Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Martha Porado  | July 17, 2020 While it’s likely a small mercy that defined contribution plan members, by and large, didn’t have knee-jerk reactions to recent market turbulence, plan sponsors have been rather quiet as well. Much of this is related to the reality that the people who typically deal with small to mid-size DC plans at their organization are busy with other matters, says Rahul Khasgiwale, senior investment director at Aviva Investors. “I think they’ve really struggled to have the time and focus to spend on the investment plans, just given the recent market volatility. Some of these [plan sponsors] don’t have the resources to be fully dedicated to the investment plan. So in light of all the turmoil, we’ve seen a lot of these small firms struggling with a whole bunch of issues, from [human resources] issues to ensuring mental well-being of their staff, dealing with work-from-home arrangements to potentially laying people off at the firm.” Read: Canadians reducing retirement savings due to coronavirus But recent shifts in investment offerings moved members into more defensive territory in many cases, he says, noting the ongoing trend of DC plan members buying into funds with diversification benefits — whether that means balanced, target-date or...

Martha Porado | July 17, 2020 Institutional investors are grappling with the long-term implications of how the coronavirus pandemic will affect demand for various real estate sectors. Many real estate assets will remain under pressure even as establishments across sectors are once again able to welcome customers, says Jeff Olin, president and chief executive officer at Vision Capital Corp., noting that retail is perhaps the most likely area to see a significant long-term shift in demand. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, e-commerce was already trending higher, taking up an increasing percentage of total retail sales. Then the pandemic hit. “What happened was you had an exponential increase from about 15 per cent to about 25 per cent due to pandemic,” he says. “So, if and when this is behind us, what happens? Does it go back to 15 per cent? No way.” Read: Caisse real estate arm partnering to provide retail tenants with e-commerce solutions The pandemic pushed demographics that hadn’t yet latched onto online shopping to start using it for the very first time, says Olin. And they’re unlikely to go back now that they’ve discovered it, especially groups like the elderly with limited mobility for whom services like online grocery delivery have more than just the advantage of convenience. Certainly, there...

A new study has found that Canadians who buy life insurance are overpaying – and the traditional approach to buying the product might be to blame. Online life insurance platform PolicyMe conducted an analysis covering 4,800 Canadians who had life insurance coverage prior to using the platform. Citing its belief that life insurance exists to maintain a family’s lifestyle in case of a premature death, the firm found that the consumers it studied had overpaid by 36% for their coverage on average. “We see far too many Canadians being sold the wrong life insurance coverage,” Andrew Ostro, co-founder & CEO of PolicyMe, said in a statement. “It’s our hope that this analysis makes people more aware of the common pitfalls that occur when shopping for life insurance.” One reason behind the trend, according to the firm, is an “overly simplistic” formula used across the industry to calculate coverage: while the typical calculation is to multiply household income by a factor of 10 to 15, PolicyMe says it uses proprietary algorithms and advanced statistics to model a family’s projected finances. The analysis found that Canadians with an existing policy overshot the coverage recommended by PolicyMe by an average of one third...

PR Newswire Benefitfocus, Inc., a technology platform provider enabling rapid innovation for employers, health plans and consumers, has added a portfolio of financial protection solutions from Lincoln Financial Group to the ever-growing range of products and services in its Benefit Catalog. As a leader in the group benefits industry, Lincoln Financial’s solutions include accident, critical illness, vision, dental, disability and life insurance. They can be accessed via Benefit Catalog’s integrated consumer enrollment experience that employers and brokers offer to their employees. “When looking for new partners for our Benefit Catalog, we always strive to find companies and solutions that support our mission of improving lives with benefits. Lincoln Financial has a long history of offering high-quality products and outstanding customer service. They are a natural addition,” said Ray August, President & CEO of Benefitfocus. “Their benefit choices and consumer education capabilities help employees feel confident when selecting and using Lincoln Financial benefits.” Lincoln FinancialAs a leading provider of workplace benefits like short- and long-term disability and leave management, Lincoln Financial serves employers of all sizes and industries with more than 36,000 clients representing over 12 million covered lives. With employees more focused than ever on benefits that protect their families in the...

New SMA Blog by Mark Breading, Partner, Strategy Meets Action — Most P&C insurers have gradually expanded their options for digitally communicating with prospects, policyholders, producers, and employees. As the industry moves beyond the web, portals, and email, there is a growing recognition that a whole new world of digital communications options can be applied in insurance. Messaging and collaboration platforms, business texting, chatbots, voice, personalized interactive video, and even augmented/virtual reality are now on the palette. Add these communication options to the “zillion” different ways to make or receive a payment, and a great thing happens. They often simultaneously improve the customer experience while reducing expenses! Technology options and solution providers are plentiful, but the big question for insurers is how to leverage the right mix of these across the enterprise. There are three really important components for successfully leveraging the new communications options: a digital communications strategy, digital content capture and creation, and content management and e-delivery. Digital Communications Strategy: The methods of communications have often been driven by the requirements of specific areas of the business. Marketing uses a variety of tools and approaches to reach prospects and customers. Distribution uses another set to interact with agents...

Houston, TX (July 14, 2020) — Swyfft, the InsurTech providing fast and friendly homeowners insurance through their patented analytical methods and unique data sources, is pleased to announce it has leveraged Bees360’s claims assist solution for handling wind & hail claims. Swyfft’s utilization of Bees360 combines drones, AI, autonomous flight apps and licensed desk adjusters to create a faster and more efficient way to inspect and process wind & hail claims. “Swyfft uses data from distinctive sources to provide an accurate insurance quote in seconds. Customers and agents know us for this fast and friendly experience when purchasing a policy. The Swyfft claims experience should feel the same,” said John Langowski, Chief Claims Officer for Swyfft. “The technology-enabled drone inspections allow us to collect the roof and damage data in significantly less time than traditional methods and provides us a more objective and consistent analysis regarding the condition of the roof so that we can make a well informed decision on coverage and damages for the customer.” Bees360 has built a drone pilot network that covers 40 states in the US that is trained specifically for property claims and underwriting inspections. The pilots are equipped with Bees360’s in-house developed apps,...

Next-gen InsurTech solution combines underwriting, weather forensics and claims management, enhancing property experience across housing market, and powering insights for every touchpoint in property insurance ecosystem Irvine, CA (July 13, 2020) – CoreLogic®, a leading global property data and analytics-driven solutions provider, is pleased to announce the deployment of its first fully integrated insurance solution that provides a one-stop-shop for insurance companies looking for a more seamless way to engage and protect policyholders and portfolios. “Our next-generation integrated insurance solutions are innovative and already gaining significant market adoption as evidenced by recent wins,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO, CoreLogic. “Our extensive solutions offerings leverage our unmatched domain expertise across the entire housing ecosystem, as well as our unique property data assets, to significantly improve the customer experience. We have been gaining new clients such as Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in North America, United Kingdom and Australia. These major players provide CoreLogic a foundation for continued growth in the insurance sector.” Property insurance solutions from CoreLogic feature virtual workflow platforms for underwriting and claims, unique data-driven insights that enable superior decisions and unmatched portfolio management and risk monitoring services for global insurance industries in North America, New Zealand, Europe and...

Boston, MA (July 13, 2020) – Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced that CNA has transitioned to AIR’s Touchstone solution as its primary catastrophe risk modeling platform. AIR Worldwide is a Verisk business. “We are excited to leverage AIR’s powerful catastrophe modeling solution to support our multiple lines of business during the underwriting process,” said Tom Stone, vice president of aggregation and catastrophe management at CNA. “AIR has a track record of providing scientifically credible models and combined with Touchstone, this complete solution will provide us with more analytics to make risk management, pricing, and risk selection decisions.” As part of the agreement, CNA is accessing Touchstone in the AIR Cloud as a secure and cost-efficient alternative to on-premise deployment. CNA is also licensing AIR’s Web Services to connect to AIR’s cloud infrastructure and obtain hazard, and loss analysis output in seconds; and Touchstone APIs to integrate with CNA’s underwriting systems as part of their IT transformation efforts. For CNA’s newly created National Accounts line, AIR is also providing support using its data services to scrub and prepare submissions for quotes from brokers. “CNA emphasized the importance of account modeling time and its impact on workflow efficiency,” said Rob Newbold,...

Solution helps consumers maximize financial outcomes of their greatest asset Natick, MA (July 15, 2020) – TowerHouse, Inc., a leader in digital solutions for homeowners, has launched a fully integrated home management platform, HomeEgg.com, the only free, all-in-one solution that helps homeowners effectively manage their home. For the first time, homeowners can quickly gain comprehensive financial visibility and control over their home in a private and secure online environment. HomeEgg.com fills an important gap in the consumer proptech and fintech digital landscape, which is particularly needed in today’s uncertain economic environment. While billions of dollars have been invested in digital solutions to help people manage personal asset classes, such as stocks and bonds, retirement accounts, and insurance policies, the home, as an asset class, has been largely ignored. Yet, home is typically people’s single largest financial asset and source of wealth and U.S homeowners are sitting on over $6 trillion in unmanaged home equity. “HomeEgg.com gives homeowners the individualized information they need to make better decisions and maximize their financial outcome,” said Daniel O’Toole, founder and CEO, TowerHouse, Inc. “Where proptech and fintech have traditionally focused on automating real estate transactions, HomeEgg.com is empowering homeowners with valuable and unbiased financial...

Staff  | July 16, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic is dramatically affecting workplaces, employers and employees across Canada, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. While a third of surveyed employers said they already offered telehealth or telemedicine before the pandemic, an additional 19 per cent said they added it during the crisis and another 17 per cent said they’re considering doing so. In addition, in response to the coronavirus, nine per cent of respondents said they’ve reduced or eliminated cost-sharing for these services, while another nine per cent said they ‘re considering it. The survey also found more than half of Canadian employers have either added (28 per cent) or are considering adding (24 per cent) elements to their existing mental-health benefits. Due to the pandemic, 10 per cent of respondents have added virtual mental-health benefits, while 15 per cent are considering it. A smaller number of employers said they’ve relaxed or removed eligibility requirements (four per cent) or reduced or eliminated cost-sharing for these benefits (four per cent). Read: Canadians cite 91% satisfaction rate with virtual health care Many employers are also reducing barriers to prescription drug access, with one in four survey respondents saying they’ve temporarily waived prescription drug premiums for plan members and 17...