Risk Management: It’s a Buyer’s Market
March 1, 1999 Lowell Conn and Sean van ZylDespite deteriorating conditions in the property and casualty insurance market, insurers continue to slash already low premium rates. Market observers forecast this trend to continue for at least 24 months as insurers prioritize marketshare over revenue prosperity. Simply put, the…
Batten down the hatches FOR 99
March 1, 1999 Lowell Conn and Sean Van ZylReduced profitability, rising underwriting losses, increased competition and higher technology costs are likely to form the stage for the North American property and casualty insurance industry in 1999, according to the vast majority of respondents in an Insurance Information Institute (III) survey conducted at the annually held Joint Industry Forum which recently took place in New York City.
AXA forms Quebec bank alliance
February 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterIn response to the opening up of Quebec’s insurance market to the Caisse Populaire Desjardins through the controversial Bill 188 which was passed by the province last summer, AXA Insurance has entered into a marketing partnership with National Bank to…
WWW.SEEKING YOU
February 1, 1999 Andy WalkerInstant communication has come to the computer desktop through a miraculous little software company called Mirabilis. The Tel Aviv based company has revolutionized communication across the Internet with its innovative little program called ICQ which translates to the not-quite-acronym “I…
ebix.com lifts technology bar
February 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDelphi Information Systems Inc., another supplier of broker management software, has released details of a new web browser-enabled policy management system. Located at www.ebix.com, ebix.com provides carriers and brokers with a data exchange system that allows brokers to send information…
AutoRate Warning
February 1, 1999 Linda Matthews, COO of Royal & SunAllianceOntario’s auto insurance regulations under Bill 59, and the latest revisions under Bill 90, have created a unique legislative environment in the provincial governing of consumer insurance. So much so that several provincial insurance regulators have eyed the legislation as…
Hi-tech streamlines car rental process
February 1, 1999 Matt Darrah, vice president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, TorontoConsistency and convenience have been earmarked as the key factors likely to satisfy the consumer of the future. The rapid advancements made on the technology front over recent decades are largely responsible for this shift in consumer expectations. To survive…
Financial MANAGEMENT LIABILITY
February 1, 1999 Shelley BoyesBugs, big deals, bad spills and a certain public official’s sexual high crimes and misdemeanors were all key factors driving the corporate insurance market throughout 1998. And the same scary financial exposures will likely be very much in the minds…
Hub/Co-operators on partnership bandwagon
February 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCo-operators General Insurance Company is the latest insurer to take an ownership position in a broker network, trading its equity holdings in Ontario-based Barton Insurance Brokers to the Hub Group in exchange for an approximate 10% stake of the latter’s…
Call centres notch premiums
February 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterPremiums generated by call centres in Canada have risen by 96% since 1994, says Ted Belton who addressed the Strategy Institute Call Centre Conference recently. Belton notes the more traditional distribution methods generated premiums at a lower 20% growth rate…
Solutions from the Ashes
February 1, 1999 Lowell ConnThe Synchron initiative, once heralded as the industry’s ultimate electronic interface solution between companies and point of sale, collapsed last year. From its ashes have risen several alternative solutions, one of the most prominent being The Freedom Alliance, a strategic…
Jokers Wild
February 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorJust over half a year has elapsed since the burial of Synchron. Since then, little appears to have been achieved in finding a replacement solution to the industry’s drive for a single interactive technology interface solution. Add to which, recent…