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The Millennial Guide to Financial Wellness Through Insurance

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Canadian CEOs say AI is Fueling New Job Creation and Risk-taking to Compete: IBM Study 0

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Canadian CEOs say AI is Fueling New Job Creation and Risk-taking to Compete: IBM Study

More than half of Canadian CEOs say they are hiring for positions that did not exist last year due to generative AI, but struggle to fill key technology roles. 72% of Canadian CEOs reveal they will take on more risk than their competition to outcompete. 62% of Canadian CEOs say the productivity gains from automation are so great they are willing to accept more risk. Markham, ON (May 29, 2024) – A study by the IBM Institute for Business Value has found that AI is fueling new job creation and risk-taking among surveyed Canadian CEOs as they prioritize generative AI to maintain and enhance their competitive edge in the global market while simultaneously transforming their workforce to meet new demands. Canada was one of 30 countries included in this annual global IBM study of 3,000 CEOs. Key themes dominating the Canadian findings include the willingness of CEOs to accept more risk in an increasingly competitive landscape driven by generative AI. In fact, 64% of Canadian CEOs believe that competitive advantage depends on having the most advanced generative AI capabilities, higher than the global average of 59%. Additionally, 62% of Canadian CEOs say the productivity gains from automation are so great...

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Medicare Plan Pay Confusion Could Wreck 2025 Enrollment, Lawsuits Warn

What You Need to Know CMS wants Medicare Advantage and Medicare drug plan producer comp to include support services costs. Plaintiffs say regulators have refused to clarify how the new rules will really work. FMOs and web brokers warn that continuing uncertainty could cripple upcoming enrollment period marketing. Medicare plan agents, brokers, distributors and trade groups are asking the federal courts to block the new Medicare plan agent compensation rules quickly. Any uncertainty around agent pay that lingers for more than a few weeks could cripple efforts to hire, train and supervise agents and to create and run advertising campaigns, plaintiffs say in three separate, similar lawsuits. The Medicare Advantage plan annual enrollment period for 2025 starts Oct. 15, but months before then, “a long line of dominoes will begin falling, irreversibly,” according to Americans for Beneficiary Choice, the lead plaintiff in one of the suits. “Relief any later than mid-July will be too late.” The plaintiffs want the courts to use stays or injunctions to keep the compensation rules from taking effect this summer, and they also want the courts to issue judgments that would overturn the new regulations. What it means: How smooth the Medicare Advantage plan annual...

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Firefighters Battle California Wildfire with Hot Weather in The Forecast

Article 0 Comments Firefighters battling a California wildfire burning east of San Francisco have increased containment on the fire, but hot weather is in the forecast for the next few days. Nearly 500 firefighters, along with several air tankers from throughout the state are working on the fire in San Joaquin County. Weather conditions became more favorable, allowing crews to make progress constructing and improving control lines. The fire is now 50% contained, according to CalFire. The fire started June 1. The cause is under investigation. The fire quickly spread across hundreds of acres of tall grass, prompting evacuation orders of nearby locales. The favorable firefighting conditions are not expected to last. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the week warning of “dangerous hot conditions” with temperatures of 95 to 108 possible in Central California. The heat is moving over portions of the Western U.S. this week comes from a massive heat dome parked over Mexico that began to shift northward and into the Southwestern and South Central, according to AccuWeather. Topics California Trends Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit...

Family Offices’ 10 Favorite Investments for 2024 0

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Family Offices’ 10 Favorite Investments for 2024

Start Slideshow Family office portfolios appear to be moving back into balance, according to UBS’ latest Global Family Office Report.  Strategic asset allocations showed material shifts for 2023 as portfolios appeared to adjust for a world of moderating inflation and declining policy rates. This change in allocations may reflect elevated bond yields as much as active decision making, the report said. A stabilizing macroeconomic environment is at the heart of the rebalancing scenario, UBS said. Inflation and policy rates appear to have peaked in the United States and Europe, and should gradually move lower in what seems a healthy global economy.  Seventy-three percent of family offices said they believe that U.S. real interest rates will remain positive for longer. European and Swiss family offices have different expectations, however. Given their experience of negative policy rates over the past decade, 38% of those in both locations believe that U.S. real interest rates will fluctuate around zero. For its report, UBS conducted an online survey between Jan. 18 and March 22 among 320 of its clients across some 30 countries, a significantly larger sample than in prior years. Where Allocations Are Rising Family offices appear to be strong believers in American exceptionalism,...

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Shilling: ‘Fads’ Fueling Market, Even as Growth Slows

U.S. stocks are being supported by speculation, as equities linked to artificial intelligence and other “fads,” including Nvidia, support the market amid sliding economic growth, according to A. Gary Shilling. Among Shilling’s five investment themes, the investment advisor and economist continues to recommend investors “avoid vastly overpriced speculative stocks such as the Magnificent Seven, AI, SPACs, Nvidia and crypto securities.” Nvidia and the other high-powered Magnificent Seven growth stocks have risen 20.2% this year, Shilling noted. The S&P 500 is up more than 9% year to date, but only 7% without these seven stocks, he said. “With the Nvidia craze, investors are saying that the rest of stocks and the economy are trash. But recall the rise and fall of EVs, green energy, ESG and social investing and other recent fads,” Shilling said in his June “Insight” newsletter, released Friday. Fads in financial markets “are still rampant,” Shilling said. “Some will continue to disappear without a trace, except for huge losses by gullible, overenthusiastic investors. Others will probably survive after excruciating industry consolidation and losses,” Shilling wrote.  “It’s clear that the bloom is off the rose for electric vehicles, green energy, ESG investments, social investing, stay-at-home spending and the Everything Rally. Only AI...

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Louisiana Lawmakers Pass Auto Insurance Reform Bills to Boost Market Competition

Article 0 Comments Louisiana lawmakers passed a series of auto insurance reform bills that aim to bring availability and competition to the market by cutting down on excessive verdicts and settlements. Legislators passed four bills endorsed by Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple that he says will allow Louisiana to compete with other states in attracting insurance companies to write commercial and private auto business. HB 337, sponsored by Rep. Jack McFarland, prevents insurers from being named initially in lawsuits involving an injured person in a car wreck. Known as the Direct Action bill, the law would keep plaintiff attorneys from knowing how much liability insurance is involved in a case until a second lawsuit. The bill, which has already been enacted into law, will force juries to determine what the actual losses in a case are “without knowing that there’s a $2.5 million liability policy in the wing that could be claimed up to the max amount,” said Clyde Bohne, principal at Preferred Insurance Agency of Louisiana and chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for PIA of Louisiana. Louisiana was one of only three states that allowed insurers to be named directly in initial lawsuits, said Temple. “What we’re trying to...

Leadership, benefits, and technology risks top of mind for risk and HR professionals surveyed by Mercer and Marsh 0

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Leadership, benefits, and technology risks top of mind for risk and HR professionals surveyed by Mercer and Marsh

New York, NY (May 2, 2024) – Mercer and Marsh, businesses of Marsh McLennan, the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, are pleased to announce the release of their US People Risk 2024 Report. Based on responses from more than 1,000 risk and HR professionals nationwide, the survey revealed that ineffective leadership is viewed as the biggest people risk facing organizations today, followed by improper rewards decision making, and increasing health and benefit costs. Risk managers also identified a lack of cybersecurity knowledge and mismanagement of AI as key people threats in 2024. “The breadth and depth of intersecting risks organizations face today is staggering,” said Susan Potter, Mercer’s US and Canada Region President. “People are an organization’s most important asset, but they can also expose organizations to risk without the right culture, policies, and training. By taking a proactive, predictive, and disciplined approach to people risk management, businesses will be better prepared to help their people and businesses thrive in this increasingly complex risk environment.” Risk and HR managers have several concerns related to ineffective leadership at their organizations. According to the report, a third (34%) of employers are concerned about significant...

Navacord Further Expands its Specialization with Navis Marine Insurance Brokers 0

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Navacord Further Expands its Specialization with Navis Marine Insurance Brokers

Toronto, ON (May 8, 2024) – Navacord is excited to announce their recent partnership with Navis Marine Insurance Brokers, effective as of May 1. Founded in 2011 after seeking to fill a gap in the BC market for a specialty marine insurance provider, Navis has now grown to be a leading national marine broker based in Vancouver. As a Lloyd’s coverholder, Navis brings a strong presence in the London market alongside their expertise in insurance solutions for both commercial vessel owners and recreational boaters as well as marina operators, manufacturers, dealers, repairers, cargo transporters, and general personal and commercial lines. “Navacord’s reputation for service excellence and their desire to grow in the niche sector of marine insurance made them a perfect fit as our partner,” says Paul Mendham, President and CEO, Navis Marine Insurance Brokers. “This collaboration provides us not only a ‘safe harbour’ where we can refine our expertise, but also opens doors to new opportunities for amplified market presence and expansion.” Leveraging Navis’ deep understanding in meeting the marine industry’s needs for tailored insurance solutions, this partnership reinforces Navacord’s commitment to building out their specialty lines while expanding their geographic presence in BC. “The addition of Navis to...

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Tennessee, Kentucky Tobacco Farmer Sentenced for Second Crop Insurance Fraud

Article 0 Comments A Kentucky tobacco farmer has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to crop insurance fraud, eight years after he was convicted of similar crimes. David Manion, 61, who resides in Lafayette, Tennessee, and owns land in southern Kentucky, must also pay $9 million in restitution, fines and other costs, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Western Kentucky decided this week. In his plea, Manion also agreed to a lifetime ban on utilizing the federal crop insurance program. Manion pleaded guilty in 2016 to defrauding the federal crop insurance program by overstating damage to his fields. He was barred from participation in the program for five years. But while that case was still unresolved, he recruited his adult children to make insurance claims on tobacco that Manion farmed, funneling some of the proceeds to Manion, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisville. One of Manion’s children was also prosecuted for the scheme and was fined. The man’s attorney had said Manion suffers from diabetes and should be allowed to stay out of prison. Topics Fraud Agribusiness Kentucky Tennessee Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please...