a 100% web-based system-of-record optimized to: make it easier for producers to do business with insurance carriers with responsive collaboration, improve underwriting results leveraging business rules-driven automation and process management, and bring new products to market quickly through core policy system flexibility.




2009 P&C Insurance Technology Conference: "Leadership: The Business-IT Imperative"

Speakers and Topics include:

  • Acquiring the Right Insurance Software
    George Grieve, CEO, CastleBay Consulting

Insurance carriers, MGAs, and large brokers are currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire and implement third party vendor software products to improve core insurance processing. Mr. Grieve will describe and illustrate an appropriate methodology and business/IT governance partnership to support an optimal software vendor and product decision. More details.

For early program information, event details and all sponsors, see the conference overview.




Reference and Statistics

MIB Life Index Reports North American Life Insurance Activity Off 1.8% in October.
Braintree, MA. - (November 10, 2008) - North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down -1.8% in October year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Year to date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian activity remained stable off -1.9%, compared to the same ten months last year. October activity was up +2.5% over September 2008, in a range consistent for this period.

Business of Insurance

Manulife Financial offers range of new Tax-Free Savings Accounts.
WATERLOO, ON, Nov. 17 2008 - Manulife Financial is now offering Canadians multiple options to start saving money to contribute toward their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs).

Standard Life offers early incentive to investors opening tax-free savings accounts.
MONTREAL, Nov. 20 2008 - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada's retail division announced today an incentive offer for individual investors. Those planning to open a tax-free savings account (TFSA) in 2009 can get a head start maximizing their savings, starting today. Standard Life is offering investors a preferred interest rate, a plan for their 2009 and 2010 contributions, a choice in how they invest their savings and no fees if they select their investment within six months.

Consumer Information

B.C. police target dangerous behaviours at intersections: ICBC.
VANCOUVER, Nov. 18 - B.C.'s Solicitor General John van Dongen joined police and ICBC this morning to kick off a month-long campaign to reduce intersection crashes across B.C.

Road safety leaders raise awareness of driver fatigue for Remembrance Day for road traffic victims: IBC.
TORONTO, Nov. 19 - Today marks National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims in Canada, and the Highway Safety Roundtable is warning Canadians to find somewhere safe to pull over if they're too tired to drive.

Marketing and the Market Place

61% of Canadians concerned about financial health as they approach retirement: Russell Investments Survey.
TORONTO, Nov. 17 2008 - A survey of 2,200 Canadians by Russell Investments Canada and Harris/Decima Research indicated that 10 years before retirement, 61% of Canadians worried about outliving their money, but the reality is that 10 years into retirement, only about one in five retirees were still worried.

According to IDC, One Third of Potential Selling Time Is Wasted Due to Poor Sales Enablement.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., November 13, 2008 - Lee Levitt will be delivering the keynote speech at the annual SAVO Executive Summit in Chicago, November 13, 2008, where he will highlight findings from the IDC Sales Advisory Practice's recent sales enablement research.

from Doug:

Before rebuilding our front porch, we discussed with the owners in the other half of our semi-detached Victorian townhouse. They have lived there now for 71 years. From a photo album they produced two photos taken in the early 50's of the front porch. Some elements which we didn't copy were completely new to us, but we remained by and large true to form. Living in a heritage conservation district, we hope that the style is sufficiently true to the original that the heritage police won't come calling, or if they do, that we won't have a problem.


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