Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Across the world, the novel coronavirus has firmly established itself as an invisible threat that people must protect themselves against. But at least in the Canadian context, the pandemic is providing the perfect conditions for another invisible scourge to spread even further. “If we look at the most recent data from the Mental Health Commission of Canada [MHCC] that emerged before COVID-19 hit, it indicates that 21.4% of the working population will personally experience a mental-health problem or illness that can affect their productivity,” said Julie Gaudry, senior director, Group Insurance at RBC Insurance. A worsening trendInsurance claims data provides some support for that. According to Gaudry, mental-health problems and illnesses stand out as the leading cause of long-term disability claims, accounting for more than 30% of such cases filed at RBC Insurance. And across the wider industry, a recent report from TELUS Health says that mental-health claims were among the major factors contributing to a 7.6% rise in eligible monthly costs among private drug plans in 2019. More recent data suggest that challenges from the coronavirus are pouring gasoline on the fire. Gaudry referred to findings from Morneau Shepell, which indicate that from March 20 to June 5, just...

Sun Life Canada has launched a new app to help third-party advisors close insurance coverage gaps for their clients. The new Sun eApp – described as an online, sustainable insurance application platform – is designed to help clients and their advisors go through the process of life and critical illness insurance digitally as they adhere to physical distancing measures amid the pandemic.  “Canadians are seeking trusted financial advice while maintaining physical distancing,” said Vineet Kochhar, senior vice-president, Insurance Solutions, Sun Life Canada. “While digital experiences remain paramount, nothing replaces the value of advice from an advisor.” Offering a one-stop-shop digital experience, it supports advisors from the start through the end of the process of preparing life and critical illness insurance applications online, even enabling them to schedule tele-interviews with clients. With e-signature capabilities for applications, the app substantially reduces the volume of paperwork needed for an application, potentially saving millions of sheets of paper each year. It enables decisions on eligible applications in as little as 24 hours, shortening the waiting time by roughly one week. A dashboard on the platform lets advisors track in-progress applications and helps them keep clients informed on the real-time status of their applications. The...

NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 — American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) today announced that it will relocate its global headquarters in New York City to 1271 Avenue of the Americas, where it will occupy 8 floors and 325,000 square feet. The Company will also consolidate its remaining New York City area footprint into approximately 450,000 square feet divided between two new locations at 28 Liberty Street in Manhattan and 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Company plans to move into the three new offices in 2021. “New York City has played an important part in AIG’s history and we are proud to be headquartered in this unique and resilient city,” said Brian Duperreault, AIG’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our new midtown headquarters building is in close proximity to many of our clients, distribution partners and other stakeholders. We take pride in our role as a responsible corporate citizen and remain committed to doing our part to help strengthen our New York City and Jersey City communities.” “By optimizing and modernizing our New York City area real estate footprint, we will align our workplaces with the objectives of AIG 200, our global, multi-year effort to position AIG for...

By Brandi Graver and H. Lillian Vogl What can people pass on to their loved ones if something were to happen to them suddenly? It depends on the day and, in some cases, the hour. Recent events have many clients concerned about the stability of their wealth, not only for their own benefit, but also for their legacy beneficiaries. If you have clients who are concerned about what market volatility might mean for their loved ones, life insurance can provide peace of mind that generational wealth won’t get lost in the storms. The Market Business owners and others with highly concentrated positions are particularly susceptible to “losing it all.” Even investors well diversified in equities – in which timing is everything – can experience significant losses in their portfolios because, in some cases, they can’t control the timing. There’s an old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Many investors are familiar with the concept of diversification, and usually try to spread their wealth among different traditional asset classes, including cash, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, stocks and stock options, bonds, real estate, commodities or other tangible assets. Different assets are subject to different risks and have...

Staff  | July 20, 2020 The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is acquiring a 19.99 per cent stake in TransGrid, an Australian electricity infrastructure company. The organization’s high-voltage transmission network connects around eight million people to the electricity supply. With a high proportion of regulated business making up about 90 per cent of its leased assets, TransGrid offers investors like the OMERS regulated revenue that’s a strong match for pension obligations, according to a press release, which also noted the company has contestable business that provides future growth opportunities to investors. “We are pleased to become investors in TransGrid and be part of this forward-looking company’s further evolution,” said Ralph Berg, global head of infrastructure at the OMERS, in the release. “TransGrid is poised to both continue making a crucial contribution to Australia’s electricity needs, while also playing a key role in helping reduce carbon emissions from the country’s electricity grid.”  Read: OMERS investing in German internet infrastructure, PSP in cloud security platform With the investment, the OMERS joins a consortium of other investors in the company’s ownership group, including the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. “Today is a proud day for OMERS as TransGrid marks our second infrastructure...

The Canadian Press | July 20, 2020 The federal government is easing eligibility rules for the government’s emergency wage subsidy and changing the amounts businesses can receive. The government had been under pressure to make the subsidy more accessible, specifically by loosening the requirement of a 30 per cent drop in revenues, so more companies under that cut-off can qualify. Speaking in Toronto last week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the rules will be changed so amounts paid out will be proportional to revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read: Federal wage subsidy to be extended to December, says Trudeau The program, which has been extended to Dec. 19, 2020, is at the heart of the Liberals’ promise to help Canadians get back to work, even if has to be at a slower pace, as the pandemic wanes. Morneau’s fiscal update last week boosted the budget for the program to $82.3 billion from $45 billion in a sign of impending changes and an extension beyond this summer. He also said he’s hoping the extension will give companies confidence to rehire workers, knowing what the rules are and that the program will be around for longer. The most recent federal figures for the program show...

New York, July 20, 2020 – New York Life announced today that Co-Chief Operating Officer Craig DeSanto, 43, has been elected president of America’s largest mutual life insurance company by New York Life’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. The role of president has been held by Chairman and CEO Ted Mathas, who assumed the role when former President John Y. Kim retired in 2018. Mr. DeSanto continues to report to Mr. Mathas. With his promotion to president, Mr. DeSanto will oversee all businesses of the company, including the Individual Life Insurance and Agency Distribution units, as well as Retail Annuities, New York Life Investment Management, and the company’s portfolio of industry-leading strategic businesses. “Throughout his more than two decades with the company, Craig has delivered steady and proven leadership, exceptional execution of our strategic plans, consistently strong business results, and an unwavering commitment to our people and the communities we serve,” said Mr. Mathas. “Craig’s keen intellect, deep understanding of our industry, and steadfast appreciation for our mission, purpose, values, and mutual business model gives me great confidence in his ability to continue to lead our organization moving forward.” Mr. DeSanto joined New York Life in 1997 as an actuarial intern and was...

June Spotlight results show strong enforcement: Drivers advised to keep their #HeadsUp and #JustDrive Regina, SK (July 17, 2020) – We get it. The past few months have been … eventful. We’ve all had a lot on our minds. Still, that’s no excuse to drive distracted (or drive impaired, or not wear a seatbelt, or break speed limits). Distracted driving was the focus of the June Traffic Safety Spotlight, and police across Saskatchewan issued tickets to 700 distracted drivers. That includes 605 drivers cited for using a cellphone while driving, and another 95 issued tickets for driving without due care and attention. Distracted driving is a leading contributor to collisions and people getting hurt and killed on Saskatchewan roads. There are many potential distractions for drivers (e.g. this, this, this, and this) but since most distracted driving tickets result from cellphone use, leaving your phone alone greatly increases your chances of not getting a ticket and will make you a much safer driver. Here’s a video that shows five things you can do with your phone before driving that will help you avoid one of those very stiff distracted driving tickets: [embedded content] Tickets for distracted driving are no joke....

KPMG Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index highlights countries and jurisdictions preparing for a more driverless future Toronto, ON (July 14, 2020) – Less hype, but more progress, is the key finding of this years’ KPMG Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, as authorities have focused on the regulatory and societal acceptance enablers of the technology. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting user and environmental requirements for transportation could accelerate the next round of AV development and deployment around the globe. The 2020 KPMG Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index (AVRI), the third edition of the index, evaluates the progress of 30 countries and jurisdictions in adopting and moving forward with AVs, and finds the majority have in fact increased their AV readiness in the past year. “We’ve just begun to see the transformational potential of AV technology,” says Richard Threlfall, Global Head of Infrastructure, KPMG International. “Immense progress has been made on AVs operating more safely and effectively. Looking forward, driverless vehicles could have an expanded role in addressing new requirements for moving people and goods, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, crowded public transit could be partially relieved by on-demand, autonomous minibuses to promote social distancing, while AVs for shipping can meet the...

Montreal, QC (July 14, 2020) – Link Insurance is pleased to announce the launch of a new website that incorporates live quote and bind technology for tenants and commercial insurance. As the first brokerage to use the Trufla Technology and Apollo Exchange program partnership, Link is already seeing an influx of business coming in through their new offering. “It’s pretty impressive, actually,” says Sheroo Hyder, VP Strategic Initiatives and Partner Relations at Link Insurance. “We haven’t done any marketing whatsoever, and we’re seeing business come in, especially on the commercial side. It’s a big step forward, and we’re excited to see where this can take Link Insurance.” That partnership, announced this past April, marries Apollo Exchange’s live quote and bind technology with Trufla’s truWeb digital sales platform which can be viewed here: www.linkinsurance.ca/products/commercial-insurance/. “Essentially what we’re providing brokers is an all-in-one digital sales solution that combines optimized web design, SEO and ecommerce solutions,” says Sherif Gemayel, CEO Trufla Technology. “Brokers partnered with APOLLO are able to sell hundreds of classes of small business insurance, as well as Renters Insurance, directly from their brokerage website in an eCommerce environment,” says Margo Lyons, Head of Broker Distribution at APOLLO. “Combined with Trufla’s...