CSIO and the Power of Collaboration

On Tuesday, April 22, CSIO held its Annual General Meeting and Member Reception at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.  It was a great opportunity to reflect together with our broker, vendor and carrier members on the notable accomplishments that were achieved in 2013, and to recognize that it is only through the close, collaborative and cooperative working relationships with member companies that such achievements are possible.

Perhaps the most notable success story illustrating the importance of working collaboratively with our member companies is eDocs, a time- and cost-saving standard that allows brokers to download policy documents electronically from insurers directly into their BMS.  Although this standard was released in 2012, we worked closely with our members to promote the benefits of eDocs across the country, resulting in accelerated implementations throughout 2013.

To further support our efforts to improve the efficiencies in the broker channel through the uniform implementation of standards-based solutions, we introduced the CSIO Certification program in September 2013.  With eDocs as the first business activity to be certified, we were pleased to publicly recognize twelve member companies who successfully completed the certification program:

• Applied Systems Inc.
• Aviva Canada Inc.
• Brovada Technologies Inc.
• Gore Mutual Ins. Co.
• The Guarantee Company of North America
• Intact Insurance
• Keal Technology
• Logiciels Deltek Inc.
• MASTERCOM Consulting Ltd.
• Northbridge Insurance
• Quindell Plc
• RSA Canada

Another significant achievement is the work that our technical team has done on the telematics data standard, in collaboration with our members. As one of the fastest-growing technologies in Canada, telematics empowers auto insurance customers to obtain personalized rates, and having a data standard that meets the needs of the industry is crucial for the long-term competitiveness of the broker distribution channel.

Of course, none of these achievements would have been possible without the participation and collaboration of our broker, vendor and carrier volunteers.  As CSIO’s Chairman, Steve Whitelaw, noted during his closing remarks at the AGM, “to the Board of Directors, I thank you for your guidance and support of CSIO and I look forward to our continued efforts to lead CSIO towards our shared vision for the organization through 2014.  For our current volunteers, thank you.  And I also extend a thank-you to those volunteers who will step forward to further elevate the value that CSIO brings to our membership.”