The General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA) has announced that it is taking additional steps toward modernizing its service delivery infrastructure as it moves to a new Statistical Service Provider (SSP).
The agency had initially announced on April 12, 2022, that it selected IBM Canada to serve as its new SSP, effective October 01, 2023. IBM Canada will be responsible for modernizing GISA’s infrastructure and carrying out statistical data operations on behalf of nine insurance regulatory authorities and over 140 P&C insurers across Canada.
According to GISA, the transition to the new SSP officially began on October 4, 2022. During the transition period, GISA will work with stakeholders through an industry advisory committee (IAC) to inform decisions related to the process. Also throughout the period, IBM Canada will design, build, test, and deploy the enabling technology platform of its managed services.
"I'm happy to share that the General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA) has selected IBM Canada as its technology solution partner to modernize our data platform and operate as our Statistical Service Provider," said GISA chair Laurie Balfour. "This announcement marks the beginning of a strategic relationship that will deliver great value to insurers and rate regulators by improving statistical data quality and reliability, while enabling operational efficiency and effectiveness for GISA."
"Accuracy and reliability are critical for accessing and analyzing data, but so is efficiency and speed," said IBM Canada senior partner and insurance practice leader Daniel Shum. "These elements will be central to our approach as we work with GISA to transform their data capabilities and delivery of statistical services to meet the evolving needs of their industry stakeholders."
More details on the IAC will be communicated in a future bulletin to GISA stakeholders.
GISA is the statistical agent for the insurance industry and regulators. It offers statutory and regulatory reporting for the P&C industry through its SSP.
The agency’s latest findings that private auto insurers had an average operating expense of 26 cents per premium dollar was used by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) as a point of comparison. IBC recently called out the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), as the latter had projected its operating expenses to grow more than $1 billion next year.
