Tech

Canadian P&C industry enters “hybrid cloud” phase

Canadian P&C insurance companies have entered a transitional technology phase that will see data from their legacy systems get transferred online. “We are in a hybrid-cloud paradigm,” Frank Attaie, vice president of cloud and software at IBM Canada, told Canadian Underwriter Monday. One part of the hybrid model refers to core computer or “legacy” systems, […]

By David Gambrill | July 24, 2018

3 min read

Tech

Travel insurance program targets those not buying through brokers

Specialized travel insurance provider TuGo has launched an Affiliate Program, a secondary distribution channel to reach travellers who aren’t currently buying products through traditional channels such as brokers. TuGo’s CEO, Patrick Robinson, told Canadian Underwriter Monday that TuGo’s Affiliate Program (TAP) is designed for Canadian individuals and organizations who are unlicensed to sell travel insurance, […]

By Jason Contant | July 23, 2018

2 min read

Legal / Regulation

The preferred way to transfer risk of automated cars: Travelers

The public policy division of Travelers is recommending that a “clear risk transfer mechanism” be in place to adapt auto insurance for autonomous vehicles. “While there has not been widespread attention paid to how liability and compensation will be addressed as AVs [automated vehicles] multiply, product liability has been raised as the inevitable default option,” says a […]

By Jason Contant | July 22, 2018

2 min read

Tech

Winter tire claims statistics took biggest insurer by surprise

When Intact started giving discounts on auto insurance to people with winter tires, the result appeared to be counter-intuitive. Motorists insured by Intact who reported having winter tires installed “were having worse loss ratios” than those driving in the winter without winter tires, Jean-François Larochelle director of Intact’s data lab, suggested Wednesday during a webinar, […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 22, 2018

2 min read

Top 10 Canadian insurer partners with Slice for new digital brand

The Co-operators and insurtech Slice Labs announced Wednesday a partnership to allow the insurer to launch a new digital insurance brand in Canada. The first product – underwritten by The Co-operators – will be a pay-per-use homeshare offering under the brand name duuo. That product will be for hosts using homesharing platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway […]

2 min read

How blockchain will help brokers bypass traditional insurers

Vancouver-based Fineqia International Inc. has taken an equity allocation in Black Insurance, a Tallinn, Estonia-based digital insurance startup on the blockchain that has set its sights on creating a direct investor-to-broker relationship, bypassing the need for a traditional insurance company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Fineqia said its investment sum represents less […]

3 min read

Why fully automated cars are a lot further away than you think

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the first fully autonomous car to hit the streets anytime soon. Car manufacturers have projected for years that we might have fully automated cars on the roads by 2018. But for all the hype that they bring, it may be years, if not decades, before self-driving systems are reliably able […]

2 min read

How to explore an untapped market in identity fraud protection

While the majority of polled Canadians (86%) believe they are increasingly at risk of identity fraud, only about one-quarter have identity fraud protection, a recent survey has found. Conducted on behalf of Vancouver-based fintech company Mogo, the survey polled 1,514 adult Canadians. Eighty-six per cent believed they are increasingly at risk of identify theft and […]

2 min read

Quebec insurance IT provider V-NEO acquired by German-based tech company

German-based tech provider GFT Technologies SE (GFT) has acquired V-NEO Inc. (V-NEO), a Quebec-based IT provider to the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry. Founded in 2011, V-NEO has acted as a service partner for the P&C insurance Guidewire platform. Headquartered in Quebec City, the company employs 160 people at its three sites in Quebec, […]

2 min read