Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Toronto, ON (Mar. 11, 2024) – To mark Fraud Prevention Month, CISRO is encouraging consumers to do their due diligence when shopping for insurance. Fraud Prevention Month is a national awareness initiative held each March that aims to empower Canadians by providing information they need to recognize, reject, and report fraud. In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received more than 50,000 fraud reports involving over $400 million in reported losses. “When it comes to detecting fraud, the old adage ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,’ can be a guiding principle. It can also apply to shopping for insurance” says Patrick Ballantyne, CISRO Chair. “Licensing adds a layer of protection by requiring applicants to meet certain education requirements and provide criminal background checks. Checking whether your agent and broker are licensed is a simple first step you can take to protect yourself” adds Ballantyne. Some red flags to be aware of when comparing insurance providers are significant discounts on insurance premiums and requests to pay premiums by alternative payment methods such as cryptocurrency, money wiring, or gift cards, and unlicensed providers. Insurance policies should only be purchased through licensed agents or brokers or directly from...

Start Slideshow In 2023, America’s biggest donors gave $11.9 billion to their favorite causes, down by 27.8% from the previous year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50, released this week. Only 23 families, individuals and couples on the 2023 Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans made it onto this year’s Philanthropy 50. That doesn’t necessarily mean that some of the country’s wealthiest people are not big givers. The Chronicle noted that some billionaires regularly fail to make the Philanthropy 50 because, despite giving very large amounts, they do not make gifts every year. Others give anonymously or decline to publicize their charitable giving or disclose details about it to the Chronicle — and are not legally required to do so. Consider MacKenzie Scott, perhaps the most notable absence on the Philanthropy 50 list. The Chronicle said that she may have made gifts to her donor-advised fund that could have earned her a spot on this year’s list, but she and her representatives declined to provide the Chronicle with such information.  The Chronicle reported that Scott gave more than $2.1 billion to charities in 2023 through her Yield Giving fund, but she will not provide details about how...

Ottawa, ON (Feb. 28, 2024) – The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has launched an easy-to-use guide to help air travellers navigate the rules when they run into some of the most common problems, such as flight delays, cancellations, lost bags, and getting bumped from a flight. “Travelling can be complex, and the rules protecting air travellers are complicated. CAA is stepping up by providing Canadians with the information they need when things go wrong,” says Ian Jack, vice-president, public affairs for CAA National. Canada has had federal rules governing air passenger rights for several years now, but they are complicated and long, running to over 60 pages. CAA’s Air Passenger Help Guide provides a plain-language guide that answers questions about the most common flight disruptions in five clicks or less. Air travellers wondering what, if anything, the airlines owe them can consult our guide for help. “CAA runs one of Canada’s largest leisure-travel agencies and has been a strong advocate of strengthening passenger protections. CAA has been pushing the federal government to simplify the rules to make them easier to use,” says Jack. “But until then, CAA’s Air Passenger Help Guide will be there to help air travellers when something...

Toronto, ON (Feb. 28, 2024) – TruShield Insurance, Canada’s first direct-to-consumer small business insurance provider, is proud to announce their new collaboration with Visa, a leader in digital payments. The collaboration gives eligible Visa business cardholders access to TruShield’s commercial insurance policies at a preferred rate and aims to help ensure their customers are more aware of cybersecurity threats and protected against them. A study conducted by TruShield Insurance with Leger in November 2022 found that 46 per cent of small businesses believed they faced little to no cybersecurity risks. When asked why cybersecurity was not considered a big risk, 48 per cent of the 400 Canadian small businesses that were surveyed said it was because they were a very small business, and 32 per cent said it was because they have never been targeted by a cyber-attack. While cybersecurity can be perceived as something only needed by larger companies or those that have been exposed to cyberattacks in the past, every company – no matter the size – should be aware of the risks and take preventative measures. Not having adequate protection against cyberattacks could leave business owners at a disadvantage and, in the event of a major loss,...

Start Slideshow I recently presented at the T3 conference in Las Vegas. The title of my presentation, “Hot takes! All the ways you’re doing portfolio management wrong” was meant to be humorous, but the content was entirely serious. It’s not a shocking observation that most advisory firms aren’t especially good at rebalancing portfolios. What’s shocking is just how bad most firms are. According to an analysis from my firm, Smartleaf, when firms implement a more systematic approach to tax management, they see reductions of over 60% in their clients’ capital gains tax bills. More surprising is that they also see a 60% reduction in the return dispersion of accounts with similar risk objectives. This shouldn’t be possible. It makes sense that portfolios would have a trade off between taxes and dispersion. The fact that advisors can simultaneously improve tax outcomes and dispersion has a sobering implication: most return dispersion is not caused by customization or tax management. It’s just noise. An indicator of just how bad the industry is at the basics of portfolio management. How do you know if your portfolio management practices are up to standard? Here’s one test. You should be able to document that for most clients, you...