Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Several life insurance groups joined to release a statement this afternoon addressing racism, the George Floyd death and resulting “tumult, hurt and anger” across U.S communities. Community leaders are weary after five days of civil unrest in the United States following the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis was the latest in a series of deaths of black men and women at the hands of police in the U.S. The life insurance statement is signed by Susan Neely, president and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers; George Nichols III, president and CEO, American College of Financial Services; Marc Cadin; president and CEO, Association for Advanced Life Underwriting; Kevin Mayeux, CEO, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; David Levenson, president and CEO, LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global. Here is the statement: Racism-tinged events no longer startle even America’s closest allies, though many have watched coverage of the often-violent protests with growing unease. Burning cars and riot police in the U.S. featured on newspaper front pages around the globe Sunday — bumping news of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Staff | June 1, 2020 The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will publish a new draft of its guidelines on June 15, followed by a written consultation period for 30 days. As a result, the amended regulations will be delayed from July 1, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021. The PMPRB said more details on the next and final phase of its consultations will be announced closer to the date of publication of the revised draft guidelines. The reforms, announced August 2019, aim to update the reference countries Canada uses to compare its prices internationally. They’ll also provide the PMPRB with the market price of medicines in Canada, adding any possible rebates, instead of the inflated sticker price to allow the board to better assess whether a drug price is reasonable when setting its ceiling price, and give the board the ability to consider whether the drug’s price reflects its value to patients. Read: Feds announce final changes to Canadian drug pricing regulations “The PMPRB will continue to work with its stakeholders and interested members of the public to ensure that a fully operational set of guidelines is ready in time for the coming into force of the regulatory amendments in January 2021,” said a letter from the organization’s chairperson. “The final guidelines will...

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions launches HAIL, a parametric insurance solution, for businesses operating in 11 hail-prone U.S. states Zurich, Switzerland (May 27, 2020) – Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (SRCS) expands its parametric offering with the launch of HAIL, a parametric hail insurance cover. The new solution is designed to protect companies in the United States from the financial impact of a significant hail event, such as physical damage, lost revenue due to business interruption, or significant retentions in traditional property policies. SRCS signed a strategic agreement with CoreLogic®, a leading provider of hail data in the United States, to serve as its data provider. CoreLogic® delivers a proprietary hail verification model to verify the maximum hail size both at the location and in the surrounding area. SRCS will rely on CoreLogic® hail size metrics to determine whether a parametric policy is triggered. Similar to other parametric solutions offered by SRCS, HAIL combines the customer location data with a pay-out table that outlines policy amounts for reported hail size at said location(s) during an event. In the days after a hailstorm, CoreLogic® provides the necessary hail size data. When a customer has hail damage and the hail size calls for a...

Staff  | June 1, 2020 While real assets have traditionally served institutional investors well during times of economic stress, the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic are starting to take their toll in some places. In commercial real estate, investors will likely re-evaluate their capital spending for 2020 in pockets like Edmonton and Calgary with the areas hit hard by the crash in oil prices after already suffering from low commodity prices for half a decade, according to a new report by TD Asset Management.  Meanwhile, stronger cities for real estate, like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, have seen positive trends in rental demand, especially from growing technology companies. Those trends will be put to the test as the virus continues to put significant pressure on the need for office space. Read: Institutional investors in waiting game on real estate investment “The questions surrounding the future possibility of less densely occupied office floors and the permanency of remote working remain unanswered,” the report said. “Once employees are allowed to return to their offices, it is likely that staggered arrangements will be made to ensure minimal physical interaction. Companies have also been forced to adapt to technology that allows for at-home arrangements and, in turn, have...

Agents, brokers post record-setting start to 2020, reports Reagan Consulting Atlanta, GA (May 21, 2020) – The independent agency channel posted an exceptionally strong first quarter (Q1) of 2020, which will help them maintain momentum through the troubled COVID-19 economy, according to Reagan Consulting. Agents and brokers logged organic growth exceeding 5.0% for the ninth consecutive quarter. At 6.6%, it’s their highest Q1 growth since Reagan launched the Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) survey in 2008. Meanwhile, since the close of Q4 2019 and the onset of shelter-in-place directives, agents and brokers lowered their expectations for organic growth this year by three percentage points to 4.1%, reports Harrison Brooks, Reagan Consulting partner. “While it’s too early to tell the ultimate impact of this global pandemic, OGP survey participants are signaling that they believe it will only pump the brakes on growth rather than bring it to a halt,” says Brooks. If agents and brokers prove correct in their predictions, “It would be an astonishing success and further illustrate the resilience of the insurance brokerage industry,” he adds. The organic growth of personal lines declined for the second consecutive first quarter to 2.8%, but commercial lines posted an organic growth rate...

GEICO ranks highest in Service Satisfaction; National General ranks highest in Shopping Satisfaction: J.D. Power 2020 Insurance Digital Experience Study Troy, MI (June 1, 2020) – Significant investments in direct-to-consumer website and mobile design have helped property and casualty (P&C) insurance companies improve their digital service and shopping experiences. According to the newly released J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience StudySM, insurers have made across-the-board improvements in clarity of information, but many still struggle with the balance of too much information and a minimalist approach. “The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust digital shopping and customer self-service solutions into the spotlight,” said Tom Super, head of property and casualty insurance intelligence at J.D. Power. “Even before the pandemic, P&C insurers were investing heavily in digital to capture the growing legions of customers and prospects who are experiencing their brands largely via web and mobile. Across the board, we’ve seen the fruits of those investments: overall satisfaction scores for both new insurance shopping and existing account servicing have risen sharply during the past year.” The study, now in its ninth year, evaluates digital consumer experiences among P&C insurance shoppers seeking quotes and existing customers conducting typical policy-servicing activities. The study examines the...

For many, the toughest leadership test is now looming: how to bring a business back in an environment where a vaccine has yet to be found and economies are still reeling By Kevin Sneader & Bob Sternfels → Read the whole report Chicago, IL (May 1, 2020) – The 1966 World Cup marked a low point for Brazilian soccer. Although the winner of the previous two tournaments, the team was eliminated in the first round, and its star player, Pelé, failed to perform. Fouled frequently and flagrantly, he threatened never to return to the World Cup. Many wondered if Brazil’s glory days were over. Four years later, however, Brazil won again, with such grace and style that the 1970 team is not only widely regarded as the best team ever to take the pitch but also as the most beautiful. And Pelé was named the player of the tournament. Making this turnaround required innovation, in particular, the creation of a unique attacking style of soccer. It required building a cohesive team, even as most of the roster changed. And it required leadership, both in management and on the field. The result: by reimagining everything, Brazil came back stronger. As businesses...

Kelsey Rolfe | June 1, 2020 The Ontario government is giving health-care providers, including dentists, massage therapists, optometrists and psychologists, the green light to gradually reopen their practices. The order from the province’s chief medical officer of health also included chiropractors, physiotherapists, dieticians, naturopaths and acupuncturists. However, it stipulated that the approved health-care providers can only reopen if their regulatory colleges allow them to do so and if they follow Ministry of Health requirements for physical distancing and sanitization. The order also encouraged providers to limit in-person visits for the time being. Health-care providers started reopening their practices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in May. Quebec is allowing providers to do so as of today and Nova Scotia as of June 5. Read: Canadian plan sponsors seeing sharp declines in health, dental claims Chris Pryce, founder and president of Human Capital Benefits, says the order could mean that plan sponsors with employees in Ontario will start to see an increase in paramedical claims over the coming months, though he doesn’t expect them to hit their pre-pandemic levels in the short term. “I do not [expect] we’re going to see 130 per cent of what we had before, but certainly we will see...

A resident of Enderby, B.C. is in dire financial straits following an ill-fated decision to opt out of the province’s Medical Services Plan (MSP) last year. As reported by CBC News, 43-year-old Benjamin Fuller first chose to leave the province’s health insurance program five years ago. The province’s Medicare Protection Act mandates that all residents should be enrolled in the MSP program, but they have an option to opt out for 12 months at a time. “He opted out when he realized there was a process for it,” his wife Kristina Fuller told CBC News, explaining that he wanted to save on the $35 premium that he would have had to pay for the MSP. Since then, Fuller has been opting out of the program yearly, with the last opt-out date on July 1 last year. Meanwhile, MSP premiums were eliminated by the B.C. NDP government at the start of 2020. According to the provincial government website, those who exit the MSP program must shoulder the expenses for all medical, hospital, and other health-care services they get until the 12-month opt-out period has elapsed. “You will not be able to opt back in, in the event of an unforeseen medical...

Staff | May 29, 2020 The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada is nominating three candidates for upcoming independent director positions on its board. The nominees — Malcolm Heins, Jennifer Newman and Laura Tamblyn Watts — will be subject to a formal election in September at the organization’s annual meeting. “IIROC’s board is confident that the nominees demonstrate a strong commitment to risk management, investor protection and an improved investor experience,” said Paul Allison, the chairman of IIROC’s board, in a press release. “Mr. Heins, Ms. Newman and Ms. Tamblyn Watts have established themselves throughout their careers and advocacy work as strong champions for effective and responsive regulation.” Read: Nova Scotia Teachers’ names new trustee chair, OMERS promotes Ecclestone Heins, a lawyer, became the chief executive officer of the Law Society of Ontario in 2001. In 2015, he became chair of the Ontario Expert Committee to Consider Policy Alternatives for the Regulation of Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Services. He’s currently a member of the Investor Advisory Panel for the Ontario Securities Commission. Newman is currently the senior managing director for real estate operations and special projects at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Tamblyn Watts is also a lawyer. In addition, she’s president and chief executive officer of seniors’ advocacy and...