Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

New usage-based policy enables businesses to meet surge in demand New York, NY (June 3, 2020) – Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, today announced the launch of Marsh deliveryPRO, a customizable insurance solution that enables US businesses to meet the increased demand for same-day delivery of their products more efficiently. Many grocers, delivery network companies, retailers, restaurants, and other businesses are using individual drivers as employees or in a “gig” independent contractor capacity to meet the surge in demand for delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. In these cases, the drivers’ own vehicle is used. Current commercial auto liability insurance for such delivery can be difficult to secure and is often based on outdated models like prior year revenues, resulting in inefficient pricing. To address these issues, Marsh has collaborated with AXA XL and mobility data and analytics company Arity to create Marsh deliveryPRO, an innovative usage-based, price-by-mile insurance solution that allows businesses to pay only for the coverage they need. With deliveryPRO, Marsh clients can purchase a minimum of $500,000 in exclusive third party bodily injury and property damage auto liability capacity from AXA XL in excess of a minimum $500,000 self-insured retention for their hired...

Staff | June 8, 2020 Canadian lawyers and law firm staff now have access to the College of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus pension plan through an affinity arrangement between the CAAT and the Canadian Bar Insurance Association. The affinity program will make it easier for Canadian lawyers, partners, office support staff and non-legal professionals to join the DBplus. Lawyers Financial, a brand of the CBIA that serves the Canadian legal community’s financial needs, will work directly with interested employers to explain the plan’s features and benefits, help determine their eligibility and start the enrolment process. According to the CAAT, the affinity agreement is the first of its kind for the pension plan. Read: Canadian law firms to join CAAT’s DBPlus pension plan “We’re excited about this fresh approach to working with organizations interested in joining CAAT,” said Derek Dobson, chief executive officer and plan manager for the CAAT pension plan, in a press release. “Through DBplus and the affinity program with Lawyers Financial, we are making secure lifetime pensions a reality for members of the legal community in Canada.” Dawn Marchand, president and CEO of CBIA/Lawyers Financial, noted in the release that many in the legal community don’t have any pension. “Lawyers Financial’s affinity...

Latest acquisition expands DKI Canada’s presence in British Columbia Oakville, ON (June 2, 2020) – Chris Schmidt, CEO of DKI Canada, is proud to announce that Precision Restorations has joined DKI Canada. Randy Klann is the founder and owner of Precision Restorations Inc., a leading provider of full-service property restoration in B.C.’s Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley for over 20 years, and alongside his staff of professionals, developed, sustained and grew a business, earning a reputation as a service-oriented organization based on operational excellence and quality workmanship on which customers can rely. Many customers of Precision Restorations DKI have been supporters since operations began in 1998 and are enthusiastic to continue their support of Precision Restorations DKI as it enters its next stage in joining and being welcomed into the DKI organization. “We are eager to welcome Precision Restorations to DKI Canada, they are a great fit with our organization, having a solid reputation and are well respected in the Vancouver market,” said Adam Tzarik, Vice President, Business Development. “The addition of Precision Restorations DKI aligns with our strategic plans to continue to enhance DKI’s recognition in the marketplace as the service provider of choice driven by performance,” says Tzarik....

Staff | June 8, 2020 The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is touting its 2019 environmental, social and governance successes in its annual ESG report. Some highlights from the year include that it finalized the introduction of a new corporate-wide ESG strategy including priorities and procedures for ESG reviews across all asset classes. As part of the strategy, the BCI’s public markets team completed ESG reviews of 173 companies, an increase of 170 per cent compared to 2018. Working with others, the organization also participated in 11 collaborative engagement initiatives, covering 1,188 companies, which is an increase of 203 per cent compared to the previous year. Read: BCI must take more action around environmentally issues: think-tank “Integration of environmental, social and governance matters is an essential part of what we do and who we are at BCI. It is integral to our analysis — both before and after making an investment,” said Jennifer Coulson, vice-president of ESG in public markets at the BCI, in a press release. “The 2019 ESG annual report demonstrates how BCI, in method and practice, continues to prioritize ESG matters, with the expectation that our efforts will lead to greater stability and integrity within the financial system.” On the...

Current COVID-19 crisis must not overshadow need to move to low-carbon future: Swiss Re 2020 SONAR report Intergenerational tensions, supply chain disruptions and the fragility of public healthcare are among the risks and trends amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic The coronavirus outbreak showed that societies weren’t sufficiently prepared, and that broad risk awareness is crucial for proper risk management; SONAR contributes by flagging emerging risks and fostering dialogue The current crisis shouldn’t overshadow the need for the world to transition to a more sustainable economy and a low-carbon future, and the insurance industry can play a pivotal role in this The report discusses new and changing risks in the context of long-term macro trends and turbulent times; specific topics highlighted include increased cyber risk from so-called edge computing, the boom of e-cigarettes and the lack of long-term experience with new and more sustainable building materials Zurich, Switzerland (June 4, 2020) – New risks and trends accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging, but the current crisis shouldn’t overshadow the need for the world to transition to a more sustainable economy and a low-carbon future, according to the latest SONAR report from Swiss Re Institute. The recession caused by the containment...

InsuranceHotline.com survey Toronto, ON (June 2, 2020) – Only one in four Canadian auto insurance customers reports receiving an offer of rate relief from their insurer, according to a new survey by InsuranceHotline.com. In the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, auto insurers offered rate relief measures to their customers to help them manage the financial challenges they face paying their auto insurance bills. These rate relief measures ranged from rebates and premium discounts to payment deferrals and waiving non-sufficient fund fees for missing payments in March and April. According to a recent online InsuranceHotline.com survey of Canadian drivers, only 25% of respondents say they were offered rate relief from their auto insurer, compared to 64% who say they were not. Another 12% of respondents say they are not sure. Furthermore, of drivers who received some form of relief, 33% regard the measures as helpful, but 64% consider them insignificant. That result begs the question what consumers may do. Will they shop around for a different auto insurance company or not? On that score, the respondents are split: 41% say they are not likely to shop around while 39% say they are; 20% say they are unsure. Breaking those numbers down...

Kelsey Rolfe | June 8, 2020 The City of Toronto has launched a social debenture framework to fund investments in affordable housing, transit and other basic infrastructure, access to essential services and other projects that benefit marginalized and vulnerable Torontonians. The city, which is waiting for more favourable market conditions to issue its first social bond, is the first municipality in Canada to launch such an offering. Environmental, social and governance research firm Sustainalytics issued a second-party opinion that found the framework “credible and impactful” and said it aligns with the International Capital Market Association’s 2018 social bond principles. While Toronto also has a green bond framework, it’s intentionally keeping its social bond framework separate. Read: Challenges for institutional investors around green bonds “In some instances there are some entities that have combined social and green bonds and put them under the umbrella of sustainability,” says Heather Taylor, the city’s chief financial officer. “We kept them separate because some investors prefer separate mandates and we wanted to open ourselves up to a new sector of investors who’re not only looking for return on investment in terms of interest, but the social benefits as well. . . . We think there are a lot of motivated investors...

Manulife and John Hancock, its U.S. subsidiary, have declared Friday, June 19 as a “Thank You Day” off for their more than 35,000 employees as a token of appreciation for their hard work in serving customers to help people make decisions easier and improve their lives. “I am so proud and grateful for the commitment our people have shown – it’s taken energy and incredible stamina,” Manulife CEO Roy Gori said in a statement. While the process of reopening has begun across many communities, Gori noted that it will probably take time for things to revert to what has been considered “normal” before. “So, we will all need to continue to take care of ourselves and practice healthy habits, which include unplugging and taking time to unwind,” he said. “We’ll be getting that done together, as a global team, on Friday, June 19th this year.” The company also announced that it will provide five additional personal days next year for each employee, which it says are meant to support well-being by encouraging regular time off and let workers take meaningful vacations that they may have been unable to do given the present circumstances. Aside from the added time off, Manulife...

Staff | June 5, 2020 Canadian employment numbers rose by 290,000 in May, or a 1.8 per cent increase on the previous month, as provinces started to reopen their economies, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The number of people who reported working less than half their usual hours in May dropped by 292,000 or 8.6 per cent. Combined, the agency said the figures represented a 10.6 per cent recovery of the coronavirus-related employment losses recorded in the past two months. Quebec accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the month’s employment gains, at 231,000. Ontario was the only province to record continued falling unemployment, with an additional 65,000 job losses during the month. Read: Ontario amending employment standards to make temporary layoffs part of new emergency leave Of the job gains from April to May, 219,000 or 75 per cent were in full-time work. Compared to February, full-time employment was down 11.1 per cent in May, while part-time work was down by 27.6 per cent. However, the unemployment rate hit 13.7 per cent in May, which was the highest recorded rate since 1976, when comparable data became available. In February, the unemployment rate sat at 5.6 per cent, increasing to 7.8 per cent in...

New SMA Blog by Mark Breading, Partner, Strategy Meets Action — In the real estate market, it is often said that the three most important factors are location, location, and location. A similar argument could be made for insurance property underwriting. Of course, the attributes of the property itself are important – and there is a lot of buzz in the industry about creating comprehensive property attributes. In order for insurers to calculate the probabilities of various risks and repair/replacement costs, it is essential to have data on many specific characteristics of the property, such as square feet/meters, exterior and interior building materials, roof shape, foundation type and size, the presence of pools or fences, and many other features. However, these data points must be associated with the correct address before any adequate analysis can be conducted. This is where geocoding comes into play. Geocoding provides a set of coordinates for each address, with the goal of allowing the insurer to understand the location of each building that is being insured and its proximity to various peril zones. Geocoding solutions have long been used by insurers for underwriting and risk assessment. Over time, new approaches and technologies have enabled increasing...