Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | June 18, 2020 The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is introducing a new structure to maximize its impact in technology. The integrated approach aims to leverage technology for performance, both in investment and risk management activities, as well as in transforming the organization. “For many years now, CDPQ has made the integration of disruptive technology a strategic priority,” said Charles Emond, president and chief executive officer of the Caisse, in a press release. “With this new integrated approach, we will be even better positioned to seize investment opportunities and strengthen our business practices. Technology will play a central role in all of our activities going forward. The current crisis, which is accelerating the adoption of new technological solutions in every industry, has strengthened our conviction.” Read: Caisse participating in financing round for Quebec payment-tech provider To pilot the new strategy, Alexandre Synnett has been appointed executive vice-president and chief technology officer. He was previously the organization’s executive vice-president of digital technology and operations. The new approach is based on three pillars. The first aims to anticipate and capitalize on investment opportunities created by disruptive technology and models. Led by Tom Birch, the Caisse’s global managing director of venture capital and technology, the...

Staff | June 18, 2020 Three-quarters (75 per cent) of global employees said they feel their employers have been taking care of their well-being during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by human resources organization Randstad. Among Canadian survey respondents, this figure increased to 77 per cent. Around the same percentage (76 per cent) of global workers said their employers have been accommodating around shifting work hours to balance work and family responsibilities. The majority (90 per cent) of Canadians said they’ve adapted to their new working situation. Indeed, the global average was relatively high, at 83 per cent, with Japan the lowest at just 65 per cent. Read: Coronavirus pandemic means ‘new normal’ for employers, employees However, the survey also found 64 per cent of global employees said they believe the coronavirus has negatively impacted their job security. In Canada, the news is slightly better, with only 55 per cent of workers sharing this fear. Slightly more than half (52 per cent) of all respondents said they believe their employer would help them find a new job if they were furloughed, while only 67 per cent said they expect they could rely on government support if they became unemployed. Significantly, 86 per cent of...

Business Wire NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (“MetLife”), announced today its first United Kingdom longevity reinsurance transaction with Pension Insurance Corporation plc (“PIC”). “This transaction marks an important milestone in MetLife’s strategy and gives us the opportunity to apply our experience managing risk to a new market,” said Graham Cox, executive vice president and head of Retirement & Income Solutions at MetLife. “With this transaction, MetLife is establishing itself as a reinsurance solution for direct insurers in the U.K. While this is MetLife’s initial step into the U.K. longevity reinsurance market, our long history and mortality expertise position us well for the future.” Under the terms of agreement, Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company will provide reinsurance to PIC for longevity risk associated with approximately £280 million of pension liabilities. “In 2019, there were more than £40 billion of U.K. pension risk transfer transactions completed — this robust market presents an opportunity for reinsurers to support direct insurers by managing their longevity risk,” said Cox. “We are pleased to be working with PIC and look forward to building on this relationship.” “It’s great to see another well-rated, global corporation complete a debut transaction...

Montreal, QC (June 18, 2020) – Apollo Insurance Solutions Ltd., (“Apollo”) Canada’s largest online insurance marketplace, has partnered with Great American Insurance Group to offer an entirely digital Builder’s Risk insurance product on the Apollo Exchange platform. This Builder’s Risk program offers limits up to $2 million and covers residential and commercial structures while they are under construction, or being remodeled or renovated. The product is live and available to APOLLO’s network of over 160 Canadian property and casualty brokerages. Canadian insurance brokers are able to access all of the products on the Apollo Exchange by registering for free. This Builder’s Risk product pays 20% commission to the broker. “We pride ourselves on driving innovation from broker partner feedback. We have had many requests for this product so the team and our brokers are really excited for this launch,” said Apollo CEO Jeff McCann. “Credit to Great American, and specifically Michelle Morin, for coordinating their team across North America to test and deploy this product during COVID.” As with every Apollo Exchange product, the entire process, from quoting, binding coverage, and issuing policy documents is immediate, online, and paper free. Great American is one of several carriers that offer their...

Staff | June 17, 2020 While Foodora announced in April that it’s shutting down its Canadian operations, its Toronto and Mississauga drivers, nevertheless, have voted to join the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, making them the first app-based workforce to unionize. “The truth is free — we are a union and we deserve respect and rights from our employer,” said Iván Ostos, a courier who’s worked towards the unionization, in a press release. “Many doubted that workers in this era wanted or needed a union. Through conversations, companionship and the dedication of hard-working foodsters, we came together to achieve something many said was impossible. I am so thankful for all the couriers that dedicated themselves to this campaign.” Read: Foodora couriers allowed to unionize, rules Ontario labour board The Ontario Labour Relations Board’s eventual unsealing and counting of the Foodora workers’ ballots came after the board ruled in February that couriers and drivers were dependent rather than independent contractors and could therefore unionize. “People said gig workers can’t be organized, but these workers just proved that you can,” said Jan Simpson, national president of the CUPW. “Just because Foodora left, doesn’t take away what these workers achieved. They have paved the way for all precarious workers to gain...

Staff | June 17, 2020 Workplaces represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union are among the latest employers to join the OPSEU Pension Trust’s defined benefit plan, OPTrust Select. “This isn’t just a victory for the new members of OPTrust Select, it’s a victory for nearly a million workers across Ontario who don’t yet have the security of a defined benefit pension plan, including 25,000 OPSEU members working in the broader public service,” said Warren Thomas, president of OPSEU, in a press release. Read: OPTrust launching new defined benefit pension plan “When OPSEU first proposed this idea more than a decade ago, it was because we believed then, as we do now, that all workers deserve to have access to a secure and dignified retirement and OPTrust Select is making that a reality.” An additional 50 organizations from across Ontario are in the process of applying to join the plan, which has welcomed 38 organizations and more than 1,000 new members since enrolment began in early 2019. “Nonprofit workers are essential to the well-being of our province, which means that their well-being is essential too,” said Peter Lindley, president of the OPTrust. “The need for security and predictability has never been greater and, by...

A Georgia federal court decision involving a viatical settlement of a term life policy is being appealed after a judge ruled the transfer an “unlawful wagering contract.” The lawsuit focuses on a 10-year, $500,000 term life policy issued in 1999 to Kelly Douglas Couch, who hid his HIV-positive status and died in June 2005. Later in 1999, Couch transferred ownership of his policy to Sterling Crum, an investor in such policies. The policy was issued by a predecessor to the Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Crum did not learn that Couch had died until December 2016, court documents say. Jackson sued Crum in October 2017. Crum countersued and Judge William M. Ray II sided with Jackson in March. But Crum appealed and the case continues. Viatical settlements can be traced to the 1980s and the AIDS outbreak. The deal starts with a chronically ill policy holder selling his or her life insurance policy, which was acquired when the policy holder was healthy, to a third party for a lump sum. The third party then becomes the new owner of the policy and is responsible for paying the policy’s premiums. The practice became popular and fraudulent practices developed. In his ruling,...

By John Bruno, Chief Operating Officer, Aon plc and Chief Executive Officer, Data & Analytic Services — In my last blog (“How InsurTech will save insurance from itself”), I talked about how the insurance and risk management industry must embrace innovation if it is to stay relevant to clients. The dislocation created by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is just one example of an under-insured risk. It’s not just the pandemic. Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey 2019 found that the majority of risks that businesses worry about are not currently insurable. This is happening at a time when overall insurance spend as a proportion of global GDP is stagnating but there is an opportunity for insurers to satisfy clients’ increasingly complex insurance needs with new and relevant products. It’s become clear that new technologies – and specifically, advances in digitalization – represent the obvious launch pad for innovative solutions that will help our clients better manage risk and close the protection gap. As a result, InsurTech has fast moved up alongside FinTech for investors and they are flocking to start-ups in increasing numbers. Between 2014 and 2018, U.S. InsurTech investment grew from $0.4bn to $2.5bn, an increase of 625%, according...

Unifying digital and analytics, with core, Aspen empowers business users to rapidly design and release new products in days First cloud-optimized release of InsuranceSuite empowers agility with visual product design, embedded analytics, and cloud-native services InsuranceSuite now unifies digital and analytics with core, setting new bar for core platforms New cloud-native services include rating, rules engine, and data pipeline With Advanced Product Designer and the automatic creation of digital screens insurers can now create and launch new products in days rather than months Cloud Data Access, a new Guidewire Data Platform service, provides insurers secure access to their InsuranceSuite data, saving time and enabling new insights New Guidewire Analytics products for personal cyber and employment practices liability Guidewire for Salesforce adds ClaimCenter integration for a unified view of the customer InsuranceNow adds embedded business intelligence dashboards and new APIs for consumer quote and buy capabilities San Mateo, CA (June 16, 2020) – Guidewire Software, Inc., the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently, is pleased to announced the launch of Aspen 2020.1H, featuring the first cloud-optimized release of Guidewire InsuranceSuite, and additional enhancements to Guidewire InsuranceNow[1], Guidewire Analytics, and Guidewire for Salesforce. Aspen extends support for insurers’...

In 2020, the world has changed; come together through the unexpected Get your copy of The New Demand for On-Demand: A Path Forward for Insurers New York, NY (June 17, 2020) – In the last few decades, the insurance industry has incrementally innovated on top of a paper-based, legacy foundation, moving away from investments focused on internal automation and processes toward investments in managing insurance customer relationships, and customer-centric product and services. In the 2010s, insurers began experimenting with new types of technology as a potential complement to – rather than as a replacement for – the traditional way of doing business. Slow processing of application, underwriting and claims coupled with inflexible annual policies were still the status quo. Today, the desire for customer-driven, on-demand services is taking off. After decades of low-level innovation, we are entering a time of tremendous, accelerated change. What does this new normal mean for insurers that need to stay competitive? In this white paper, Slice covers what insurers should consider to be competitive in a world that may have more impromptu quarantines and unexpected disruptions to business, entertainment, and travel. The insurance industry has adapted before in major ways, it is time we do...