The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) hosted its 2024 Members’ Meeting and Reception on April 18 at the One King West Hotel in Toronto.
The event celebrated CSIO’s achievements and recognized significant contributions made by its members during 2023. The evening included a keynote address on cybersecurity, an awards ceremony, and a reception that brought together key industry leaders.
Key initiatives highlighted during the event included efforts by the CSIO’s eDocs Working Group, which updated eDocs codes and descriptions to improve efficiency for brokers.
In his opening remarks, Michael Lin, chairman of the board at CSIO and chief information officer at Travelers Canada, reflected on the past year as one of gaining momentum for the property and casualty (P&C) industry.
“It’s a pleasure to share that CSIO successfully completed the first year of its multi-year strategic plan and continues to advance the P&C industry,” Lin said.
Catherine Smola, president and CEO of CSIO, discussed how CSIO worked with its members to streamline P&C insurance operations.
“CSIO continuously drives innovation through Data Standards and technology to benefit our members and their customers,” Smola said, emphasizing that the collaborative efforts throughout 2023 aligned with a common theme of “onward as one.”
Smola also praised the launch of the API Security Standards Certification program by the Innovation and Emerging Technology (INNOTECH) Advisory Committee, confirming insurers’ and broker management system (BMS) vendors’ alignment with CSIO’s API Security Standards.
In addition, CSIO’s API Implementation Working Groups advanced JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) API Data Standards, completing business requirements for 165 use cases. These efforts contributed to CSIO’s ongoing goal of providing secure and reliable solutions through CSIOnet and My Proof of Insurance (MPOI). Lin noted that over 48 million eDocs were sent through CSIOnet, while Smola reported a 10.3% increase in the volume of messages sent through the network.
The event’s awards ceremony recognized outstanding achievements within the P&C industry. L’Unique General Insurance was honored for achieving Level III CL Certification, and Northbridge Insurance became the first insurer member to earn CSIO’s API Security Standards Certification.
CSIO vice-chair of the board of directors Sheldon Wasylenko received an Award of Distinction for his contributions to advancing the broker channel and the P&C industry, stepping down after 19 years of service.
Following the ceremony, Andrew Kirsch, founder of Kirsch Group and former intelligence officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), delivered a keynote address on cybersecurity in Canada. Kirsch discussed emerging cybersecurity threats and ways organizations can protect themselves.
CSIO also welcomed new members to its board of directors: Noel Feghali, president and co-founder of Panda7; Dwight Heppner, chief technology officer at Guild Insurance; and Rosalind Staples-Simpson, senior vice president for commercial lines at Intact Insurance.
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