Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On July 1, Nationwide makes history by completing its 18-month transition to operate as a fully independent agency carrier. More than 99% of the company’s formerly captive agents will transition to Nationwide’s independent agency channel and continue partnering with the company. Since the company made the announcement to transition to a fully independent model in 2018, new written premium driven by independent agents has increased 35%. Nationwide boasts more than 11,000 independent agents across the country that sell personal lines, commercial lines, agribusiness, excess and surplus and financial services solutions. Nationwide has worked with independent agents since 1929. This transition comes at a critical time for independent agents. According to a recent Nationwide Agent Authority survey, independent agents say that their biggest challenges are driving new business to keep their agency strong for the future (69%) and maintaining their portfolio of clients due to the economic impact of COVID-19 (62%). “Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve made tremendous progress in transforming our business to meet the needs of independent agents and set our former exclusive agents up for success within the independent agent model,” said Mark Berven, President & COO, Nationwide Property and Casualty....

Staff | June 29, 2020 More than a third (40 per cent) of pre-retirees have a negative outlook on their life in retirement, the highest rates of negative retirement perception among survey respondents since 2014, according to the latest annual survey by Fidelity Investments Canada. The same percentage said their salary or earnings have decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among those negatively impacted, 50 per cent are reducing the amount of money they’re able to save and the amount they’re able to invest, compared to last year. Read: Could coronavirus delay DC plan members’ expected retirements? However, the survey, which polled nearly 2,000 Canadians aged 45 or above, also found 80 per cent of pre-retirees and 92 per cent of retirees with a written financial plan said they feel positive about their future life in retirement. “Data shows Canadians near and in retirement are more negatively impacted by COVID-19 than the [2008/09] financial crisis,” said Peter Bowen, vice-president of tax and retirement research at Fidelity Investments, in a press release. “However, we are in this together and there is help. By seeking financial advice and writing down an action plan, Canadians can feel better and navigate the uncertainty.” Read: The impact of coronavirus on...

Quadient Customer Journey Explorer enhances the award-winning Quadient Inspire platform to strengthen customer experience capabilities Milford, CT (June 25, 2020) – Quadient, a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections through digital and physical channels, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Kitewheel, a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Journey Orchestration Platforms Q2 2020, to offer an enriched solution for managing the most important steps and interactions within a customer’s journey. The new solution, Quadient Customer Journey Explorer, developed by Quadient’s Customer Experience Management team, provides unified management of vital customer communication touchpoints, making it possible to understand, measure and optimize each journey to increase customer acquisition, satisfaction and retention. Customer Journey Explorer uses the elements of customer journey mapping, customer journey analytics and customer journey orchestration to manage a journey that connects to critical channels, offers insights into individualized experiences and empowers organizations with a richer profile of what customers want and need. Having the ability to understand and anticipate what customers are looking for brings action to journey maps, enabling real-time decisions to be made and providing customers with personalized communications that enrich the customer experience. “To ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty, organizations must have the...

As the COVID-19 crisis evolves, it will continue to affect insurance distribution around the world. Insurers can prepare by building a strategy focused on near- and long-term implications. By Simon Kaesler, Matt Leo, Shannon Varney, and Kaitlyn Young → Read the whole report Chicago, IL (June 12, 2020) – The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly affecting how people engage with one another across industries and geographies. Physical distancing and other quarantine measures have shifted activities once considered critical to have in person to digital and remote channels. This change will affect insurance distribution—both in the near term, as physical distancing measures continue, and in the longer term. Indeed, society’s relationship with technology and remote interactions is continuously evolving and accelerating as we move toward the “next normal.” Many insurance companies have likely already taken steps to address short-term or immediate impacts of COVID-19—moving employees to a remote setup and expanding online customer service channels. Now, insurers are focused on the next set of challenges, including how to reimagine distribution in a more remote world. An April 2020 survey of German insurance agents (conducted four weeks into lockdown) found that about half of the agents saw a more than 40 percent decrease...

The Evolution Partnership initiative intends to deliver new intelligent industry solutions to enable end-to-end processes that help companies accelerate the modernization of systems and workflows Armonk, NY (June 23, 2020) – IBM and SAP SE are pleased to announce their partnership’s next evolution, with plans to develop several new offerings designed to create a more predictable journey for businesses to become data-driven intelligent enterprises. Over 400 businesses have modernized their enterprise systems and business processes through IBM and SAP’s digital transformation partnership, announced in 2016. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to significantly impact many industries across the globe, organizations are realizing they need the agility to seamlessly adapt to changing market conditions and customer demand. “Organizations’ short- and long-term futures are being defined by their ability to proactively respond to today’s challenging, unprecedented market conditions,” said Adaire Fox-Martin, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “Companies gain competitive advantage by unlocking data up and down their value chain, uncovering new revenue opportunities and creating exceptional experiences for their customers and employees, while also demanding faster time to value. SAP’s partnership with IBM brings together the power of world-leading intelligent applications and technology expertise to realize value more quickly, which...

COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate the impact of natural catastrophes: FM Global survey of CEOs & CFOs Johnston, RI (June 16, 2020) – Although the pandemic dominates the world’s attention, climate risk is simmering in the background, with more than 3 in 4 (77%) CEOs and CFOs of the largest companies in the world admitting their firms are not fully prepared for the adverse financial impact of a changing climate. Moreover, 8 out of 10 (82%) believe their companies have somewhat to no control over such an impact on their business. The findings stem from a global survey of several hundred CEOs and CFOs at companies with US$1 billion or more in revenue across a wide variety of industries in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The research was commissioned by FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, and conducted by ENGINE Insights, a leading market research and analytics firm. Three-quarters of respondents (76%) said their organizations are somewhat to significantly exposed to climate risk. Floods, droughts and wildland fires topped the list as the three exposures that “concern their companies the most” and “could most negatively affect their financials.” “The findings are concerning as hurricane and wildfire...

By Robyn Croll, VP Customer Insights, Goose Digital — It’s no secret marketing has evolved. Thanks to the digital revolution that’s been under way for over 10 years, marketing’s ability to impact and influence audiences has never been greater. Marketing now has the tools to reach and address leads and customers across the entire buying journey: from initial awareness of your company, products and services to active sales opportunities, through to in-life customer communications. The Broker Value Proposition When it comes to customer communications, Brokers have always played a critical role in cutting through insurance complexities and in our current situation they are needed more than ever. Historically though, customer communications haven’t necessarily been seen as a marketing function nor a driver of growth. One of many lessons learned from COVID-19 is that a strong customer communication plan is, in fact, a critical part of a successful marketing plan. By leveraging data for personalization and message relevance, customer marketing can drive value for the Insured and growth for the Broker. Critical Bulletins The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the need to share information quickly and accurately. Critical bulletins deployed over the last few months included carrier updates, policy changes, weather alerts,...

New partner’s texting platform to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction throughout claims process San Mateo, CA (June 29, 2020) – Hi Marley, a leading communications solution specifically designed for the insurance industry, and Guidewire Software, Inc., the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently, are pleased to announce that Hi Marley has joined Guidewire PartnerConnect as a Solution partner. Hi Marley provides an AI-enabled texting platform built with insurance-specific functionality and intelligence allowing claims adjusters to communicate with customers and claimants via SMS. Hi Marley’s Ready for Guidewire integration will enable insurers to utilize Hi Marley’s texting platform within ClaimCenter to communicate with insureds. “We welcome Hi Marley to the Guidewire PartnerConnect Solution community and are pleased that we will be able to offer this solution to ClaimCenter users,” said Becky Mattick, vice president, Global Solution Alliances, Guidewire. “Their platform will provide our joint customers with a seamless and modern communication channel to meet the changing needs of adjusters and the customers they serve.” “Like Guidewire, our entire team wakes up every morning thinking about how we can partner alongside carriers to simplify communication complexities of the insurance ecosystem to benefit insurers and their customers,” said Mike...

Webinars, eLearning benefit 2,200 onsurance professionals in 2020 H1 Toronto, ON (June 29, 2020) – With the majority of the insurance industry working remotely in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSIO has been able to support brokers in their professional development through online learning. So far this year, more than 2,200 insurance professionals have participated in CSIO webinars and eLearning courses. Many insurance brokers faced difficulties in completing continuing education requirements due to cancelled or rescheduled broker conferences and in-class courses. Recognizing the need, CSIO hosted over 20 webinars on digital topics over the past four months. These offerings met broker demand for free, accredited distance learning to help build their digital competencies. Education that is centred on adopting digital solutions – from eSlips, eSignatures and document delivery is critical for insurance businesses. CSIO’s webinars and courses are offered as a free member benefit to members of provincial broker associations. New Ransomware Course Now Available CSIO is pleased to announce its latest release, Ransomware: What Brokers Need to Know. This eLearning course is led by Bill Malik, VP Infrastructure Strategies with Trend Micro, a frequent speaker on security topics. It includes a broker case study, as well as guidelines on how...

Staff | June 29, 2020 Employment status, income level and helpful coping strategies are key factors impacting how Canadians feel about their mental health, according to a new survey by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Conference Board of Canada. The survey asked more than 1,800 Canadians to rate the level of concern they experienced about 15 mental-health factors before the onset of the pandemic and during it. It found 84 per cent said they feel their concerns have increased. The factors with the biggest changes in concern levels were family well-being (24 per cent), respondents’ personal future (23 per cent), experiencing isolation and loneliness (21 per cent) and feeling anxiousness or fear (21 per cent). Read: How to support employees’ mental health during coronavirus Respondents also noted substantial increases to their level of concern about their employment situation (18 per cent), financial health (17 per cent), physical health (16 per cent) and low moods or depression (18 per cent). The survey also found employment status plays a significant role in respondents’ overall mental-health concern score. Those who said they’re employed or self-employed saw a 14 per cent change in their overall concern score, compared to unemployed Canadians, who were, on average, 22 per cent more concerned. While Canadians across all types of...