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CSIO Congratulates Definity Financial Corporation for Achieving API Security Standards Certification 0

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CSIO Congratulates Definity Financial Corporation for Achieving API Security Standards Certification

Toronto, ON (Nov. 27, 2024) – CSIO is pleased to announce that Definity Financial Corporation has successfully implemented CSIO’s Application Programming Interface (API) Security Standards, earning them CSIO’s API Security Standards Certification. These Standards, created by CSIO’s INNOTECH Advisory Committee and its API Security Working Group, provide insurers and Broker Management System (BMS) vendors with a standard authentication and authorization API model. When an insurer or BMS vendor becomes Certified, they verify that all security concerns for API endpoints are mitigated. With this Certification, Definity’s broker partners can be confident that their data remains secure when accessing an API endpoint, such as obtaining a quote in their BMS. “Definity continues to pursue our ambition to be one of Canada’s most innovative property and casualty insurers by implementing solutions that benefit our customers and broker partners,” said Tatjana Lalkovic, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Definity. “This Certification provides brokers peace of mind that authorization and data flows are fully secured.” “We continue to invest in cyber security to support our commitments to customers and brokers,” added Bill Pearce, Vice President Information and Cyber Security, Definity. “This certification is an example of how we are ensuring we are adhering to...

Generative AI in the insurance industry 0

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Generative AI in the insurance industry

Savvy insurers will seize the gen AI opportunities that intrigue their customers — By Christian Bieck, IBM Institute for Business Value, et al — For the insurance industry, is generative AI more of a risk or an opportunity? Insurance CEOs are equally divided: 49% say it’s more of a risk, 51% say it’s more of an opportunity. Industry executives anticipate using gen AI to fuel competitive advantage with improved sales, customer experiences, and organizational capabilities—but they are wary of the risks to cybersecurity and operations and the issues that can arise from inaccuracy and bias, according to the results of the IBM Institute for Business Value’s 2023 generative AI impact on hybrid cloud pulse survey of 414 executives. Regardless of the insurer tendency for prudence and risk mitigation, the pressure is on to seize the opportunities. A recent IBM survey of 5,000 executives across 24 countries and 25 industries revealed 77% of industry executives say they need to adopt gen AI quickly to keep up with rivals.  As insurance organizations walk a tightrope between rapidly building new gen AI capabilities and managing gen AI risk and compliance, they are pushing forward with adoption, based on new research from the IBM...

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Are Small-Business Clients Ready for This Looming Deadline?

For each beneficial owner, the company must disclose (1) full legal name, (2) date of birth, (3) address, (4) identifying number from the individual’s ID (driver’s license or passport) and (5) a copy of the ID used. The reporting company must report the entity’s (1) legal name, (2) any trade names or dba names, (3) principal place of business, (4) state of formation and (5) unique taxpayer ID number. Understanding the Reporting Deadlines While FinCEN has said that roughly 6.5 million entities have filed, the bureau estimates that about 32 million companies are actually required to report. The law has created a sliding scale for applicable reporting deadlines, depending on when the business entity was formed. Entities created before Jan. 1, 2024, must file their BOI reports before Jan. 1, 2025. Entities created after Jan. 1, 2024, have 90 days from the date their registration becomes effective to report the required information. Starting in 2025, new entities have only 30 days from the date of creation to complete the reporting form. The clock starts to run on the date the entity has actual knowledge that its registration is effective, or the date when registration is published publicly. Exceptions to the...

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Integrated Partners CEO Sees ‘Exciting’ Years Ahead for RIAs

It depends. At the very beginning, we go through a bit of a diagnostic process where we look at everything they’re doing. When we point out they’re not doing the best they can possibly do for themselves and their families, they quickly become serious and want to learn more. What’s key in coaching your advisors? When advisors walk in the door trying to present something without understanding exactly where the client is [in their lives], they’re in a tough spot. Our process is all about understanding and diagnosing their current situation. A concept I use is the “complexity curve.” Clients have two levels of complexity: One is that their finances get more complex over time. The other is that so do their personal lives: Their children marry; and then they have grandchildren. We’re most impactful and can make a big difference when their personal lives become more complex. What prompted you to launch the CPA Alliance? I was a financial advisor with Cigna Financial Advisors and working inside the wirehouse community [Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Smith Barney]. Advisors would bring me in to do all the planning for their wealthiest clients. The only challenge was that we couldn’t manage the...

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To Sell for a Better Multiple, Put Your Firm Through Boot Camp

To maximize a business’ value, an advisor must ensure that it appears healthy to prospective acquirers. That could take a couple of years of hard work — a boot camp of sorts. Here are a few areas of your practice to reinvigorate before seeking an acquirer. Demonstrate Organic Growth Net new assets are a badge of success and a bit like an SAT score. While you don’t need the highest number to get into college, you’ll usually want an impressive score to boost your chance to attend the school of your choice. Ensuring that your business has a sustainable and meaningful growth trajectory will enhance its enterprise value and attract top-tier offers. One way to accumulate new assets is to get referrals from existing clients or work with their heirs. A client near retirement age could lead to four or more new accounts by way of the client’s parents and the client’s children. Another way to achieve organic growth is to partner with a third party to identify potential clients. Achieve Stability During Potential Disruption Ensuring client stability is also a key factor in the valuation process. An acquiring firm wants assurances that the current business model and client book...

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Fidelity to Switch Advisor Custody Accounts to FCASH as Only Core Sweep Option

CityWire first reported this week on the change, expected to take effect in February. The 7-day yield on Fidelity’s SPAXX fund was 4.27% on Tuesday, according to Fidelity’s website. As CityWire noted, Fidelity uses the SPAXX fund for retail clients’ cash sweep balances. Kitces.com, the website for investment strategist and speaker Michael Kitces, posted on Facebook: “A reminder once again that when we consume an RIA custodian’s services ‘for free,’ they’re not really free, and the custodian HAS TO generate revenue somehow to provide the services it does. If we don’t pay directly, it will be extracted from our clients.” FCASH has been the only core sweep account option for new non-retirement brokerage accounts managed by RIAs for the last year, and also has been the only core sweep account option for changes made to any new or existing non-retirement core sweep accounts. Several investment managers, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, LPL Financial, Morgan Stanley, Ameriprise Financial, Merrill and PNC Financial Services, have been sued in recent months by customers who allege the firms have enriched themselves at clients’ expense by charging below-market rates on uninvested cash balances. Image: Shutterstock

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Lawsuit Seeks OSHA Records on Deaths of 3 Amazon Workers

Article 0 Comments A worker activist has sued the Department of Labor (DOL) to force the release of records surrounding the deaths of three workers at New Jersey Amazon workplaces in 2022. The lawsuit says DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which Amazon says opened investigations into all three deaths, has not responded to a freedom of information act (FOIA) request for documents relating to the deaths of Rafael Mota Frias, Rodger Boland, and Eric Vadinsky. “We have questions about Amazon’s working conditions and conduct that we hope to be able to answer through gaining access to these investigations,” the lawsuit filed by Daniel Schlademan says. The lawsuit says obtaining the OSHA documents is “critical to inform New Jersey lawmakers in preventing further deaths of Amazon workers.” Schlademan is an organizer with the Online to Offline Strategy Group, an organization supporting the Warehouse Life, which advocates for better working conditions. Warehouse Life’s current campaign, #ExposeAmazon, centers on Amazon’s injury rate. New Jersey lawmakers are currently considering a heat standard bill that the lawsuit maintains might have protected workers like the three who died in 2022 if it had been in place three years ago. OSHA Investigating Deaths of Amazon...

WEX Launches Two AI Pilots for Benefits Administration 0

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WEX Launches Two AI Pilots for Benefits Administration

WEX pilots GenAI benefits agent and AI-powered analytics to enhance employee decision-making, mitigate the workload for overwhelmed HR teams during open enrollment season Portlane, ME (Nov. 19, 2024) – WEX, the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business, is pleased to announce a partnership with select employers to pilot two new artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements embedded within WEX’s benefits administration platform, My Benefit Express. Timed with open enrollment season and as industry pundits explore how AI can be successfully built for and leveraged within employee benefits, WEX announced the pilot launch of its Benefit Assistant and BeneFITwise Premier capabilities, both of which harness AI to provide employees with personalized and actionable insights that can empower them to make informed decisions about their benefits. “WEX is working to be at the forefront of AI innovation in the benefits space, driven by a customer-centric approach. These pilots reflect WEX’s substantial investment of time and talent in AI. We believe AI can be a powerful and precise tool for solving our customers’ most pressing challenges,” said Karen Stroup, Chief Digital Officer, WEX. “Employers are keen to drive well-being and retention without adding more to the plates of their HR...

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Cyberattacks Cost UK Businesses £44 Billion During Past 5 Years, Howden Survey

Article 0 Comments Cyberattacks cost UK businesses approximately £44 billion (US$55.3 billion) in lost revenue over the past five years, according to research published by Howden, the London-based insurance intermediary group. Half of those businesses (52%), or 1.3 million private sector companies, have suffered at least one cyberattack during that time period (2019-2024), costing on average 1.9% of revenue, said the study which is based on a survey of 905 IT decision makers from across the UK private sector. Businesses with an annual revenue of over £100 million ($125.6 million) were the most targeted group, with 74% of those surveyed having suffered a cyberattack over the past five years. However, the report emphasized that threat levels are elevated across all businesses, with half (49%) of SMEs with a revenue of £2 million to £50 million ($2.5 million to $62.8 million) also experiencing a cyberattack over the same period. The most common causes of cyberattacks were compromised emails (20%) and data theft (18%), with the average cost of these attacks equating to £2.1 million and £2 million ($2.6 million and $2.5 million) , respectively. Cybersecurity Lacking Despite the growing threat posed by cyberattacks, take up of even the most basic cybersecurity...

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Louisiana Gov. Landry Raises Concerns Over $3B Coastal Restoration Project

Article 0 Comments NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry raised serious objections Thursday to a $3 billion project long hailed as key to restoring the state’s eroding coastline, decrying the growing cost and predicting dire harm to a coastal culture dependent on fishing, shrimping and oyster dredging. The Republican governor’s remarks to a Senate committee in Baton Rouge were his most extensive — and most decisively negative — on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project since he took office in January. They come a month after federal authorities warned that money for the project channeled to the state by the federal government would have to be returned if the state could not provide a clear commitment to the plan. Landry stopped short of calling for an end to the project altogether but said a compromise must be reached with opponents of the project. The chair of the Senate Committee, Republican Sen. Pat Connick, said lawmakers would have to weigh the next move. The project would channel 75,000 cubic feet (2,100 cubic meters) of sediment per second from the Mississippi River into the nearby Barataria Basin in southeast Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish to create between 20 to 40 square miles (52...