CSIO confident of new strategy

Last year proved to be a turning point for the insurance industry’s technology standards organization, the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), says chairman Howard Moran at the annual general meeting.

Subsequent to the appointment of a new president, Klaas Westera, in July of last year, the CSIO completed an internal study highlighting the need to implement development changes to ensure a successful future strategy. “The study strongly supported CSIO’s importance as the industry’s only forum where brokers and their companies meet and work together for the benefit of the industry. The study also suggested that CSIO’s activities be reengineered to produce more relevant and beneficial products and services for the industry,” Moran remarks.

Significant changes in operations have since been brought about, Moran adds, “resulting in a fresh new focus, new directions and raised activity levels”. By mid-1999 the centre’s extranet delivery network, CSIOnet, had become the industry’s network of choice, he remarks. The switch to CSIOnet from the prior ICEnet electronic delivery system produced members with an approximate 70% cost saving. Although responsibility for CSIOnet has since been passed to the CSIO’s sister organization, the Insurance Information Centre of Canada (IICC), there will be ongoing involvement in the development of the extranet, Moran says.

Last year resulted in development of commercial general liability and tenants legal liability EDI standards. This follows the release of commercial property EDI standards in 1998. The CSIO also initiated a campaign to develop new application forms with the release last year of a farm application form. “This new form, which is now available through CSIO’s website, marks the beginning of a comprehensive forms project for the new year.”

In addition, during 1999 the CSIO began investigating the development of standard web-screen standards, comments Westera. The area of web development and application will become a significant area of activity for the CSIO in the year ahead, he predicts. “We can gain realistic efficiencies through standard web application.”