Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | July 6, 2020 Even as Canada begins to reopen from coronavirus lockdown, uncertainty remains high and Canadians need employer mental-health supports more than ever. According to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest mental-health index, Canadians’ mental-health score sat at negative 11 in June. The index measures the score based on a pre-2020 benchmark of 75. While June’s score was one point higher than May’s, it still represents the third monthly consecutive negative score. Looking to specific mental-health issues, scores on anxiety (-12.9), depression (-12.7), work productivity (-12.1), optimism (-12.0) and isolation (-11.6) remained low but improved slightly across the board compared to the previous month. Read: Employees still in work with reduced salaries highest on mental-health index “As the country enters new phases of reopening and restrictions begin to ease, it’s important to remain focused on the mental health of Canadians and recognize that mental well-being requires the same attention and action as physical health,” said Stephen Liptrap, Morneau Shepell’s president and chief executive officer, in a press release. “The long-term impact of continued low levels of mental health is not only a concern for individuals but also for organizations and governments due to higher health and disability costs and the negative impact on individuals’ participation in...

Staff  | July 6, 2020 The British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the AustralianSuper and two Dutch pension funds — APG and PGGM — are jointly establishing a responsible investing platform. The sustainable development investments asset owner platform, which will be available through distribution partner Qontigo, features standard and artificial intelligence-driven data that enables investors to assess companies on their contribution to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The platform provides a common definition, taxonomy and data source for investments into the UN’s sustainable development goals. To date, it generates sustainable development investments classifications for 8,000 companies, enabling investors to assess their global capital markets’ portfolios on their contribution to the UN’s goals and to report to their clients and external stakeholders transparently and consistently, using a common standard, according to a press release. Read: How companies are stacking up on U.N.’s sustainable development goals The participating pension funds have set ambitious targets for investing in the UN’s sustainable development goals, with both the AustralianSuper and the BCI joining the platform. “Standardization of data is one of the biggest challenges facing the environmental, social and governance landscape,” said Jennifer Coulson, vice-president of ESG at the BCI, in a press release. “For this reason, we are excited to be part of...

Unique model continues to resonate highly among the nation’s entrepreneurial P&C brokers Toronto, ON (July 6, 2020) – Navacord Corp., one of Canada’s top commercial insurance brokerages and a leader in risk management services, is pleased to announce a series of partnerships with four prominent P&C brokers across Canada, solidifying Navacord’s position as the country’s fourth largest commercial broker. In time for Canada Day, Navacord officially closes its deal with Blanket Insurance in Edmonton, AB, and welcomes Smiths’ Insurance in Regina, SK; The Hull Group in Toronto, ON; and Cooke Insurance, one of the largest independent brokerages in the Maritimes. With existing Broker Partners that span central and western Canada, these latest additions are another step in supporting Navacord’s vision of building the great Canadian brokerage. “Navacord’s entrepreneurial partnership model continues to resonate with high-performing brokers in both the P&C and benefits sectors across Canada,” says T. Marshall Sadd, Executive Chairman of Navacord. “In addition to helping us scale into new geographical territory, each of these Broker Partners allows Navacord to expand upon our existing expertise, while deepening the depth of our product offerings and lines of business.” As leaders in their respective communities, each of the new brokers has...

Toronto, ON (June 30, 2020) – Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS AG, has released the annual update of its Canadian insurance Industry Exposure Database (IED), developed with the support of the Canadian P&C industry. The IED now contains 2019 year-end estimates of Canadian industry property sums insured. As in previous years, the database makes available industry property sums insured, number of risks and prevailing original insurance conditions by: Canada Post Forward Sortation Area (FSA) Peril (windstorm, hail, fire, flood, sewer back-up, earthquake and volcanic eruption) Line of business (personal, commercial, and motor hull) Cover type (building, vehicle, contents, business interruption and additional living expense, where applicable) Launched in June 2018, CatIQ’s IED is based on detailed exposure submissions from a majority of the Canadian insurance market. Consistent with PERILS’ globally recognized methodology, CatIQ’s IED is updated annually from the ground-up. Also, with the support of the participating insurers, CatIQ produces industry loss estimates at the FSA level as follows: The same perils, lines of business and cover types as listed above Any catastrophe that results in an industry loss greater than C$300 million This detailed loss dataset is now comprised of three major events,...

Leader in automotive and insurance solutions and services will deliver first globally available intelligent AI-based solution enabling end-to-end automation of the claims workflow Westlake, TX (June 30, 2020) – Solera Holdings, Inc., a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions for the insurance and automotive industries, today introduced the next generation of Qapter, the company’s innovative automotive claims workflow solution driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Solera’s patent pending AI-based technology will provide the industry’s only globally available end-to-end solution for full digitalization of the modern claims workflow. Solera has made strategic investment into core machine-learning capabilities that will radically transform the claims workflow process. The company’s AI has the capability to detect damaged parts, determine the type and severity of damage, define appropriate vehicle manufacturer repair operations and create an estimate based on these pre-defined repair operations. Automation tools improve the process of triage claims workflow, speed up reviews of damage photos, rapidly improve identification of total loss vehicles, and support identification of the next best action for repairable vehicles. These capabilities all save time, speed up the claims process and shorten the lifecycle of a claim for insurers, body repair centers, assessors and vehicle owners....

New SMA Blog by Mark Breading, Partner, Strategy Meets Action — No one will mistake 2020 for just another year. The turmoil caused by the pandemic, lockdowns, and social unrest is unlike any other year. Businesses, individuals, and governments have all been forced to make dramatic changes and adapt to new realities. The P&C insurance industry has responded admirably amid the chaos and continues to adapt to the evolving environment. As insurers develop strategies and plans for 2021, the logical question is where to start. The traditional planning processes may need to be supplemented with new approaches, given the great uncertainty brought about by the events of 2020. One approach to consider is utilizing scenario planning to inform the future strategy. Scenario planning is most valuable when there are considerable uncertainties regarding the future. By definition, strategic planning always has to deal with an uncertain future. However, a new set of variables is now layered on to the traditional factors that influence strategic decisions. In a new research report, SMA has evaluated a wide range of variables and has developed four scenarios for the future for P&C insurers. P&C Insurance Post-COVID-19: Four Scenarios for the Future, looks at the implications...

Staff | July 6, 2020 New draft regulations from the federal government would allow registered pension plans to borrow money and extend the deadline to retroactively credit pensionable service under a defined benefit plan in a bid to help plan sponsors maintain their pensions through the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the government’s coronavirus economic response plan, the regulations would apply to employers sponsoring a registered pension plan or a salary deferral leave plan, aiming to provide temporary relief from registration rules and conditions under the Income Tax Regulations. The draft regulations would also extend the deadline to make catch-up contributions to defined contribution plans and permit plan sponsors to make catch-up contributions in 2021 if they were reduced in 2020. Read: An overview of Canadian DB pension relief measures during coronavirus The regulations would also set aside the 36-month employment condition in the definition of eligible period of reduced pay for the purpose of using prescribed compensation to determine benefit or contribution levels. And they’d allow wage rollback periods during 2020 to qualify as an eligible period of reduced pay for prescribed compensation purposes. Under the draft regulations, plan sponsors would also be allowed to add temporary stop-the-clock rules to the conditions applicable to salary deferral leave plans between March...

La Capitale and SSQ Insurance have officially combined to form the largest mutual insurance company in Canada. The new company, whose name will be announced in the fall, has a footprint of over 3.5 million members and clients. The integration process will be a gradual one, with all agreements being maintained and no changes as of now for current members, clients, and business partners. With 4,700 employees, total premiums of $5 billion, and assets under management exceeding $20 billion, the company will remain based in Quebec City. Aside from being the top group insurer and fourth-largest personal insurer in Quebec, it occupies the number 4 spot among group insurers and number 6 among personal insurers in Canada. “We are very proud to make this merger of equals official today,” Jean-François Chalifoux, former CEO of SSQ Insurance and president and CEO of the new company, said in a statement. “Our new company has given itself the means to grow and make its mark in a fast-changing industry. We are now a major player across the country.” Jean St-Gelais, former chairman of the Board and CEO of La Capitale, has been appointed as chairman of the new company’s board of directors and...

Staff  | July 3, 2020 The Emerging Markets Private Equity Association is appointing Suyi Kim, head of Asia Pacific at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, to its board of directors. “Emerging markets are core to CPP Investments’ long-term strategy,” she said in a press release. “We have been investing in emerging markets for over a decade and currently have over 20 per cent of our total assets invested in these markets, with the majority in Asian emerging markets. I am pleased to join EMPEA’s efforts to promote transparency and sustainable investing, which are critical at a time of global market uncertainty and turbulence.” Read: Ontario Teachers’ appointing Karen Frank as senior managing director of equities Kim joined the CPPIB in 2007 as managing director and head of private equity for Asia and established its Hong Kong office in 2008. Previous roles include portfolio manager in the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plans’ private capital group, senior associate at the Carlyle Group and business analyst at McKinsey & Co. “Suyi Kim brings a unique Asian sensibility to our board and a breadth of experience across all types of private investing on behalf of one of the world’s truly great institutions, CPP Investments,” said Nicolas Rohatyn, board...

Kelsey Rolfe | July 3, 2020 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that where one provision of a termination clause doesn’t meet minimum statutory requirements, it renders the entire clause unenforceable. In Waksdale v. Segon North America Inc., the court reversed a Superior Court of Justice ruling in favour of plaintiff Benjamin Waksdale’s former employer Segon. Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan found that while the company’s termination of Waksdale with cause provision violated the Ontario Employment Standards Act, he was terminated under the without-cause provision, which was compliant with the law, and those two provisions should be considered separately. In their decision, Court of Appeal Justices Sarah Pepall, C. William Hourigan, and Lois Roberts ruled the termination provisions must be read together. Read: Court decision in IBM case clarifies enforcement of termination clauses “Recognizing the power imbalance between employees and employers, as well as the remedial protections offered by the ESA, courts should focus on whether the employer has, in restricting an employee’s common-law rights on termination, violated the employee’s ESA rights,” wrote the justices. “While courts will permit an employer to enforce a rights-restricting contract, they will not enforce termination provisions that are in whole or in part illegal.” While Segon asserted that its severability clause should apply...