Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Lauren Bailey | November 13, 2020 Wellness apps are becoming an increasingly popular perk for Canadian employers to offer employees, particularly as stress continues to soar as the coronavirus pandemic drags on. CAA Club Group was ahead of the pack, launching its wellness app company-wide in 2018. However, a wide range of meditation and mindfulness apps are available, so plan sponsors have to do their due diligence when choosing, says Mara Notarfonzo, the organization’s assistant vice-president of compensation and benefits. She advises employers to set realistic, clearly defined goals and to consider the intent when diving into the sea of meditation and mindfulness apps on the market.  Read: CAA shares journey to a healthy workplace Employees at CAA’s call centre had always worked from home, so leadership knew it needed something to provide wellness services to these employees and maintain a social connection with them, she says, noting the wellness app was a way of bridging a diverse group of individuals. The tool was one of the first used at the onset of the pandemic, says Notarfonzo. The company put a lot of effort into directing people back to the app and saw adoption increase substantially within the first month of the shutdown. The app is a...

Small employers will have access to pooled plans to offer employees retirement options under a rule finalized by the Department of Labor. “Pooled employer plans will give employers, especially small unrelated employers, a way of offering their employees a workplace retirement savings option with reduced burdens and costs,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson. “This final rule lays the groundwork for a sensible registration process so that providers can get pooled plans up and running.” The rule establishes registration requirements for pooled plan providers for multiple employer plans (MEPs) under the SECURE Act. The SECURE Act allows pooled plan providers to start operating pooled employer plans starting Jan. 1, but requires that pooled plan providers register with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury before they begin operations as a pooled plan provider. The American Council of Life Insurers vice president, taxes and retirement security Howard Bard said the new rule will help hundreds of thousands of Americans start saving. “The Labor Department took an important step forward today toward helping small businesses nationwide offer retirement plans to their employees,” Bard said. “The SECURE Act enacted last year...

Jennifer Paterson | November 13, 2020 Scotiabank is introducing a program that will allow benefits-eligible Canadian employees to purchase up to five additional personal days. The program is effective April 1, 2021, which marks the beginning of the bank’s benefits plan year. Employees can use their flex credits during benefits enrolment to purchase the additional days. The latest benefit is in addition to significant changes to Scotiabank’s personal days provision over the past year. On Jan. 1, 2020, it increased its total paid personal days per employee from three to five days a year. And during the coronavirus pandemic, it provided all employees with five extra paid personal days as a temporary measure. Read: Scotiabank adds extra paid personal days to support employee well-being “As of next year, when people enrol in the benefits plan, they can use their benefits credits toward buying up to five more personal days,” says Ayman Alvi, director of global benefits at Scotiabank. “If they need it, they’ll have that ability to buy some extra flexibility beyond what they already have.” The bank has a very large population, which inherently makes it very diverse, he adds, noting that trying to make the benefits plan fit diverse needs is important for mental well-being....

Kelsey Rolfe | November 13, 2020 Eight months into the coronavirus pandemic, employees continue to face a myriad of stressors, including health anxiety, isolation, financial concerns, family issues and increased workloads. This prolonged stress is impacting sleep, energy and motivation, while driving a heightened demand for mental-health services and medication. “If you think of a classic disaster, . . . [like] an earthquake or a flood, it comes, but then relatively quickly, it goes,” said Timothy Foggin, Canadian medical director at Teladoc Health, during a Benefits Canada Live webinar sponsored by Teladoc earlier this month. “You prepare for it. When it happens, you respond. And then you recover. Here, with a pandemic, we are preparing, responding, recovering, all at the same time — and repeat and repeat and repeat. . . . A pandemic [is the] mother of all disasters, in the strain it can have.” Read: Webinar: Expanding access to high-quality health care with telemedicine Recent smaller-scale health crises — the severe acute respiratory syndrome and H1N1 flu pandemics — had long-term mental-health impacts for those who lived through them and have demonstrated the clear need for employers to help employees engage with healthy coping strategies, said Diana Velikonja, president of the Ontario Psychological...

Going further with its commitment to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, Sun Life has invested in a world-leading interactive digital inclusion program, making it the first insurer to do so. Offered by Hive Learning, the Inclusion Works Program – which is being branded as Kaleidoscope for Sun Life employees – promises to guide participants from unconscious bias to conscious action by planting small but powerful acts of inclusion into their daily behaviours and routines. A peer learning program, it aims to help employees own, accelerate, and embed change, promoting the habit of inclusion at an accelerated pace. The program was piloted among a group of 1,500 employees across Sun Life locations in North America and Asia. The reported results were overwhelmingly encouraging, including: 94% of participants feeling confident in demonstrating inclusive behaviours in the workplace; 88% committing to take action on what they learned; 92% considering the overall learning experience engaging and valuable; and 96% believing the program will drive positive change at Sun Life “Too many organizations focus solely on unconscious bias training, rather than helping their people understand how to practically behave in a more inclusive way,” said Julia Tierney, CEO of Hive Learning. “Sun Life’s commitment to...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Nov. 12–ST. LOUIS — A fourth person faces charges in connection to the fatal shooting of Andre Montgomery Jr., the grandson of the owner of Sweetie Pie’s restaurants in the St. Louis area. Montgomery’s uncle has already been charged in his death, which authorities say was a murder-for-hire plot. Both Montgomery and his uncle, James Timothy “Tim” Norman, appeared on the “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” reality television show that ran for five seasons on OWN. Travell Anthony Hill was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Nov. 3 with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and arrested three days later. He has now been indicted on that charge, prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutors say Hill participated in the conspiracy to kill Montgomery in St. Louis in 2016, but they did not reveal his role other than to say another defendant tipped Hill to Montgomery’s location before he was shot. They also said in court documents that two days after the shooting Hill was paid $5,000 and “laughed about it … with his brother on recorded jail phone calls.” Hill joins three others who are facing charges in the case. Charging documents say Norman took out...

GlobeNewswire (Canada) TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — All per share figures disclosed below are stated on a diluted basis. For the periods ended September 30 Three months Nine months ($ in thousands, except per share amounts) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net revenue $ 52,042 $ 45,983 $ 152,067 $ 136,237 Operating earnings 12,108 12,105 36,348 35,871 Net gains (losses) 35,739 (1,274 ) (82,296 ) 72,566 Net earnings (loss) attributable to shareholders 42,201 8,275 (43,681 ) 92,333 EBITDA(1) $ 16,238 $ 16,036 $ 47,910 $ 46,783 Adjusted cash flow from operations(1) 10,507 13,053 39,230 36,081 Per share: Net earnings (loss) attributable to shareholders $ 1.56 $ 0.31 $ (1.72 ) $ 3.37 EBITDA(1) 0.60 0.59 1.78 1.72 Adjusted cash flow from operations(1) 0.39 0.48 1.46 0.33 As at 2020 2019 ($ in millions, except per share amounts) September 30 December 31 September 30 Assets under management $ 32,734 $ 31,147 $ 30,243 Assets under administration 20,755 20,248 19,040 Shareholders’ equity 632 683 654 Securities 552 682 664 Per share: Shareholders’ equity(1) $ 23.25 $ 25.01 $ 23.93 Securities(1) 20.30 24.99 24.30 The Company is reporting Operating earnings of $12.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, substantially unchanged...

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has existed for less than a year, it’s already started to change the way long term disability claims are being handled (and denied). Some people with pre-existing conditions that aren’t enough for a disability claim on their own could find themselves facing a tough choice: quit your job or expose yourself…

Staff | November 12, 2020 The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan are entering into subscription agreements with Intact Financial Corp. to support its conditional acquisition offer for RSA Insurance Group. The Caisse, the CPPIB and the Ontario Teachers’ are committing $1.5 billion, $1.2 billion and $500 million, respectively. Read: CPPIB to sell stake in London real estate, Caisse invests in renewable assets in Spain “This is a significant opportunity to acquire an interest in a highly-differentiated insurer with a track record of growth and outperformance,” said Bill MacKenzie, managing director and head of active fundamental equities at the CPPIB, in a press release. In a statement provided to Benefits Canada, Karen Frank, senior managing director of equities at the Ontario Teachers’, said the pension fund is pleased to be able to support Intact in the acquisition. “We have full confidence in Intact’s ability to generate shareholder value with this transaction given their strong track record over many years.” Read: Ontario Teachers’ opening Singapore office In other investment news, the Ontario Teachers’ is part of a joint US$1.25 billion investment in Equis Development Pte Ltd., a company specializing in renewable energy,...

Toronto, ON (Nov. 10, 2020) – CNA Canada is pleased to announce it has launched Epack 3, its next-generation modular management liability, technology and professional liability, cyber, and media policy that combines clear, concise and easy-to-read language with a flexible policy structure. It is designed to be customized for a wide range of businesses and non-profit organizations. “In today’s business environment, risk is complicated and unpredictable, especially for organization leaders that are facing stresses of new and increasingly complex exposures,” said Jacki Detablan, Vice President, Specialty, CNA Canada. “We didn’t set out to just make a product to sell; we wanted Epack 3 to set us apart with unbridled simplicity in mind and ease of business.” Epack 3’s launch offers eight optional coverage parts: Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Fiduciary Liability, Non-Profit Directors and Officers Liability, Technology and Professional Liability, Cyber Liability, Media Liability and Crime. Coupled with CNA’s depth of experience and services, Epack 3’s comprehensive coverages will help businesses efficiently and effectively address risk exposures. The policy is now offered in Canada. It is available for new business quotes starting December 1, 2020, and renewal policies effective April 1, 2021. About CNA CNA is one of...