Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Big Game Hunting, attacks on vendors, and data exfiltration rising as threat actors pursue bigger targets San Francisco, CA (Aug. 7, 2023) – Ransomware is entering a new era, as cybercriminals have begun shifting their tactics to bypass security controls by hitting critical vendors and seeking larger targets for extortions, Resilience found in its Midyear 2023 Claims Report. Among the key findings: Cybercriminals are returning to “big-game hunting.” Attackers are focusing on bigger targets, particularly those organizations with sensitive data that are able to pay larger ransom demands. Two recent examples are MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. Third-party vendors become the lead point of failure. Vendor cyber risk has overtaken phishing attacks as the leading point of failure in cybersecurity. Resilience data shows third-party vendor incidents account for 28.9% of its clients’ all-time claims, ahead of phishing at 23.1%. Traditional ransomware expanding to encryption-less extortion. Threat actors are expanding on previous tactics in which they encrypted data and offered decryption keys in exchange for ransoms. Now, Resilience is seeing an increase in encryption-less data exfiltration attacks that threaten to publish sensitive material unless the criminals’ extortion demands are met. “While Ransomware remains a top concern for our clients, with data...

Toronto, ON (Oct. 13, 2023) – Crawford Technologies, provider of innovative document solutions that streamline, improve and manage customer communications, has announced it will update all of its solutions to be in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. This is the latest version of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards and guidelines for web content accessibility compliance. WCAG 2.2, released on October 5, 2023, is another step forward in ensuring that web, mobile and document content is accessible and inclusive to all. As a leader in document accessibility, Crawford Technologies is committed to proactively keeping its solutions up to date with the latest WCAG standards. The company plans to update all of its solutions within 90 days to ensure that users of its products and solutions are able to remediate and verify documents for compliance with the latest standards. “WCAG stands as the globally recognized benchmark for digital accessibility, continually adapting to incorporate emerging technologies and best practices. As the CEO, my commitment lies in ensuring that our company’s document remediation and compliance validation solutions remain current with the latest compliance standards,” said Ernie Crawford, president and CEO of Crawford Technologies. “Hence, it is of paramount importance...

Toronto, ON (Sept. 26, 2023) – As part of RIBO’s commitment to enhancing the standards and qualifications of insurance professionals, changes are being made to the entry-level exam for licensed insurance brokers. What’s Changing? Updates are coming to the entry-level exam that serves as the cornerstone for becoming a licensed insurance broker in Ontario. This move is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that new brokers possess the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge and skills required for the evolving insurance landscape. Exam Content: New competency profile: Creating a framework that outlines essential expectations for success in the Level 1 (L1) Acting Under Supervision broker role. Refreshed exam questions: Increasing the exam to 100 multiple-choice questions, offering a more comprehensive evaluation of critical subjects such as legislation and insurance product knowledge. New exam form: Introducing new questions to our exam including questions designed to evaluate candidates’ commercial insurance knowledge. Exam Fee: the fee for writing the updated entry-level exam will be adjusted to $300. Why the Changes? These modifications are the result of an extensive review of the level 1 exam, carried out in consultation with industry experts. The aim of the consultation was to gain deeper insights into the knowledge,...

By Steve Murphy, Partner, Resource Pro Consulting — It’s no secret that the insurance industry is ever evolving. Talent dynamics and customer expectations are changing, and advancing technology continues to reshape roles. While these changes have been afoot for many years, the pandemic was certainly an accelerator. Now, three years later, many carrier leaders continue to navigate these new dynamics and are finding that their former approaches to managing staff, assessing capacity, and driving productivity are insufficient. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest shifts resulting from the pandemic is the rise of hybrid/remote work. While the insurance industry has always been a leader in this space, it is now overwhelmingly the norm. In a recent ReSource Pro survey of carrier executives, 95% indicated their workforce was either hybrid or fully remote. Furthermore, the vast majority said their company’s productivity had either increased (84%) or stayed the same (8%) in the past three years. But the notion that productivity is increasing raises an important question. How are executives reaching this conclusion? Our research shows that many leaders rely on qualitative assessments such as gut instinct and manager observations rather than true data-driven analysis. They ”think” their teams are more productive, but they...