Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Chubb Cyber Index enhanced with new functionality and business insights to help organizations analyze and assess cyber exposures and reduce risk: Chubb’s proprietary tool now provides ransomware risk assessments, industry and size-specific total incident costs and an interactive chatbot, among other enhancements Whitehouse Station, NJ (Oct. 29, 2020) – Chubb has enhanced its proprietary Chubb Cyber IndexSM with robust capabilities to help organizations of all sizes and industries analyze their cyber exposures to reduce risk. With a fresh look to the user-friendly interface, users are now able to access industry and revenue size-specific total incident costs, peer purchasing insights, ransomware risk assessments, trends, and year-over-year risk information. In addition, the updated tool provides users with the ability to receive answers to questions with its new chatbot, Clara the Coder. For each industry group, the Chubb Cyber Index populates relevant and downloadable risk reports and includes a library of whitepapers, videos, and other research materials. Taken together, these updates provide users with a quantifiable and detailed means of immediately identifying cyber exposures that can impact their operations. “Since first launching in 2018, this award-winning tool has given commercial clients access to the latest data on current and historical cyber threats. By...

London, UK (Oct. 28, 2020) – Innovation Group, a leading global InsurTech and specialist insurance services business, has signed an agreement with Verisk, a leading data analytics provider. This collaboration provides insurers with a consolidated, real-time view of the entire claim lifecycle. Verisk’s Xactware solutions enable accurate management of repair estimates, remote video assessment, labour cost management and proactive issue resolution. Paired with Innovation Group’s Gateway platform and its First Notification of Loss (FNOL), adaptive workflows and payments capabilities, clients can now take advantage of a robust set of tools to guide effective claims management for their policyholders and supply chain partners. With the combined solutions built on cloud-native technologies and open integration standards, the collaboration offers significant value to the industry. The collaboration is live in Australia with Innovation Group providing a complete claims and assessment service. Early results show a turnaround of virtual assessment, estimation and reporting within 48 hours for low quantum home claims. Mike Fulton, President of Xactware, said “The combination of our technologies and processes will result in a best-in-market solution that can help insurers improve outcomes and achieve greater efficiencies in their claims workflows and greater satisfaction ratings among policyholders.”. Tim Griffiths, CEO Innovation...

Regina, SK (Nov. 4, 2020) – Henderson Insurance, Navacord’s premier Broker Partner in Saskatchewan and a leader in mid-market commercial insurance and risk management, is pleased to announce its addition of HAL Insurance, effective November 2, 2020. The deal strengthens Henderson’s position in the transportation sector and further deepens their expertise. Highway Agencies Ltd., now HAL Insurance, was founded in 1955 by the Saskatchewan Trucking Association and maintains a proud history of attracting and developing knowledgeable team members focused on delivering expert advice that’s driven by experience. With roots in the trucking industry, HAL Insurance specializes within the transportation sector and adds their expertise across a range of other products including Commercial, Personal, Farm, and Sports and Events insurance. “Our mission is to support businesses and organizations across Saskatchewan, and build out our expertise in the sectors that drive the province,” says Dave Reidy, President and CEO, Henderson Insurance. “The addition of the HAL Insurance team—with their wealth of experience, deep relationships, and commitment to knowledge sharing—is a perfect fit.” The acquisition of HAL Insurance elevates Henderson’s leadership within the Transportation sector and provides HAL with new-found scalability, increased access to markets, and entry into new sectors. “It was important...

Staff | November 5, 2020 Bee-Clean Building Maintenance janitors in British Columbia ratified their first collective agreement on Monday, winning employer-paid health and dental benefits, paid sick days and a wage boost.  Employees who are members of Services Employees International Union Local 2 reached the tentative agreement on Friday, mere days before they were set to picket at various locations across B.C.’s Lower Mainland.  “The benefits are a big victory for us,” said Teresita Garvez, a Bee-Clean janitor who cleans at an office tower in Vancouver, in a press release from the union. “I’m getting older and I need those benefits. Paying out-of-pocket for dental and physiotherapy is difficult. And especially for my co-workers with children, these benefits mean a lot.” Read: Loyalist College janitors’ new contract includes pension, sick days The new health benefits cover prescription drugs, health equipment and paramedical services such as vision care and massage therapy. Dependants and part-time janitors will be eligible to enrol. Janitors also won additional paid time off and improved vacation pay. “Most janitors in British Columbia are non-unionized and work for minimum wage, with no access to paid sick days and health benefits,” said the release. “Janitors seeking to improve these working conditions are increasingly turning to unionization....

Staff | November 5, 2020 The Global Risk Institute is bringing together experts from various institutions to build a roadmap for implementing variable payment life annuities to achieve lifetime income for retirees in response to growing concerns of outliving retirement savings. Canadians are living longer, but with this longevity, they’re also watching their workplace pension coverage decline, noted a press release from the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services and the National Institute of Ageing. In its 2019 budget, the federal government proposed amending the tax rules to encourage defined contribution pension plans to offer VPLAs. The decumulation option aims to provide older Canadians with lifetime income by pooling longevity risk. Read: Industry praises budget proposals to allow variable annuities for CAP members Experts from the NIA, Ryerson University, Simon Fraser University and Eckler Ltd. are teaming up to provide a roadmap for plan sponsors and various stakeholders on implementing VPLAs, noted the release. The project will outline practical issues Canadian stakeholders should consider as they implement VPLAs, including how to best structure these offerings. It will also explore strategic fit and choosing between the different design options, as well as examine regulatory considerations, including the types of organizations that should be allowed to offer these annuities, the portability...

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — MetLife Inc. (MET) on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings of $706 million. On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of 69 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.73 per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.65 per share. The insurer posted revenue of $16.02 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $16.51 billion. MetLife shares have declined 23% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed almost 7%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $39, a decrease of 18% in the last 12 months. Advertisement This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MET at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MET Read the original article at insurancenewsnet.com

Staff | November 4, 2020 A real estate fund created by the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., QuadReal Property Group and RBC Global Asset Management Inc. is receiving $805 million in equity commitments from Canadian institutional and individual investors. The second round, which closed on Oct. 30, 2020, exceeded subscription targets and comes on the heels of the initial closing of $1.25 billion completed on Oct. 31, 2019. The total assets under management for the fund now sits at just over $2 billion.  Read: BCI and partners creating Canadian real estate fund “We experienced exceptional interest from investors who recognize the long-term benefit of adding private market assets such as commercial real estate to their investment portfolio,” said Michael Kitt, head of private markets and real estate equity investments at RBC Global Asset Management, in the release. “We view the fund as a potential stabilizing component for portfolios that can provide investors with consistent yield. Exceeding our subscription target against a backdrop of pandemic-related uncertainty demonstrates the confidence investors have in both the fund and its alignment with the deep and experienced team at BCI and QuadReal.” In other investment news, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board is providing Integral ILS Ltd. with significant limited-partnership commitments...

Staff | November 4, 2020 Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a median 3.13 per cent return for the third quarter of 2020, following a strong market rebound, according to a new report by BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd. The organization’s master trust universe, which is comprised of 86 Canadian corporate, public and university pension plans, found U.S. equities was the highest-performing asset class with a median return of 6.46 per cent, trailing the S&P 500 index’s 6.83 per cent. And Canadian equities posted a median return of 5.27 per cent, ahead of the S&P/TSX composite index’s 4.73 per cent.  Read: Canadian DB pension plans post 3% return, buoyed by equities: report While the 5.65 per cent return posted by In addition, non-Canadian equities posted a 5.65 per cent return, slightly under the MSCI world index return of 5.96 per cent, while international equity’s five per cent return was ahead of the MSCI EAFE index return of 2.86 per cent. Emerging markets equity posted a 7.39 per cent gain, slightly less than the MSCI emerging markets index’s 7.59 per cent result. Fixed income’s 0.87 per cent median return was down significantly from the 7.91 per cent gain posted in the second quarter, but outperformed...

Prudential Financial is discontinuing all sales of variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits, chairman and CEO Charlie Lowrey said today. That means eliminating the Highest Daily Income and Prudential Defined Income annuity products. The move is needed as the insurer recalibrates amid economic uncertainty and ultra-low interest rates, Lowrey said. “In terms of changing the focus within the business, we’re on a path to de-risking, and have made major pivots to less interest-rate sensitive and more capitalized solutions in our individual annuities and in our life business,” Lowrey explained. “Specifically, you’ve seen us pivot away from VAs with lifetime income guarantees to less market-sensitive products,” Lowrey said. “At the same time, you’ve seen us, in our life business, pivot to simpler, nonguaranteed products.” The insurer is committed to its FlexGuard annuity rolled out in late May, Lowrey said. Prudential’s first indexed variable annuity product, FlexGuard is designed to provide customers with downside protection and the opportunity to grow and accelerate the performance of their retirement assets into the future. Advertisement “Following an accelerated launch to market in the second quarter FlexGuard continues to gain momentum, accounting for 38% of our annuity sales in quarter,” Lowrey said. Prudential reported a strong...

Top 100 pioneering companies transforming the global insurance industry announced by FinTech Global Nearly $17bn has been invested in InsurTech companies since the beginning of 2017. Cork, Ireland (Nov. 4, 2020) – Blink Parametric, one of the world’s leading InsurTechs, has made it onto The InsurTech100 for a second consecutive year. The InsurTech100 is an annual list of the world’s most innovative solution providers addressing digital transformation challenges and opportunities within insurance as selected by a panel of analysts and industry experts. This is another significant milestone for the company as it follows Blink’s selection in August for the fifth cohort of the prestigious Lloyd’s Lab innovation accelerator programme which is set to showcase its latest product solution Blink Interruption later this month. Speaking of today’s announcement by FinTech Global, the specialist data and research provider and the organisation behind The InsurTech100 , Blink’s co-founder and CEO Paul Prendergast said: “This is a great day for all of us in Blink Parametric. I see the wealth of InsurTech innovation driving change in our industry at an extraordinary pace right now, so to be selected and recognised from over 1,200 companies is a huge honour. This recognition motivates us to keep...