Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Gold Bars 1000 grams. Concept of wealth and reserve. Staff  | September 28, 2020 Since the mid-1970s, gold prices have increased in periods when investors were concerned about future inflation. Currently, gold prices are near highs comparable to January 1980, when concerns about stagflation were prevalent, and to August 2011, during widespread concerns about the impacts of quantitative easing. A new paper by Claude Erb, a retired managing director at TCW Group Inc., Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University, and Tadas Viskanta, director of investor education at Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC, argues that the real price of gold today is expensive and that the historical evidence shows that gold is an unreliable inflation hedge. Read: Back to basics on currency hedging From January 1980 to the beginning of 1985, inflation averaged 6.3 per cent per year, while the nominal price of gold fell 55 per cent and the real, inflation-adjusted price of gold fell 65 per cent, noted the paper. And from August 2011 to August 2016, inflation averaged 1.2 per cent per year and the nominal price of gold fell about 28 per cent, while the real price of gold fell about 33 per cent. “Currently, some are concerned...

InsurTech leader supports brokers with solutions that combine Vertafore’s unparalleled innovation with uniquely Canadian expertise Montreal, QC (Sept. 23, 2020) – Keal™ Technology, the Canadian subsidiary of North American InsurTech leader Vertafore, is pleased to announce that it is rebranding to Vertafore Canada, reinforcing its commitment to industry-leading technology for Canadian insurance brokers. It has been a year of transformation for Keal, including the appointments of a new General Manager and a new product leader, the launch of a new Cloud platform and the introduction of InsurLink to the Canadian marketplace. This rebrand is part of the company’s strategy to deliver value to Canadian brokers through the strengthening of the Canadian leadership team and a renewed focus on bringing innovation to market. “Given our commitment to deliver more innovation to Canada through a stronger alignment with Vertafore, it’s a natural next step to rebrand from Keal to Vertafore Canada,” noted Dimitrios Argitis, GM and VP of Vertafore Canada. “Leveraging the power of Vertafore is enabling us to bring the right solutions to Canadian brokers by bringing together the best of both worlds.” Transformative InsurTech for Canadian brokers Along with its new name, Vertafore Canada is renewing its focus on innovation...

Ontario agri-business mutual insurer to leverage Guidewire to enable digital transformation, deliver service excellence, and accelerate product launches Listowel, ON (Sept. 25, 2020) – Trillium Mutual Insurance Company, an agri-business mutual insurer based out of Listowel, Ontario, and Guidewire Software, Inc., the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently, are pleased to announce that Trillium Mutual has selected Guidewire to enable digital transformation, deliver service excellence, and accelerate product launches. By implementing Guidewire’s leading-edge industry platform, Trillium Mutual will be able to ensure that it is in step with the majority of the Canadian P&C industry and build upon its commitment to push for innovation in all areas of its business. The company will also be able to continue providing the exceptional service and commitment to mutuality that its partners and members have come to expect in a rapidly-changing insurance marketplace, from digitally interfacing with partners for policy changes and new business to providing easy access to its members during a claim. “Through reduced speed-to-market of new products and technologies, the introduction of new levels of efficiency and automation through guided workflows based on industry-validated best practices, and the proliferation of Guidewire in the Canadian P&C industry,...

Toronto, ON (Sept. 28, 2020) – Ecclesiastical has launched a planning framework to help organizations develop a strategic risk-based approach to manage their operations and ensure they are able to cope in the COVID-19 environment. COVID-19 has exposed new risks, ranging from social distancing to uncertain customer demand and so it is vitally important that organizations are able to adapt and ensure the safety of employees, volunteers, customers, and visitors. The plan includes a set of tools that have been designed to help organizations identify any potential impact, risks and opportunities going forward. These include checklists to look at the impact of the pandemic on the business – for example whether a lack of technology has hampered delivery of service, to the challenges of keeping stakeholders informed as well as tips to support immediate changes to how an organization works. By reviewing existing strategies and adapting them where needed, businesses should be in a stronger position to support their long-term viability. Colin Robertson, Vice President, Operations and Risk Control at Ecclesiastical, said: “In these incredibly challenging times, organizations across the country have shown amazing resilience and flexibility to adapt to a new landscape, while managing the risks associated with a...

RPA market forecast to grow at double-digit rates through 2024 despite economic pressures from COVID-19 Stamford, CT (July 15, 2020) – Global robotic process automation (RPA) software revenue is projected to reach $1.89 billion in 2021, an increase of 19.5% from 2020, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. Despite economic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the RPA market is still expected to grow at double-digit rates through 2024. “The key driver for RPA projects is their ability to improve process quality, speed and productivity, each of which is increasingly important as organizations try to meet the demands of cost reduction during COVID-19,” said Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president at Gartner. “Enterprises can quickly make headway on their digital optimization initiatives by investing in RPA software, and the trend isn’t going away anytime soon.” Worldwide RPA software revenue is expected to reach $1.58 billion in 2020, an increase of 11.9% from 2019 (see Table 1). Through 2020, average RPA prices are expected to decrease 10% to 15%, with annual 5% to 10% decreases expected in 2021 and 2022, creating strong downward pricing pressure. Table 1. Worldwide RPA Software Revenue (Millions of U.S. Dollars) 2019 2020 2021 Revenue ($M)...

Toronto, ON (Sept. 24, 2020) – CSIO is pleased to congratulate the first cohort of CSIO Digital Brokers. These 32 CSIO members demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning, innovation and digital best practices. The new CSIO Digital Broker certification recognizes brokers who have completed six CSIO eLearning courses. These courses are offered on digital topics related to the business of insurance, to help brokers maintain their competitive edge, update their digital skills, and keep them up-to-date on latest digital trends. “I’m honoured to be recognized as a CSIO Digital Broker,” said Carole Moran, Epic Trainer – Alberta, with BFL Canada. “I took the first three courses to use for licensing credit but quickly realized that the material was very interesting and relevant to not just our insurance careers but to our daily lives. I want to thank CSIO for these wonderful courses, I look forward to seeing what new courses you create for brokers.” About the CSIO Digital Broker eLearning Program The CSIO Digital Broker eLearning Program is the P&C insurance industry’s preferred choice for online education. Course topics are selected based on what CSIO members have most requested, in order to support their professional development and enhance their knowledge of current digital...

LL Global, the parent company for LIMRA, LOMA and Secure Retirement Institute, today named Mark Poklar to lead its insurance research unit. He will report to Alison Salka, senior vice president and head of LIMRA Research. Over the past 30 years, Poklar has held several leadership roles in marketing and research across several different industries, including executive positions at Thrivent Financial and Walmart. Prior to accepting the position with LL Global, Poklar was executive director of consumer insights and competitive intelligence for Humana. “Mark brings a unique combination of experience and knowledge, including extensive expertise in the omnichannel market, that we believe will help take our insurance research program to the next level,” said Salka. “Advances in technology, challenging economic conditions and changes in consumers’ perceptions and behaviors are driving the life insurance industry to transform. Mark’s strong research, strategy, collaboration and leadership skills will help integrate our product, market and distribution research in the insurance vertical, allowing us to continue to provide the indispensable research and insights our members need.” As vice president of LIMRA’s Insurance Research program, Poklar will be responsible for developing a strategic program of benchmark surveys, discovery research and thought leadership that addresses important industry...

Staff | September 28, 2020 New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will support last week’s throne speech on the condition that more Canadians be granted access to paid sick leave as part of draft legislation covering the federal response to the coronavirus epidemic. The proposed legislation, Bill C-2, would see Canadians receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit transition to a version of employment insurance with enhanced eligibility or to one of three other new benefits. Read:What did the throne speech promise for employers and workers? In a press conference Friday night, Singh said his party’s support is contingent on changes to the wording of Bill C-2 to significantly increase the number of Canadians who will receive paid sick days. “Today marks the first step in achieving the first ever, in the history of our country, federal paid sick leave for Canadian workers,” he said. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Kelsey Rolfe | September 28, 2020 An upcoming Sun Life Canada drug plan change that will be implemented outside of plan sponsors’ renewal periods is calling attention to the practice of block-level contract amendments. Sun Life is set to implement the first phase of its reference drug program on Oct. 1, which the insurer says will help plan sponsors with drug plan sustainability by creating categories of drug therapies and identifying the most cost-effective drug within a therapeutic class. While plan members will continue to have access to all drugs within the class, they’ll only be reimbursed up to the eligible cost of the chosen cost-effective medication. The first phase will involve two drugs to treat neutropenia, a condition that involves an abnormally low number of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. The program will eventually expand to other therapeutic categories and include biologics, biosimilars and other synthetic drugs. Read: Collaboration fundamental when managing, altering Canadian drug plans Blake Waddell, a group benefits advisor with Waddell Insurance Brokers Ltd., says the change would have violated his plan sponsor clients’ contracts with Sun Life, which specify when the insurer is able to make changes to benefits offerings and give plan sponsors a 31-day period to opt out of changes. After a conversation with the insurer’s...

The Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA), a non-profit organization representing the interests of Canadian travellers from across the world, has announced a significant victory in a legal challenge against Ontario. On September 23, the Ontario Divisional Court issued a unanimous ruling that strikes down a portion of Ontario Regulation 259 that eliminated the Out-of-Country Travellers Program (OOCTP), an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) program that covers emergency coverage outside the country. Under the program, travelling Ontarians could claim reimbursements of $200 to $400 per day for emergency inpatient services and up to $50 per day for emergency outpatient services. In May 2019, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott announced the provincial government’s plan to eliminate basic out-of-country travel insurance, following a six-day consultation. The move was part of a broader effort to address the province’s $11.7-billion deficit; it said the OOCTP program had cost it $2.8 million to administer with approximately $9 million in claim payments made every year. The plan to eliminate OOCTP pushed through on January 1, 2020, which made Ontario the sole jurisdiction in Canada to eliminate all medical coverage for its residents travelling abroad. The following day, the CSA filed its legal challenge against the move. In its...