Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

After pandemic-related declines in March thru April, U.S. life insurance application activity rose for the second consecutive month, up 1.2% in June year over year, according to the MIB Life Index. Despite the initial quarantine period straddling both the first and second quarters of 2020, the second quarter finished up 1% YOY, with the first quarter showing 1.8% YOY gains. At the close of the second quarter, the composite MIB Life Index is up 1.5% for the year. June’s application activity was off -1.7% from that of May, a time period where gains and losses have been historically mixed, MIB reported. Below age 60 life insurance buyers led once again but at a slowing pace compared to May. June’s application activity: ages 0-44 were up 3.7%; ages 45-59 were up 1.3%; and ages 60+ were off -5.5% year over year. At the close of the second quarter, year-to-date application activity for ages 0-44 remained consistent from last month, up 3.4%; ages 45-59 were up 0.5%; and ages 60+ were off -2.3%. Advertisement Read the original article at insurancenewsnet.com

Martha Porado | July 15, 2020 Debates are roiling across Canada as many grocery retailers pull back on so-called hero pay for workers who’ve had to face risky conditions during the pandemic. Empire Co. Ltd., the parent company of Sobeys, Freshco and some Safeway stores, ended its premium-pay period in June. But that wasn’t the only issue unionized workers at the company’s Alberta Safeway locations considered when they voted to strike in late June. A majority (79 per cent) of members voted in favour of strike action because of benefits concessions the company asked the union to make in its latest collective agreement offer. “It’s a curious time and the spotlight is at least in part on benefits in a global pandemic,” says Thomas Hesse, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents the employees. “These workers work in public places and there’s a whole bunch of variables that are driving an augmented interest in benefits. Read: Uber Black drivers fight for unionization at labour board hearing “There have been 10 Safeway stores in Alberta that have had COVID diagnoses and investigations. They’re unionized so they have a full-time benefits plan. But the majority of employees are subject to a part-time benefits...

The fact that life insurance offers potential tax-planning benefits is no secret to Canadian wealth professionals, but even the most seasoned veteran may sometimes struggle to determine how and when it should be used. For those who regularly face such thorny questions, one time-tested reference has long served as the definitive go-to guide. “My team calls it The Book, and I think everyone in the industry calls it that,” said Florence Marino, assistant vice president of the Tax & Estate Planning Group at Manulife, who is also one of the editors of Canadian Taxation of Life Insurance. First launched 20 years ago, it’s now recognized as an authoritative text across the industry, and even has pride of place in the library of the Supreme Court. Growing the pie“Most of us on Manulife’s Tax, Retirement, and Estate Planning Team came from external accounting and legal practices,” Marino said, recalling her early years working at the company. “We knew about tax-free death benefits and tax-exempt growth inside an exempt policy, but we didn’t necessarily know all the ins and outs of the taxation of the product.” As novices to Canadian life insurance, they had to work and study diligently before finally getting...

After seeing a 3.6% decline in 2018, private drug plans in Canada saw eligible monthly cost across all individuals rise by 7.6%, according to a new report from TELUS Health. “Overall eligible costs saw their biggest increase in the past five years, for multiple reasons,” said the 2020 Telus Health Drug Data Trends & National Benchmarks report. While a regional breakdown revealed notable increases across all regions, Ontario was revealed as an outlier due to the province’s discontinuation of its OHIP+ program for insureds below the age of 25 in April 2019. But even after discounting all insureds under 25 from the analysis, other factors caused a 5.1% rise in eligible costs for 2019, in contrast to a dip of 0.8% in 2018. Stripping away the effects of that event in Ontario also showed that the eligible costs for private drug plans in the province were still found to have risen by 5.4% last year, compared to the 2.4% decline in 2018. “Quebec is also at the forefront, with a 5.8% increase across all age groups, compared to an increase of 3% in 2018,” the report said. While the under-25 cohort showed the biggest jump in costs last year, it...

Staff  | July 14, 2020 The Halifax Port ILA/HEA pension plan has appointed Blair Richards as its chief investment officer. After more than 20 years as chief executive officer, he started the new role on July 1 and is under contract until Dec. 31, 2023. David Cranston, an internal hire, took over as CEO. Richards began working on the Halifax waterfront more than 40 years ago in 1979. He joined Local 1341 of the International Longshoremen’s Association and is still a member today. Read: Inspiration: Blair Richards on pension education He worked on behalf of his local and the ILA in labour and industrial relations as an executive member for approximately 15 years. In 1992, he became the first chairman of a newly formed board of trustees responsible for pensions and benefits on a mandate between the employers’ association and the union. He served in the chair position from inception in September 1992 until Dec. 31, 1999. On Jan. 1, 2000, he became chief executive officer of the organization. In addition to Richard’s new role as CIO, he’s currently a director at the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, a role he’s held since May 30, 2019. He’s also a board member and treasurer...

Staff  | July 14, 2020 The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has released its environmental, social and governance strategy, which outlines its beliefs, principles, governance and how its investment strategies consider ESG factors. The strategy includes four components: integrate, influence, invest and insight. In particular, the BCI is focused on integrating ESG analysis and risk management into investment processes, influencing others through engagement and advocacy, seeking opportunities to invest in ESG-themed investments and using learnings to generate insights to adapt strategies and approaches. Read: BCI touts ESG successes in 2019 report “Our updated ESG strategy marks the culmination of a collaborative effort across the corporation and builds upon BCI’s long-standing commitment to ESG,” said Jennifer Coulson, the BCI’s vice-president of ESG for public markets, in a press release. “It strengthens our approach to mitigating the long-term risks and opportunities that ESG matters present as part of the prudent investment management of our clients’ funds.” Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press | July 14, 2020 The federal government is for the second time extending its program to subsidize wages in companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time until at least December. But the government is being warned it may have to move the end date into 2021. The program is 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. Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the extension to give “greater certainty and support to businesses as we restart the economy.” While Trudeau didn’t say how the government will reshape the eligibility rules for the program that critics have said stop some employers from getting aid they need, he promised more details in the coming days. Read: Feds introduce 75% wage subsidy to help employers keep staff during coronavirus The wage subsidy program was previously set to expire the first week of June but the Liberals announced an extension to the end of August in mid-May. The government has yet to share eligibility requirements for July. Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the extension...

Novarica profiles 12 solutions in new report Boston, MA (July 14, 2020) – While many (re)insurers today use some combination of Excel and legacy systems to manage reinsurance business, there are other options available for those who want to invest in a more automated, efficient process. In Reinsurance Management, research and advisory services firm Novarica provides an overview of the current solution provider marketplace for reinsurance management solutions currently available to US insurers, as well as profiles of 12 vendor solutions. “A simpler insurance product means that the reinsurance stage will need to handle more risk calculations,” said Chuck Gomez, Vice President of Research and Consulting, and co-author of Novarica’s new report. “It’s much more common now for reinsurers to negotiate individual treaty terms. Insurers will only drive further contract complexity as reinsurers adopt third-party data sources and better predictive analytics.” As growth in the reinsurance marketplace remains small, Novarica has determined no vendor can be said to have a dominant position in the space. “Dominant providers have large client bases and large new client growth year-over-year,” said Jeff Goldberg, Executive Vice President of Research and Consulting. “It is possible in the coming years that one or two vendors will...

43% of Quebecers who own a pool said they would supervise their children themselves while working from home, according to an Allstate Canada poll conducted in advance of National Drowning Prevention Week Montreal, QC (July 13, 2020) – This will be a summer to remember with many Quebecers at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After nearly four months of juggling work and homeschooling, many Quebec families have been looking forward to taking advantage of the warmer weather to relax and swim. In the lead-up to National Drowning Prevention Week, which starts on July 19th, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada (“Allstate Canada”) in partnership with the Lifesaving Society Quebec Branch, reminds Quebecers to always be attentive in and around the pool. According to a new Allstate Canada poll conducted on the Angus Reid Forum panel, half of Quebec parents who own or are planning on purchasing a swimming pool in the near future (52%) plan to work from home this summer at least occasionally, and one-in-ten (9%) of those parents say their child or children will swim without supervision. On the other hand, four-in-ten (43%) Quebec parents who own a pool said they would personally supervise their children while working...

NEWARK, N.J., July 13, 2020 – The first months of the COVID-19 pandemic largely wiped out three years of financial gains in the United States, with more than half of Americans reporting their financial health has been compromised. People of color, women, younger generations and small business owners were among those disproportionately affected, Prudential’s (NYSE:PRU) 2020 Financial Wellness Census™ finds. “This crisis exposed deep fissures in our public health and economic systems, pervasive racial and social inequity, and how weak our collective immunity is to financial disruption,” said John Kalamarides, president of Prudential Group Insurance. “Tackling these systemic vulnerabilities will require bold thinking and public/private partnerships to help our society overcome financial fragility and prosper through an inclusive recovery.” Fielded in May 2020, the study shows nearly one-in-five respondents said their household income was cut by half or more in the months following the pandemic’s outbreak, with 17% losing employer contributions to a retirement plan, 14% losing health insurance and 10% losing group life insurance benefits, eliminating critical safety nets. The negative impact is disproportionately high for certain segments of the population. For example, while 48% of all of those surveyed said they were worried about their financial future, 56% of Black...