Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

By Charles Dugas, Insurance AI Lead, Element AI — Underwriting is all about data. Since its inception, people in the insurance profession have been evaluating data on risk, value, and other factors in order to make their decisions. Today’s underwriters have more variables to contend with, more submissions, more competition, and more data of all kinds to deal with than ever before. That’s why more and more insurance firms are deploying AI in commercial underwriting. Machine learning (ML) and AI are incredibly well suited for helping to deal with the masses of data underwriters now face. These technologies are changing underwriters’ working lives for the better and delivering huge benefits to businesses and the insurance industry as a whole. In this article, we’ll explore five key ways you can implement AI and ML in the underwriting process and the results they can achieve. Without further ado, let’s get started. (1.) Processing underwriting submissions Although efforts have been made to streamline submission processing, many lines of business in the insurance industry still have to deal with large volumes of documents that need to be processed manually. Until now, that’s just been part of the job — and a time-consuming, laborious one. New...

Staff  | September 2, 2020 Aon is promoting Federico Cervantes and Erwan Pirou to global partners of the firm. Cervantes joined Aon in 2018 as associate partner and head of investment for central Canada. Previously, he spent 12 years at Willis Towers Watson, most recently as a senior investment consultant. He also worked as director of institutional investment at GBM Grupo Bursatil Mexicano and as an institutional investment consultant at GEI in the U.S. With nearly 14 years at Aon, Pirou is currently the chief investment officer for Canada. Previous roles include Canadian head of fixed income research and investment consultant. Before joining Aon, he spent seven years at U.K. bank Barclays as a credit analyst, quantitative analyst and quantitative developer. Read: Aon appoints practice director of Canada investment consulting “Erwan and Federico have delivered great investment outcomes for their clients and have been instrumental in developing Aon’s investment business in Canada and globally,” said Calum Mackenzie, the firm’s Canadian head of investment, in a press release. “As chief investment officer, Erwan will continue to lead our [outsourced chief investment officer] portfolio management solutions in Canada and Federico will continue to serve as the head of investment for the central region. Their extensive knowledge...

Alberta-based independent P&C insurance agency Hub’s latest acquisition Chicago, IL (Sept. 2, 2020) – Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Elevate Insurance Brokers (Elevate Insurance). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, Elevate Insurance is a locally owned, independent insurance agency that provides property & casualty products, including home, auto, recreational vehicle and business insurance. Pierce Krol, President, and Otilja Majewski, Partner at Elevate Insurance, will join Hub International Insurance Brokers, a division of Hub International Canada West ULC (Hub Canada West), and report to Doug Lyall, Chief Sales Officer, Vice President of the region. About Hub’s M&A Activities Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com. About Hub International Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services. With more than 12,000 employees in offices located throughout North America, Hub’s vast network of specialists provides peace of...

Customer growth and funding validate ProNavigator’s unique ability to increase productivity within insurance brokerages and carriers Toronto, ON (Sept. 2, 2030) – ProNavigator, an insurance technology (InsurTech) company that helps leading carriers and brokerages overcome information barriers, announced today that it has closed a CAD $5.6 million financing round. This latest round was co-led by new investor Luge Capital and existing investors GreenSky Capital and MaRS IAF, who were joined by iNovia Capital, BDC, and CIBC Innovation Banking, and brings the company’s total amount raised to CAD $7.8 million. The new capital will be used to hire key resources to power expanded operations in the U.S. and Canada, and to extend ProNavigator’s product line. This announcement comes on the heels of significant momentum for ProNavigator. Founded in 2016, the company’s solutions have been implemented by industry heavyweights HUB International, Wawanesa and TD Insurance to deliver superior customer service and to more effectively seize revenue opportunities, and earlier this year ProNavigator was the only Canadian company selected by the U.S.-based consortium of insurance players, BrokerTech Ventures, to deliver innovation into the U.S. insurance broker industry. “Information is the lifeblood of insurance, but too often it doesn’t flow fast enough to meet...

First fully digital employer-sponsored RESP helps employees advance long-term savings goals during COVID-19 Winnipeg, MB (Sept. 2, 2020) – The back-to-school season may look a little different this year thanks to COVID-19, but some things never change, like the need to save for children’s post-secondary education. Employers can show their support for working parents during this difficult time with Canada Life’s new self-directed registered education savings plan (RESP) employee benefit. Not only do employees gain access to traditional RESP advantages like applicable government education grants and tax-sheltered earnings on contributions, they also enjoy Canada Life’s low investment fees, convenient payroll deduction and ease of a fully digital experience. According to Statistics Canada, tuition for undergraduate programs for Canadian full-time students was, on average, $6,838 in 2018/2019, up 3.3% from the previous academic year.[1] More than half (57%) of students graduating from post-secondary studies in 2018 said they relied on financial support from parents, family or their spouse.[2] And about half reported having education-related debt, owing on average $28,000.[2] “Tuition and student debt are only going to go up,” says Ryan Weiss, Vice-President Product and Experience, Group Customer, Canada Life. “RESPs are without a doubt the best way to save for...

Staff | September 2, 2020 Nearly half (45 per cent) of working Canadians said they’d prefer to work remotely at least three days a week, while more than a quarter said they’d prefer to work flex hours, according to a new survey by ADP Canada Co. and research firm Maru/Blue. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 working Canadians, also found 55 per cent of respondents said their employers have continued to allow remote and flexible working throughout the coronavirus pandemic. While the findings show strong support for flexible and remote working options, 69 per cent of respondents said they aren’t willing to accept reduced compensation for the changes. In addition, only four per cent of respondents said they’d consider accepting reduced compensation to work reduced hours — for example, a four-day work week. About half (45 per cent) of respondents said they feel remote workers have equal opportunity for job promotion and career advancement. Read: Remote working, distributed workforces could be part of new normal post-coronavirus “It’s clear that employees want to choose how and when they work,” said Heather Haslam, vice-president of marketing at ADP Canada, in a press release. “Employers that embrace flexibility within their culture may improve employee engagement, retention and performance. However, flexible...

Staff  | September 2, 2020 Canada Life Assurance Co. is introducing a self-directed registered education savings plan to help employers support their employees’ varying financial priorities. Employers can add the RESP to their employee benefits plan at no addition cost, while plan members can choose either the family or individual plan, where they can contribute as much or as little as they want through payroll deduction, pre-authorized debit or online banking payment. Contributions are then placed into a fund designed to automatically lower the risk of potentially decreasing in value as students get closer to starting post-secondary education. Read: Just 6% of Canadians cite retirement saving as top financial priority in 2019: survey Employees are also prompted to access any applicable grants, including the Canada Education Savings Grant, which kicks in $1 for every $5 an employee contributes, or the Canada Learning Bond, which is aimed at low-income Canadians and provides a $500 initial grant to a maximum of $2,000, just for opening an RESP account. “Tuition and student debt are only going to go up,” said Ryan Weiss, the insurer’s vice-president of product and experience for group customer, in a press release. “RESPs are without a doubt the best way to save for education, but...

As the world continues to fight through the COVID-19 crisis, various thought leaders and policymakers have suggested that recovery efforts be taken as an opportunity to “build back better.” And according to the co-founder and CEO of Breathe Life, a software-as-a-service provider catering to the North American life insurance space, carriers have the chance to do just that. “We always say life insurance is sold not bought, yet the people who are selling don’t have the tools they need to sell in 2020,” Ian Jeffrey told Life and Health Professional. “When we talk about the different offerings that we’ve launched as a platform, we have this vision of a one stop e-commerce enterprise solution.” Under the gun to go digital Ever since it raised $4.5 million from investors early last year, the venture-backed technology firm has launched several modules to support the insurance sales process. In May 2019, it launched a direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) module for insurance carriers, which also offers the ability for agents to earn commissions for sales that come through landing pages they have set up; that August, it launched an advisor experience module that enables a unified experience and data model. This past April, the company announced...

Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld federal legislation that prevents third parties from demanding genetic information from individuals. Those third parties include insurance companies, which effectiveky face prospective prosecution unless they take appropriate precautionary measures. In a recent article, Bernice Karn, Katie-May O’Donnell, and Gordon Goodman of legal firm Cassels explained that under the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, it is a crime to force an individual to get genetic testing, as well as collect, use, or disclose results of genetic testing without the individual’s written consent. As defined in the act, a “genetic test” is one that “analyzes DNA, RNA or chromosomes for purposes such as the prediction of disease or vertical transmission risk, or monitoring, diagnosis or prognosis.” A breach of the act can result in a fine of up to $1 million, prison time of up to five years, or both. The authors said that insurance legislation in each jurisdiction of Canada requires prospective insureds to fully disclose facts material to the insurance, including medical history, when they apply to life insurance companies for coverage. If they don’t disclose the information, their contract could be rendered voidable by the insurer. “Following the Decision, the courts will now need...

Courtesy of LIMRA One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear is that life is fragile and a person’s financial situation can change very quickly. Yet, despite the fact that people generally recognize the value of life insurance, LIMRA research shows 46% of Americans are uninsured and many more do not have enough coverage. Before the pandemic, nearly 1 in 3 families said they would face financial challenges within a month if the primary wage earner died. Every September, the industry — led by Life Happens — comes together to sponsor Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM). This campaign is designed to educate consumers about the importance of life insurance. “LIMRA is proud to support LIAM and help raise consumer awareness about the vital role life insurance plays in protecting families’ financial security,” said Gina Birchall, chief operating officer, LL Global. “Our research shows life insurance ownership has declined over the past 10 years. Campaigns like LIAM help ensure consumers understand the value of life insurance and take steps to obtain the coverage they need.” Advertisement According to LIMRA’s July consumer sentiment study, life insurance owners are more likely than non-owners to worry about having adequate coverage (64% versus 51%)...