Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Medavie Blue Cross, the pharmacy benefit manager and insurer, has introduced a drug management solution that promises to promote cost-effectiveness and positive health outcomes within group plans. The new solution, named Rxperience, comes with increased standardized core benefits that include broader drug coverage, open access to traditional drug benefits, and specialty drug management. “Our commitment as a health solutions partner is to improve the wellbeing of Canadians,” said Shane Reid, director, Drug, Product and Provider Management, Medavie Blue Cross. “We leverage our in-house expertise and capabilities to assess, negotiate and recommend to our clients the best approaches to maximizing the outcomes of their drug spend, while ensuring plan members get access to the most appropriate therapy for their condition.” The key plan management features focus on member care and cost management tools such as priori authorization for high-cost specialty drugs, mandatory generic substitution for multi-source brand drugs, and an opioid management strategy for responsible drug utilization. Among the add-on automated plan management features available – some of which depend on whether a client is within or outside Quebec – are tiered coinsurance, automated step therapy, and access to a preferred network of pharmacy partners. The plan also comes with the...

Staff | October 15, 2020 Across the G20 nations, older workers are increasingly vital to a post-pandemic recovery, according to a new report by ageing policy think tank International Longevity Centre U.K. Every third dollar is earned by someone aged 50 or older and nearly one in three workers (29 per cent of the G20 workforce) were over the age of 50 in 2018. This increased share of the job market meant older workers also drove consumer spending, as households led by people aged 50 and older contributed, on average, 22 per cent (more than US$9 billion) of the collective GDP of the G20 nations in 2015. Additionally, spending by households led by older people rose nine per cent from 2010 to 2015, with their market share also rising (from 54 per cent to 56 per cent) during this time. Read: Workplace strategies for an aging workforce The report also outlined how making it easier for older people to continue working into their retirement years could increase the collective GDP by seven per cent. “Older people’s social and economic impact is already significant, but there’s potential to increase this further. The barriers they face are in part avoidable — and the most important is poor health,” said...

Staff  | October 15, 2020 Two employers from British Columbia’s not-for-profit sector are the latest to join the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s DBplus. Effective Oct. 1, 53 full-time and six part-time staff at the Vancouver Foundation and four full-time and two part-time employees at the British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society became members of the defined benefit pension plan. Read: SHARE joining CAAT’s DBPlus pension plan “We want to provide our hard-working team the best possible solutions for a secure, stable retirement,” said Kevin McCort, president and chief executive officer at the Vancouver Foundation. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with CAAT to do just that.” Alena Levitz, executive director at the B.C. Unclaimed Property Society, added that DBplus allows access for smaller organizations to offer employees the security of a DB plan. “It was an ideal fit for us.” Since DBplus was made available to all Canadian workplaces in 2019, members from more than 30 employers have joined. The plan now has members from nine different industries and has support and participation from 14 different labour unions.  Read: Members of Torstar’s eight DB pension plans agree to join CAAT Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | October 15, 2020 As Canadian institutional investors increasingly integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their portfolios, the majority (97.5 per cent) said they believe these portfolios are likely to perform as well or better than non-ESG integrated portfolios, according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. The majority (70 per cent) of survey respondents said they believe adopting ESG factors can help generate long-term sustainable alpha, while 87 per cent of Canadian respondents believe that an ESG-integrated portfolio can also help minimize risk. The survey also found that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is influencing investors’ views about ESG, with more than 28 per cent of respondents saying it’s made them place more importance on ESG considerations. In addition, 53 per cent said they’re looking for companies to disclose more details about worker safety, employee health benefits, workplace culture and other social factors due to the pandemic. Read: A look at the different paths to ESG integration Among respondents that said they’re more closely focused on specific ESG factors due to the pandemic, the top three cited were supply chain risk (43 per cent), climate risk (37 per cent) and workplace culture (31 per cent). In addition, during a time with renewed focus on racial...

CrawfordTech Accessibility Academy launched in partnership with Eliquo Toronto, ON (Oct. 14, 2020) – Crawford Technologies, provider of innovative document solutions that streamline improve and manage customer communications, announced it has partnered with Eliquo Training and Development Inc. (Eliquo), an accredited design and digital media training company, to provide professional training and accessibility services in the highly technical field of document accessibility. Together, the two companies have created the CrawfordTech Accessibility Academy, which expands on Crawford Technologies’ mission to make it possible for its customers to deliver documents in accessible formats for individuals who are blind, partially sighted or have cognitive impairments, through training courses on the legality, compliance and general knowledge needed to successfully navigate the document accessibility world. Companies have reported difficulty understanding mandated requirements related to becoming compliant with accessibility standards, such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and PDF/Universal Accessibility (PDF/UA). Additionally, there is a demand for accessible HTML5 that works on mobile devices, web pages and all forms of web-based solutions. The training courses, designed for individuals, business teams, large groups or entire organizations that use any of Crawford Technologies’ solutions, offer a full range of programs. Topics range from Accessible Document Design and Document...

Milford, CT (Oct. 14, 2020) – Quadient, a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections through digital and physical channels, introduced its new Experience Partner Program today during its flagship conference, Quadient Inspire Days Virtual Experience. The mission of this revamped program is to empower Quadient partners with the knowledge and support needed to successfully implement and maximize the value of Quadient’s customer experience management (CXM) solutions. Quadient currently offers four different partner program tracks: ISV Technology Partners, Business Partners, Delivery Partners and Alliance Partners. These tracks will be simplified and merged into the Quadient Experience Partners and Quadient Experience Technology Partners tracks within the new program. The Quadient Experience Partner Program will offer partners recognition based on revenue and technical skills through four different levels: Registered, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Additional differentiators will be available to partners in the following areas: partners that have all the core Quadient Inspire capabilities to deliver a customer communications management (CCM)/customer experience management (CXM) project, partners that leverage Quadient Cloud and SaaS solutions, and partners with Quadient sales and technical capabilities across multiple geographical regions. Quadient will also host annual Experience Partner Awards to recognize the contributions of partners. Potential awards will...

In this video and article, disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup answer the question: What is the Difference Between a Disability Insurance Lawyer & a Social Security Disability Lawyer? To answer this question, the attorneys explain: A Social Security Claim vs. a Private Disability Insurance Claim What is an Employer Provided Disability Insurance…

One team, one brand: Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions is here, serving Canadian, cross-border and U.S customers and brokers Toronto, ON (Oct. 14, 2020) – Intact Financial Corporation officially brings together its Canadian and U.S. specialty capabilities under a single brand: Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions. Unifying its specialty operations under one brand represents the full integration of this growing segment of Intact’s portfolio and its commitment to being a leader in the specialty lines marketplace. “Our commitment to building a world class specialty insurance provider takes an important step forward today as we bring the Intact brand to the U.S.,” said Charles Brindamour, Chief Executive Officer, Intact Financial Corporation. “We see strong future growth potential in our specialty lines business given our team’s expertise and our robust solutions for Canadian, cross-border and U.S. customers and brokers.” The U.S. businesses had previously operated under the OneBeacon Insurance Group and The Guarantee Company of North America brands in the U.S., following the 2017 and 2019 acquisitions of these specialty companies, respectively. “This is an exciting day for us in the U.S. and our teams in Canada, as we officially move forward as Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions,” added Mike Miller, President, U.S Operations and...

News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) Oct. 14–DURHAM — It was once the tallest building in Durham and housed the nation’s oldest Black-owned life insurance firm, dedicated to serving the insurance needs of the state’s Black community. Decades after it was built in the 1960s and changed ownership, the landmark N.C. Mutual office tower has a new owner after a New York City-based real estate investment firm bought it in a foreclosure auction. Recently renovated and renamed the Tower at Mutual Plaza, it sold last week to Turnbridge Equities for $37.2 million, county records show. That was the amount of the loan balance defaulted on by 411 West Street Chapel Hill LLC, the investor group that owned it, the buyer said. “We are obviously strong believers in the Triangle’s resiliency,” said Jason Davis, managing director of Turnbridge in a news release. “The local economy is uniquely well-positioned to weather any downturns with its mix of governmental, educational, and private employers, including Durham’s thriving technology and life sciences sectors. We’re excited to bring fresh capital to the Tower at Mutual Plaza to reinvigorate the building.” The 14-story tower on West Chapel Hill Street houses the 118-year-old N.C. Mutual insurance company, as well...

Staff  | October 14, 2020 The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario are establishing a new committee to review both regulators’ approaches to supervising defined contribution pension plans. Through the collaboration, the OSFI and the FSRA is aiming to work toward improving outcomes for DC plan members and, where possible, enhance regulatory efficiency and effectiveness by finding opportunities for harmonization. Read: Regulators turning their attention to DC plan rules Interested applicants are invited to submit an application by Wed., Nov. 4, 2020. The two regulators will select members for the committee based on experience, the area of the pension sector they represent and other factors both regulators find relevant. The committee is aiming to begin its work on Dec. 11, 2020. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com