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Technology: Reaching for the Future

February 1, 2000 Lowell Conn

The answer to industry automation might never have been the Synchron Project or any vendor based initiative. There is rising sentiment that it always was the internet. This industry-wide realization has struck home, and insurers are now rushing to get…

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STANDARDIZING CARRIER RISK

February 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

Property and casualty insurance companies — by the nature of their business — face many risks. When does a particular exposure become grave enough to pose a material risk and a threat to a company’s solvency? At the recently held 8th Annual KPMG Insurance Issues Conference, in Toronto, KPMG’s Wendy Mills and Tracy Capstick examined emerging standards for p&c insurers.

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE STANDARDS

February 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

On the invitation of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) formed a working group in 1998 to prepare a set of draft standards of sound business and financial practices for property and…

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A RISKY PROPOSITION

February 1, 2000 Ron Lepofksy, president, PTI Telecommunications

Going online means exposing your company to an array of security risks and hazards. These security risks are typically examined in a piecemeal fashion, but technology is emerging to examine this risk on an enterprise level. One thing is for sure, it’s time to assess your risk, and carry through with plans to mitigate it.

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Turn the Headlights On

February 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, Editor

Arecently held KPMG seminar on e-commerce application opened with a quote from Bill Gates: “Business is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last fifty…If the 1980s were about quality and the 1990s…

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Up In Smoke

February 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, Editor

The fact that one of Hollywood’s recent creations “The Insider”, which is based on behind-the-scenes dirty tricks employed by opposing parties in the U.S. anti-tobacco wars, achieved such box office success clearly indicates rising public interest in tarring cigarette manufacturers…

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The Face of REGULATION

February 1, 2000 David Carr

Technology, globalization, deregulation, consolidation and demutualization. These are the forces of change shifting the ground beneath the world’s financial services industry. Such change is drawing into question the effectiveness of regulators such as Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to remain relevant to its role, particularly in light of the new non-traditional players such as technology companies in financial services.

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RIMS releases benchmarks

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The cost of risk has risen in the U.S. but dropped in Canada, according to the recently released Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) 1999 Benchmark Survey. The annual report, co-authored by Ernst & Young, polled 737 American and 79…

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Coming Events (January 01, 2000)

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

Announcements in Coming Events are run free of charge as a service to the industry. Items should be submitted by the first of the month prior to the month in which the announcement is to appear. Ontario Risk & Insurance…

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GETTING TO GRIPS WITH CLAIMCOSTS

January 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, Editor

With little room to maneuver on premium growth and enhancing investment returns, property and casualty insurers are likely to turn their attention in the year ahead to better risk selection and improved claims handling efficiency to boost bottom-line performance, industry…

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Commercial Risk Under JIT

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The “just-in-time” (JIT) efficiency supply process has over recent years become more than just a popular fad among manufacturers, it has become an engraved business philosophy having produced significant operating savings to companies. However, when evaluating commercial coverages, insurers need to carefully weigh up all the risk factors associated with JIT.

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Strong Winds are Blowing

January 1, 2000 Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophi

With the 1999 hurricane season recently closing with the last minute arrival of Hurricane Lenny causing considerably and unexpected damage in the Caribbean, the timing of the recently jointly held Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and Insurance Bureau of…