Tech
Insurers who use big data and artificial intelligence to make underwriting decisions must be prepared to explain to clients and regulators exactly how they arrived at those decisions, an Insurance Institute of Canada researcher suggests. “A challenge in the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in insurance involves explainability,” senior researcher Paul Kovacs wrote […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 31, 2021
3 min read
Operations
At least one insurer plans to offer an application programming interface (API) intended to help brokers quote and bind coverage for small businesses without the aggravation of having to log into different insurer portals or send emails or faxes. Unica Insurance is working on an API to quote and bind small business for the reusable […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 22, 2021
Motorists who are driving fewer kilometres than they were before the pandemic are more likely to select usage-based auto insurance, Intact Financial Corp. observes. “COVID has pushed consumers to recognize that maybe UBI would be a tool that will immediately re-price [auto coverage] based on how much driving they are doing, and therefore made it […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 19, 2021
2 min read
The data exchange project needs more carriers on board, says the connectivity lead for Canada’s brokers. The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) announced Mar. 10, 2021, the creation of the Data Exchange Connect Alliance (DXCA). The alliance now has seven insurers: Economical, Wawanesa; SGI; Gore Mutual; The Commonwell; Aviva; and RSA. “DX will not […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 15, 2021
To increase female representation in the C-suite, the property and casualty insurance industry needs to make it easier to balance home responsibilities and up its game in promoting insurance as a career for young people, a Nova Scotia broker suggests. “We tend to feel most comfortable with and promote people like us,” said Gina McFetridge, […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 11, 2021
HR
Valérie Lavoie, President, Chief Operating Officer, Desjardins General Insurance Group Family responsibilities and unconscious biases are among factors that can hold women back from advancing into the C-suite, says Valérie Lavoie, a senior executive with Canada’s second-largest P&C insurance carrier. “Often women are the only ones mostly taking care of the family at home,” said […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 10, 2021
For the P&C industry, one of the biggest challenges of going digital is the relatively few times a client interacts with an insurer provider, a fintech webinar speaker suggested Tuesday. When the financial industry started offering electronic cheque deposit, “it was a little bumpy” at first, but eventually consumers got good at it because they […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 9, 2021
Some brokers are entering into mergers or partnerships so they can more easily place hard-to-find coverage, according to one brokerage executive. “We just feel that some brokers who do not necessarily have our volume are struggling to find market support and being able to provide solutions to customers who come and see them,” Kenny Nicholls, […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 4, 2021
Western Financial Group is taking a non-controlling interest in Saint John, N.B.-based Huestis Insurance Group. The exact terms of the deal, announced Feb. 23, were not disclosed, other than it will give the High River, Alta.-based Western Financial a “significant” non-controlling interest in Huestis. “Huestis will continue providing great service to its communities under the […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 1, 2021
Underwriters of the future are going to look a lot more like technology trailblazers, data pioneers, dealmakers, portfolio optimizers, and risk detectives, according to a new report by Deloitte. “To remain competitive, insurers should accelerate underwriting transformation,” Deloitte states in its new paper, The Rise of the Exponential Underwriter, released Feb. 25. “They can do […]
By David Gambrill | March 1, 2021
4 min read
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