Featured Articles Blog

Commercial Lines Working Group Publishes Quote and Bind Requirements for Two More Segments 0

Uncategorized

Commercial Lines Working Group Publishes Quote and Bind Requirements for Two More Segments

CSIO’s Commercial Lines (CL) Working Group Forges Ahead with CL Data Standards by Publishing Quote and Bind Requirements for Two More Segments Toronto, ON (June 28, 2023) – CSIO is pleased to announce that the Commercial Lines (CL) Working Group has published business requirements to quote and bind two more commercial segments – health services and warehousing. Health services include physicians, dentists and physiotherapists, where warehousing covers household goods, refrigeration and transportation terminals – along with others. This now makes a total of seven industry sectors that CL Data Standards have been published for, with the previous ones being business and professional services, contractors, hospitality, real estate and retail industries. The CL Data Standards created by the Working Group automate commercial business quote and bind, improving the customer experience while saving brokers time and money. Once insurers and vendors begin programming the prescribed fields and required data points for quoting and binding in their systems, it will allow commercial brokers to exchange data in a simple, structured format directly from their broker management system (BMS) to the insurer’s system, saving brokers time by eliminating double-entry and reducing errors. With accurate and structured data, insurers’ systems can classify the risk and...

Wisedocs Launches Medical Record Summary Platform Powered by State-of-the-Art Generative AI 0

Uncategorized

Wisedocs Launches Medical Record Summary Platform Powered by State-of-the-Art Generative AI

Toronto ON (June 28, 2023) – Wisedocs, an artificial intelligence software platform for the insurance industry, is pleased to announce the launch of their new AI Medical Summary Platform. Wisedocs’ AI Medical Summary Platform builds off their existing medical record review software. The new platform also further supports companies in the insurance ecosystem by allowing them to quickly summarize thousands of pages of medical records while gaining insights across documents to enable fast and inexpensive reviews of and decisions on medical records. “We knew from the beginning of Wisedocs that Generative AI capabilities, paired with our in-depth understanding and professional history in the market, would be our key competitive edge to driving a successful AI medical summary platform,” notes Connor Atchison, Founder and CEO. “With Wisedocs, accurate and succinct summaries can now be generated from thousands of pages of medical records, automating the complex insurance process and creating a better and faster experience for the experts and claimants involved. We’ve built a platform with deep clinical knowledge that allows for true context understanding.” Insurance carriers, legal firms, as well as third-party medical examiners and clinical staff will now be able to extract key clinical information in real-time and build meaningful...

Uncovering Connections: How Link Analysis Can Streamline OSINT Investigations 0

Uncategorized

Uncovering Connections: How Link Analysis Can Streamline OSINT Investigations

By Stephen Adams, Product Marketing Manager, Skopenow — Connections are the lifeblood of the internet, with people and businesses interacting and leaving digital traces across social media platforms, online marketplaces, websites, and forums at all hours of the day. For OSINT professionals, these countless interactions are not merely noise—they’re critical data points that can reveal hidden networks and relationships. Through link analysis, OSINT practitioners are able to surface valuable insights based on online activity and public records of individuals and organizations, and use that information to generate more comprehensive intelligence. In the past, link analysis entailed manually combing through large volumes of data and spreadsheets to build association matrices, eventually shaping them into rudimentary link analysis charts. Investigators took on this painstaking work to better understand siloed datasets and identify patterns, outliers, and other links. However, with modern, automated OSINT solutions, what used to take investigators hours or even days can now be accomplished in minutes. What is Link Analysis? Link analysis is a visual data technique used to evaluate relationships and connections between entities, including people, businesses, objects (like properties and vehicles), and activities. The ultimate aim of link analysis is to produce an insightful, visual snapshot encompassing an...

0

Uncategorized

Use a ‘Human-Centric’ Approach to Improve Your Bottom Line

Three initial advisor-provided client experiences can set in motion the “human-centric” aspect of financial planning. It starts on the advisor’s website. But the “most connective is the client discovery meeting. That’s where the glue is made,” Preston Cherry, founder and president of Concurrent Financial Planning and head of the financial planning program and assistant professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, tells ThinkAdvisor in an interview. Applying financial psychology enables an advisor to introduce “the human side of money,” Cherry says. What’s more, a human-centric approach can improve an advisor’s bottom line, he argues. Cherry’s firm focuses on finding your “Life Money Balance,” a philosophy the certified financial planner has trademarked and features in the name of his podcast. Cherry’s Green Bay-based practice, which he founded in 2018, targets the affluent Gen X segment and is in “pivotal growth” mode, with additions to his already comprehensive planning services, he says. A past president of the Financial Therapy Association, Cherry is director of the Charles Schwab Foundation Center for Financial Wellness at UW-Green Bay. His doctoral dissertation, written while attending Texas Tech University, was “Personality Traits and Financial Risks Among Older Americans.” Cherry is now researching how personality traits influence...

0

Uncategorized

California Workers’ Comp Insurer Combined Losses and Expenses in 2022 Were $15B

Article 0 Comments The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released its report on workers’ compensation losses and expenses for 2022. Key findings in the report include: Medical losses paid in 2022 were $4.4 billion, or 53 percent of total loss payments. Indemnity benefits paid in 2022 were $4.0 billion, or 47 percent of total loss payments. The following benefits accounted for the majority of those indemnity payments: temporary disability (56%); permanent partial disability (34%); vocational rehabilitation (1.8%). Total insurer combined losses and expenses incurred in 2022 were $15 billion, or 98% of calendar year premium, compared to $13.1 billion, or 96 percent of calendar year premium, in 2021. The report is on the WCIB website. Topics California Carriers Profit Loss Workers’ Compensation Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Carriers? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada and Red Planet Software Partner to Expand Broker Capabilities 0

Uncategorized

FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada and Red Planet Software Partner to Expand Broker Capabilities

Toronto, ON (June 26, 2023) – FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada (FIRST Canada), the industry leader in payment solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Red Planet Software, a leading global provider of insurance software solutions, to expand Canadian brokers’ financing and payments offering. The partnership between FIRST Canada and Red Planet Software allows the two payments and software innovators to combine their respective strategic expertise and resources to empower brokers with bespoke payment tools and capabilities to drive broker/client connectivity and business growth. FIRST Canada will evolve their full stack software and solutions with Red Planet’s internationally-adopted software and advance brokers’ offering by reducing cost, risk, and complexity by delivering a more flexible, seamless platform. This integrated offering will enable brokers to optimize their payment processes, automate administrative tasks, and access real-time data, ultimately improving their operational efficiency and client connectivity. “The partnership between FIRST Canada and Red Planet Software is a continuation of the multi-million dollar investment we make each year into the success of the Canadian broker channel,” stated Stuart Bruce, CEO, FIRST Canada. “This is a significant step to increase business value and ensure our broker partners have the cutting-edge solutions they will need...

Russia’s Arctic Shipping Dream Stumbles on Small Aging Fleet 0

Uncategorized

Russia’s Arctic Shipping Dream Stumbles on Small Aging Fleet

Article 0 Comments Russia will struggle to meet its strategic goal of more than quadrupling Arctic sea shipments by the end of the decade as the nation cannot increase and upgrade its small, aging ice fleet fast enough, according to the Northern Sea Route operator Rosatom. The Arctic route, stretching more than 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 kilometers) between the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait, is the shortest passage between Europe and Asia. Global warming has made the icebound waters increasingly more navigable, creating opportunities for Russian commodity exporters that are focusing on Asian markets amid the Kremlin’s standoff with the West over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia aims to send at least 150 million tons of crude oil, liquefied natural gas, coal and other cargoes via its Northern Sea Route every year from 2030, a more than fourfold jump on the volumes shipped in 2022, according to the Northern Sea Route development plan approved by the nation’s government. Climate Change Leads to ‘Arctic Opening,’ Creating Key Emerging Risk: Swiss Re Yet this goal requires construction of a whole new commercial Arctic fleet, according to Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of the Northern Sea Route Directorate at state nuclear corporation Rosatom. In...

Sun Life Health introduces new online pharmacy app 0

Uncategorized

Sun Life Health introduces new online pharmacy app

Living healthier lives: Lumino Health Pharmacy, Provided by Pillway makes it easier than ever for Clients to take charge of their health Toronto, ON (June 26, 2023) – With nearly half of all Canadians taking a maintenance medication to treat a chronic condition, chances are you or someone you love is regularly visiting a pharmacy. Yet, 50 per cent of those prescribed maintenance medications don’t take them properly[1] – which can lead to serious health complications. To make it easier for Sun Life Clients to take charge of their health, Sun Life Health is introducing Lumino Health™ Pharmacy, provided by Pillway. Sun Life Clients will have the convenience of a pharmacist at their fingertips through the Lumino Health Pharmacy app. Lumino Health Pharmacy benefits include: Access to connect with a live pharmacist by chat or a phone call. Medications delivered right to your door. For most, medicines will arrive the same or next business day. Personalized pre-packaging to help you take the right medications at the right time. Ability to track usage, manage refills and receive important notifications directly through the app. “Health is a top concern for Canadians and for those taking medications daily, it shouldn’t be complicated. Lumino...

0

Uncategorized

Million Dollar Round Table Aims to Stay Global

Million Dollar Round Table is working to chase away the geopolitical fog and bring together top financial services sales professionals from around the world. The Park Ridge, Illinois-based group is bringing hundreds of members to Nashville, Tennessee, this week for its second annual meeting since the pandemic began. Peggy Tsai, the group’s president, talked at a general session on Monday about being able to attend the 2022 MDRT meeting, which was MDRT’s first in-person annual meeting since the pandemic began, in Boston. “It was wonderful to re-engage with one another away from our computer screens,” Tsai said, according to a written version of her remarks provided by MDRT. “We shared many warm embraces and powerful feelings. That it was good to be alive.” Now, Tsai said MDRT is moving ahead to support members in all countries. MDRT has more than 70,000 members in 69 countries and other jurisdictions. Only about 8,000 of the members are based in the United States.

0

Uncategorized

The Longevity Gap and Life Insurance Settlements

What You Need to Know Biology seems to cause some of the difference. Societal pressure may also play a role. The gap affects how much investors will pay for in-force policies. Last year, we learned that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the longevity tables used by life insurance companies to calculate rates. However, an even more substantial development has been the widening longevity gap between men and women, which has recently reached its largest difference in 25 years. This global phenomenon has significant implications for the life insurance industry, particularly regarding life insurance settlements. In the United States, the average life expectancy for women is 79.1 years, while for men, it is 73.2 years, representing a nearly six-year difference. This increasing gap has substantial implications for the financial planning industry. With the gap between men’s and women’s life expectancy increasing, understanding the reasons behind this disparity becomes crucial. Causes of the Longevity Gap Several factors contribute to the disparity in life expectancy between men and women. First, men are more prone to certain health conditions that increase mortality rates. For instance, men have a higher prevalence of diabetes and cancer-related deaths. Furthermore, suicide rates are four times higher among men, and...