Alberta Life/Accident & Sickness
agents are reminded they must have all CE hours in
place by February 15 in order to renew their license.
Call 1-800-404-2211 if you need hours.
Industry Briefs
Ontario insurers get owners' cap
on third-party liability claims for leased or rented
vehicles
Ontario auto insurers have worked together to make
legislative changes which clarify who first pays for
third-party liability claims involving leased or rented
vehicles.
The lessee's insurer pays first, the driver's policy
second and the lessor third.
Bill 18 includes amendments to 23 provincial statutes
on this issue. The bill is the result of months of consultation
between government levels, manufacturers, leasing firms
and insurers. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada,
the goal of this bill is to "make sure there wasn't
a disproportionate liability place on leased vehicles
as opposed to other ownership options."
The bill imposes a $1 million cap on the vicarious
liability of leasing and rental companies. Some commercial
vehicles will still have a higher cap.
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More people on the roads but fewer fatalities: statistics
The Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics
say that in 2004, more drivers were on Canadian roads
but there were fewer fatal accidents than in previous
years.
The statistics show that fatalities due to automobile
accidents were down 0.2 percent to 2,730 from 2,736
in 2003. Injuries dropped by 4.5 percent.
Deaths due to traffic accidents have been declining
steadily over the years, dropping nearly 50 percent
since 1980.
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Summer flood payouts top $1 billion
Last summer's floods in Manitoba and Alberta are estimated
to cost governments and private insurers more than $1
billion.
Recent estimate from the Manitoba government puts disaster
financial assistance payments at more than $60.9 million.
Crop insurance and assistance payments will set provincial
records at about $560 million.
Alberta's disaster relief fund was initially budgeted
at $55 million but is expected to end up paying out
roughly $137 million. Most of this money will go to
repairing municipal infrastructure that was damaged
or destroyed by the floodwaters of the Red Deer and
North Saskatchewan rivers.
While these numbers are larger than many expected,
they are not complete. They do not cover the total financial
impact on farmers or spin-off losses to the provincial
economies. Manitoba expects the latter to be about $1.8
billion.
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Majority of US organizations victims of cyber incidents
The FBI has recently reported that as many as nine
out of 10 American organizations were victims of some
sort of computer security incident in 2005. The federal
department also says that one-fifth of these organizations
are hit more than 20 times each year. Roughly two-thirds
suffer financial losses as a result.
While there are currently no numbers regarding Canadian
cases of computer security breaches, experts recognize
that this is a significant threat in Canada.
Companies should take measures to ensure that their
computer networks are safe and secure.
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Auto theft rates in Winnipeg drop
Winnipeg, Manitoba's worst hit area for auto theft,
experienced a 16 percent drop in 2005 theft rates.
Manitoba Public Insurance says that the drop is due
to its promotion of automobile immobilizers and due
to a joint campaign with the city's police force.
According to MPI officials, the campaign was more successful
than the figures indicate.
During the program, police officers went to the homes
of convicted auto thieves to ensure that they were observing
curfew and other parole requirements.
MPI launched a $40 million campaign to increase the
use of electronic immobilizers.
Electronic immobilizers require a special key or small
electronic device to start a vehicle's engine.
When activated, the immobilizer shuts off one or more
parts of the engine's electrical system. This might
include the starter, ignition or fuel system. It is
unlikely that a thief can bypass these disconnected
parts and start the vehicle.
With the MPI promotion, Winnipeg residents had a discount
on half of the $280 cost of the device as well as an
annual discount of $40 on basic automobile insurance.
The benefits of this program were definitely noticed.
While it was in full operation, there was a 30 percent
reduction in auto theft rates.
Alberta Level 1 Licensing just got easier with ILS Learning
Corporation
For Alberta students looking to achieve their Level 1 insurance
license, the process just got easier, faster and more economical.
ILS Learning Corporation is again leading the way with their
launch of the online video-streaming license preparation course
specific to Alberta. Students will find the courses complete
and comprehensive; they will no longer have to purchase additional
books or resource materials.
The ILS Learning Corporation course is an easy and effective
way to learn all of the material needed to successfully pass
the Level 1 licensing examination. The course is broken up
into easy-to-manage chapters, each of which include video
clips, interactive exercises and sample examinations. Long-time
insurance educator Todd Hochban leads students through the
pertinent information while providing important real-life
examples.
Steve Hawrishok, president of ILS Learning Corporation, believes
that this program will be of great benefit to all Alberta
students. “Up until now,” he says, “they could either study
for their entry level exam by correspondence, or sign up for
a classroom session. With this new streaming video course,
students will benefit from having an instructor, yet be able
to take the course whenever they want, from wherever it is
convenient for them to do so.”
To register for the Level 1 license preparation course
call 1-800-404-2211 or visit the ILS website at www.ilscorp.com.
*Please click play to start the video
A Privacy Message from ILS
Privacy
versus Security
"Privacy" and "security" are two words that can often be interchanged
without impacting the context or meaning of a sentence. However,
when it comes to following PIPEDA guidelines, there is quite
a difference between these two terms.
Privacy is related to the protection, collection, storage, processing, dissemination
and destruction of personal information. PIPEDA defines "personal information"
as including "any factual or subjective information, recorded or not, about
any identifiable individual." This covers information in any form relating
to a person's age, name, income, ethnic origin, medical history, credit records,
employee files or other identifying information.
Security, on the other hand, focuses on ensuring that information is conveyed
where it is intended and as it is intended. Quite often security includes
physical measures to protect privacy, such as using locked safes, encrypted
software programs, security cameras and other technology.
Security is possible without privacy, but privacy is not possible without
security.
How often have
you heard a prerecorded voice on the other end of the telephone
tell you that “this call may be recorded for training
purposes”? Or, that it “may be recorded for quality
assurance”? Today it seems like this warning precedes
any telephone conversation with banks, utility companies,
telephone companies, cable companies, credit card companies,
technical support… Maybe your own office has the same
automated preamble.
But is it necessary?
With the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents
Act (PIPEDA), people on both ends of the telephone line need
to be aware of possible privacy issues in recording phone
calls. There are many companies who record telephone conversations
with their clients and there are just as many good reasons
for them to do so. While training purposes and quality assurance
stand out as good reasons to record telephone conversations,
there are other beneficial uses including checking for factual
accuracy, obtaining a lot of relevant information at once
and to ensure a high standard of customer service.
Under PIPEDA legislation, any telephone calls that are recorded
must meet certain requirements, as follows:
Organizations should only record calls for specified
purposes;
Those purposes must meet the reasonable person test;
Organizations must make a reasonable effort to ensure
that the individual is advised of the purposes for which
the information will be used;
The individual must consent;
The information collected should only be used for the
specified purposes; and
The tapes should be subject to the other provisions of
the Act with respect to matters such as safeguards, access,
retention and disposal.
Essentially, the individual must be informed of the taping
and the purposes for it. As well, they must consent to being
recorded, except in those limited cases where consent is not
required. Otherwise, the tape recording of customer telephone
calls is unauthorized collection of personal information.
According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada,
there are three steps that must be taken when an organization
records telephone conversations, specifically:
The individual should be informed that the conversation
is being recorded at the beginning of the call. This can
be done by an automated recording or by the customer service
representative.
The individual should be informed of the purpose. The
organization must be clear about the purposes; an organization
should not state that it is recording the conversation for
quality assurance purposes if, in fact, the recording might
be used for other purposes. If the individual proceeds,
knowing the conversation is being recorded and the purpose
of the recording, consent is implied.
The organization should offer alternatives if the caller
objects. The alternatives might involve not taping the call,
visiting an office in person, writing a letter or conducting
the transaction over the Internet.
So what’s the big deal?
There are many privacy issues raised by recording a telephone
call. While a customer service representative may not have
to write down all of the details of the conversation, taping
the call can result in considerably different outcomes than
merely having an unrecorded conversation. Consider the following:
A recorded conversation will capture incidental information
that the service representative might not note - information
that may not be related to the call but could be used by
the organization for other purposes.
A taped conversation will capture the caller's tone of
voice which could in turn be used for other purposes such
as a legal proceeding.
Having a phone conversation on record can be used to
infer information about the caller, such as ethnic origin
and age that is not relevant to the purpose of the call.
If your organization is in the practice of recording telephone
conversations, you should carefully review PIPEDA legislation
to ensure that you are not breaching its terms. Recorded telephone
calls can be great tools, providing that they are recorded
with privacy for all in mind.
Front
Line Challenges = Opportunities for Profit
By Todd Hochban
Businesses succeed or fail based on customer interactions.
Serving the last customer of the day as well as the first
customer of the day is challenging. Customer service professionals
understand the customers challenges and demands. Customer’s
needs and wants are moving targets. What was incredible service
yesterday is expected today. Organizations must have ongoing
programs to “delight” customers. Standing still
or doing things the same way as last year are not options.
Taking chances, listening to customers, accepting mistakes
and being proactive are some of many traits successful customer
service professionals possess.
When front line challenges are met head on, organizations
profit. Profit takes on many forms other than monetary. Satisfied
customers, satisfied staff and positive work environments
also add value to any organization.
Have a brainstorming session this week to develop new ways
to exceed customer's expectations.
The following are actual statements found on insurance forms
where drivers attempted to summarize the details of an auto
accident in the fewest words possible. The instances of faulty
writing serve to confirm that even incompetent writing may
be highly entertaining.
Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided
with a tree I don't have.
The other car collided with mine without giving warning
of its intentions.
I thought my window was down, but I found out it was
up when I put my head through it.
I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face.
As I approached the intersection a sign suddenly appeared
in a place where no stop sign ever appeared before. I was
unable to stop in time to avoid the accident.
I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing
my hat, found that I had a fractured skull.
The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in
a small car with a big mouth.
