Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Drug Trends and Strategic Insights report Toronto, ON (Sept. 15, 2020) – As COVID-19 continues to impact the Canadian economy and strain health care resources, these times call for a critical re-think of health care services and benefit plans, with a focus on adopting rigorously-tested solutions that increase the value of drug spend. With these industry realities front of mind, health benefits manager HBM+ is today releasing its inaugural Drug Trends and Strategic Insights report, which presents drug claims and utilization data for HBM+ partner insurers and third party administrators (TPAs), representing over two million claimants and over $1.5 billion in annual adjudicated drug costs. The report examines the latest drug directions and trends, including the use of opioids, biosimilars, and the evolving approaches to reimbursing health care professionals, as well as tangible cost management and health improvement solutions for plan sponsors and advisors. It also provides a glimpse of the future, including the impact of pharmacogenomics, an exciting field that offers the potential to personalize the way drugs are prescribed and ultimately improve outcomes, and calls for the consideration of gene therapy strategies as these expensive new treatments emerge in the health care landscape. “We are relentless at pursuing...

Targeted News Service (Press Releases) Millennials (24-39 years old) are approaching a milestone birthday as the first in the generation turns 40. And as they age, there’s a chance they will become owners and beneficiaries of life insurance policies. Along with new life insurance policies come responsibilities to be aware of, like learning about key information that will ensure that benefits get paid when needed. There is a clear need for better communication about life insurance policies across all generations, according to a new survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). When the beneficiary is younger and potentially newer to the experience, the issue is even more significant. Overall, 55% of millennials surveyed said they are listed as a beneficiary on a friend’s or relative’s life insurance policy, yet only 30% said they are prepared for that role. Lack of preparation — i.e., sharing and being aware of basic information about policies–leads to millions of dollars in unclaimed benefits each year by beneficiaries who can’t find loved ones’ policies or don’t know they exist. Beneficiaries Should Know Policy Basics Advertisement Millennials, who have grown up with cell phones and social media, recognize the power of communication and transparency....

Kelsey Rolfe | September 17, 2020 Claims for medications treating mental-health issues like anxiety and depression reached 97 per cent of 2019’s total claims volume by the end of August 2020, according to new data from Express Scripts Canada. In addition, 2020 has seen a 20 per cent increase in claimants for medications relating to depression compared to 2019. “For the remainder of 2020, there will be a heightened awareness on employee well-being,” said Laura Blair, director of sales for Express Scripts Canada, in a webinar hosted by the pharmacy benefits manager on Wednesday. “Depression is a condition that generally requires longer-term treatment, so these claims will persist and employers will need to consider holistic approaches to care.” Read: Mental health firmly in the spotlight due to impacts of coronavirus, says report Looking at claims by week since the beginning of 2020, there was no large spike in claims for mental-health drugs, but rather “smaller waves . . . of new users that continued through the self-isolation phase [of the pandemic] and into the re-opening,” said Erica Hatherly, Express Scripts Canada’s senior manager of clinical services. “This might speak to the fact that depression has an enduring effect as it relates to the longevity of that self-isolation phase.”...

PR Newswire Globe Life is proud to announce Globe Life Field will host the 2020 Major League Baseball National League Divisional Series, National League Championship Series playoff games, and the World Series. Playoffs are scheduled to begin at the end of September and will run through the month of October. How was Globe Life Field selected to host?In an effort to minimize exposure to COVID-19, Major League Baseball will hold playoff games in four “bubble” locations in California and Texas. Texas was selected to host playoff games and the World Series due to its central location. Globe Life Field, with its state-of-the-art amenities including retractable roof and controlled climate creates a perfect environment for world championship baseball. After a first playoff round is held in participating teams’ ballparks around the country, the league expects to send four National League squads to Houston and Arlington, Texas, with American League contenders heading to Los Angeles and San Diego. The World Series will take place at Globe Life Field. “We are so proud to see the 2020 Major League Baseball playoffs and the World Series Championship come to Globe Life Field,” said Jennifer Haworth, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Globe Life....

Staff  | September 16, 2020 The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, alongside existing investors, is investing $US185 million in subscription commerce platform AppDirect Inc. The funding brings the total equity raised to about $US465 million. Since its first funding round in 2015, the U.S.-based company has experienced tremendous growth, increasing gross merchandise value more than 1,500 per cent, expanding its global footprint and servicing more than 2,000 merchants around the globe. According to a press release, the new funding supports will accelerate organic expansion, strategic acquisitions and additional hiring. Read: Caisse participating in financing round for Quebec payment-tech provider “AppDirect has established itself as the global leader in the application market for cloud services delivery,” said Thomas Birch, the Caisse’s global managing director of venture capital and technology. “They are experiencing rapid growth and the quality of its client network illustrates the success of its model. AppDirect plays a key role in simplifying the digitalization of businesses through cloud services and CDPQ’s investment will contribute to the acceleration of its growth plan.” The AppDirect platform currently powers millions of subscriptions worldwide, for companies like ADP Inc., Deutsche Telekom, Honeywell International Inc., Keller Williams Realty and Vodafone Group. Read: OMERS to acquire e-commerce company...

Staff | September 16, 2020 Vodacom Group, a South African telecommunications firm, is providing all global employees with 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Employees will be able to take the leave if they or their partner are having a baby, adopting a child or becoming a parent through surrogacy. They can take the leave anytime within the first 18 months of parenthood. The new policy will also give employees the ability to phase in their return from leave by working the equivalent of a 30-hour workweek at full pay for an additional two months. Read: TD Bank and Johns Hopkins introduce new parental leave policies “We are proud to support all families by giving every parent the opportunity to have more time with their children, without worrying about the impact on their finances or careers,” said Matimba Mbungela, Vodacom’s chief human resources officer, in a press release. “The new parental leave policy further underlines our strong commitment to diversity and gender equality and will make a significant difference to thousands of Vodacom employees, particularly in markets where there is little or no legal requirement to give equal support for both parents.” In March 2015, Vodacom offered...

Premium solutions leverage intelligent technologies to address data gaps in traditional coverage, establishing a new, profound level of revenue protection Winnipeg, MB (Sept. 16, 2020) – Farmers Edge™, a global leader in digital agriculture, today announced a strategic collaboration with Munich Re, a leading reinsurer, to pave the way for data-driven parametric weather insurance solutions. The trailblazing deal centers on a unique digital infrastructure that combines highly precise, site-specific datasets with science-based analytics and Artificial Intelligence to transform traditional parametric coverage models into scalable and profitable solutions for all stakeholders; growers gain top quality crop protection and instant payouts while insurers gain key insights and tools to more confidently mitigate risk, automate claims, and provide faster payouts to customers. Agricultural parametric insurance covers areas that are excluded from all-risks indemnity policies, such as excess moisture or heat, to protect growers against unpreventable high-intensity and catastrophic losses. These policies are designed to offer claim payouts as soon as events are triggered, eliminating the typical loss adjustment and reporting period. However, these parametric weather policies may carry significant risk across data-sparse regions due to insufficient publicly available data. The collaboration puts Farmers Edge and Munich Re at the forefront of insurance innovation,...

Toronto, ON (Sept. 15, 2020) – Canadians received a record $103 billion in benefits from life and health insurers last year, up 60 per cent from a decade earlier. These benefits include $53.3 billion in retirement annuity payments, $38.1 billion in health benefits for prescription drugs and supplementary health services like dental care and physiotherapy, as well as $12.1 billion in life insurance benefits. “Life and health insurance benefits help make life more affordable and secure for nearly four out of every five Canadians,” Stephen Frank, President and CEO of CLHIA said. “The benefits insurers allow Canadians to access prescription medicines, live more comfortably in retirement, or replace needed income when they are ill or lose a loved one.” This data and additional insights are included in CLHIA’s 2020 edition of Canadian Life & Health Insurance Facts. Other highlights of 2019 in the report include: Insurers contribute to Canada’s economic growth with over $860 billion in long-term investments in innovation and infrastructure projects Insurers provide over 157,000 jobs in all regions of the country Life insurers manage $309 billion in pension assets that provide retirement security for over 8 million Canadians “Life and health insurers are proud to contribute to the...

The development of parallel supply chains to de-risk the global flow of intermediate goods/services is a key macroeconomic trend COVID-19 has accelerated the trend: the healthcare, technology, consumer staples, textiles and electronic sectors likely at forefront Changes will include alternative host markets, mainly in Southeast Asia, and re-shoring of production processes, mainly in the US, euro area and advanced Asia markets Over a five-year transition period, the changes will be net positive for the global economy and are anticipated to generate around USD 63 billion in additional global insurance premiums Zurich, Switzerland (Sept. 10, 2020) – Global supply chains are undergoing fundamental and accelerated restructuring, according to the latest Swiss Re Institute sigma study, De-risking global supply chains: rebalancing to strengthen resilience. The disruption to the flow of intermediate goods and services during the COVID-19 lockdowns has made governments and manufacturers ever more aware of the risks inherent in today’s increasingly complex, specialised and global production processes. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are speeding up their development of parallel supply chain operations in new host markets alongside existing production bases as a means to diversify and strengthen their operational resilience. Markets in Southeast Asia will be the preferred destinations as new host locations....

Partnership to assist and protect homeowners when they face an unexpected legal issue Toronto, ON (Sept. 15, 2020) – DAS Legal Protection Inc. (“DAS”) is proud to announce an expanded partnership with The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (“Wawanesa”). On October 1, 2020, Wawanesa homeowner, tenant and condo policyholders will have unlimited access to a Telephone Legal Helpline Service, and optional Legal Expense Coverage. “DAS is so pleased to expand our business with Wawanesa to increase access to justice for their personal lines policyholders. Ensuring the risks relevant to Canadian families are well managed, including their legal risks, is always important.  It’s especially so as Canadians now move forward in post-pandemic circumstances,” said Rissa Revin, CEO at DAS. Unlimited access to a Telephone Legal Helpline Service provides individuals and families a route to reduce stress, anxiety and uncertainty when they have a legal issue, especially in light of the shifting legal landscape due to COVID-19. Optional Legal Expense Coverage further ensures their legal risks are well managed, by providing access to a qualified lawyer and covering legal costs for insured events such as contract disputes, employment disputes, tax audits and other common legal issues experienced by Canadians. “We are proud to...