Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff  | July 31, 2020 iA Financial Group is appointing Éric Jobin as executive vice-president of group benefits and retirement solutions. Jobin had been in the role, on an interim basis, since March 2020. He joined the insurer in 1999 in corporate actuarial services. Since then, he’s taken on many roles including vice-president of corporate actuarial services in 2015, vice-president of actuarial and finance of group benefits and retirement solutions in 2017. He also served as chairman of the company’s employee pension committee. Read more People Watch news Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Toronto, ON (July 31, 2020) – The global coronavirus pandemic has created an array of health and economic challenges, which have been felt to various degrees in every corner of the world. In Canada, the life and health insurance industry, governments and employers have been working together to lessen the impact of the crisis by ensuring access to health benefits, virtual care and financial support. COVID-19 has forced us to accelerate certain practices that allow the industry to interact with Canadians and healthcare providers in a more efficient way. Insurance Industry Playing Critical Role In Keeping Canadians Healthy And WorkingWith Stephen Frank President and CEO, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association The insurance industry touches the lives of many Canadians, both customers and employees, and it has played a leading role in addressing emerging problems when COVID-19 hit. COVID-19 has forced us to accelerate certain practices that allow the industry to interact with Canadians and healthcare providers in a more efficient way. Pandemic Stress Testing Canadians’ Financial, Physical And Mental Well-BeingBy Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, for Canada Life The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for Canadians physically, emotionally and economically. While countries across the globe...

Kelsey Rolfe | July 31, 2020 Climate change has accelerated the risk of expensive natural disasters, but these risks still aren’t being adequately taken into consideration in investment decisions. “Climate risks oftentimes are evaluated more under ‘E’ in [environmental, social and governance risk assessments],” said Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, in a webinar hosted by AllianceBernstein. “[But] these disasters have cascading impacts that erode tax bases that create and exacerbate social inequality. And there are also challenges with some of the limits of disclosure.” Read: What’s keeping ESG rankings so convoluted? He pointed to figures from the United Nations’ Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on the impact of weather-related disasters on countries’ economies from 1998 to 2017. Looking at the raw dollar value, the U.S. saw the highest impact, with natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Katrina and wildfires out west playing a role in the substantial cost. But look at the dollar impact as a percentage of countries’ gross domestic product and a different story emerges, said Schlegelmilch. “The U.S. doesn’t even crack the top 10 [countries]. You’re seeing primarily lower-income countries bearing the brunt in terms of the percentage, the proportion of their economy that’s been impacted by these disasters. I...

Staff | July 31, 2020 The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. rounded out its fiscal year with a three per cent return, slightly underperforming its 3.3 per cent benchmark. In dollar terms, the BCI added $17.8 billion as of March 31, 2020, rounding to a total $171.3 billion in assets under management. The three per cent return represented something of a slump compared to fiscal 2019’s performance of 6.1 per cent. Looking at specific asset classes, public equities performed particularly poorly, with Canadians stocks posting a negative 13.9 per cent return, global stocks negative four per cent and emerging markets negative 11.2 per cent, although all outperformed their benchmarks. Meanwhile, fixed income fared better with short-term securities returning 5.1 per cent and nominal bonds returning 4.9 per cent. Private debt, however, yielded a negative 2.3 per cent return. Read: BCI posts 6.1% return for fiscal year, driven by private assets Private equity performed far better for the fiscal year, at 16.2 per cent, although it underperformed its 22.2 per cent benchmark. Infrastructure showed strong returns at 8.6 per cent and real estate at 8.5 per cent, with global real estate investments (12.2 per cent) driving harder with domestic assets (7.6 per cent). “In...

Research Michigan Court reverses Reliance’s termination decision and finds Plaintiff proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he is totally disabled from working at any occupation due to cognitive disorders. Is Plaintiff Entitled to LTD Benefits When Unable to Work in Any Occupation? Q&A – Disability Companies In this video and article, Attorneys Gregory…

Kelsey Rolfe | July 31, 2020 Canada Post Corp. employees and some retirees are receiving retroactive wage increases, as well as adjustments to their disability and life insurance and pensions, through two new collective agreements between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the crown corporation. The agreements between Canada Post and its rural and suburban and urban postal service workers — represented by two separate bargaining units — will be in place until Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 31, 2022. respectively. As part of the negotiations, arbitrator Elizabeth MacPherson awarded wage increases of two per cent for 2018, two per cent for 2019, 2.5 per cent for 2020 and 2.9 per cent for 2021. For rural and suburban postal workers, these wage increases are effective Jan. 1 of each year and Feb. 1 for urban workers. Recent retirees who still worked for Canada Post after the first bump are also entitled to receive retroactive pay increases. Read: Arbitrator awards rural Canada Post carriers up to 25% raise in pay equity decision “Canada Post would like to thank the arbitrator for her diligence and professionalism in working with both parties,” said the crown corporation in a press release. “We would also like to thank employees for their patience during this process.” The...

Staff  | July 30, 2020 A retiree faces a 50 per cent probability of receiving more income by delaying Canada Pension Plan payments, according to a new report by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. The report, authored by Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, director of financial security research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing, investigated the financial considerations of delaying CPP payments and looked at the risks and opportunities associated with the delay. For the majority of Canadians with sufficient registered retirement savings plan and registered retirement income fund savings, the decision to delay CPP payments depends on current investment returns and life expectancy, it noted. And even in extreme cases — for example, situations with low longevity expectations and very high expected investment returns – a person faces a 50 per cent probability of receiving more income by delaying the payments. Read: Head to head: Is there a right time to take CPP benefits? “This research shows that, given today’s low interest environment and general population longevity expectations, delaying CPP payments is clearly a financially advantageous strategy,” said Michel St-Germain, president of the CIA, in a press release. The report looked at workers retiring at age 65 who intend to use some portion...

The Canadian Press | July 30, 2020 Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group say most of their staff will work from home until next year to further stop the spread of the coronavirus. Helena Gottschling, RBC’s chief human resources officer, said in a memo to bank staff that most employees will work from home until at least 2021. She said a very small number of employees in the Greater Toronto Area may return to RBC premises starting in mid to late September but others will have to continue working from home. The bank said it will provide those returning to the office at least four weeks’ notice and will be as flexible as possible with employees’ needs.  Read: Twitter to allow employees to work from home ‘forever’ TD said staff working from home have also been advised they won’t return to the office before the end of the calendar year. The moves come after Scotiabank informed head office employees in the General Toronto Area currently working remotely they can continue to do so until 2021 and after all of the major banks in the city agreed to a May request from Mayor John Tory, who asked companies in the area to keep their workers...

Staff | July 30, 2020 What makes the fees and terms of one private equity deal better than another? A new study by Callan examined 90 private equity partnerships to compare their fees and terms structures with the aim of helping institutional investors better evaluate these funds. Notably, the funds studied tilted toward the buyout variety (76 per cent) and to North America (80 per cent). “We found a relatively high level of uniformity for fees and terms among the partnerships in our study, indicating that [limited partners] faced constraints on their bargaining power with [general partners],” said the study. “At this point in the cycle, GPs are in the driver’s seat, which in our view makes careful manager selection even more critical. Of course, that may change as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resets the dynamics of the private equity market.” Read: Why are institutional investors ramping up allocations to private equity? The study found a $10-million minimum LP commitment is quite common among the industry, appearing in just under half (46 per cent) of partnerships. About a quarter placed higher minimums for LPs, usually with an eye toward constraining the LP base to larger investors. As for GPs, the data showed...

Staff | July 30, 2020 Sun Life Financial is making an equity investment of $32.7 million in Canadian telemedicine provider Dialogue, with the two entities forming a strategic commercial partnership. Through the deal, Sun Life will hold a minority ownership position in Dialogue. The round of financing also includes further investments from existing backers, including the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Portag3 Ventures, White Star Capital, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures Adviser GMBH, First Ascent Ventures and Walter Ventures. Read: Caisse investing in Canadian digital health-care platform “The need for Canadians to have alternative ways to access health care continues to grow,” said Dave Jones, senior vice-president of group benefits at Sun Life Canada, in a press release. “Virtual care is an important part of the future of Canadian health care. The combination of innovative technology and the necessity of social distancing during the pandemic has rapidly changed the virtual health-care landscape. Our investment in Dialogue represents Sun Life’s commitment to helping Canadians live healthier lives through access to health care, whenever and wherever they need it.” Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com