Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | May 28, 2020 Sun Life is making a mental-health navigator available to plan members, aiming to help them find support during the coronavirus pandemic. The navigator, provided by Teladoc Health Inc.’s Best Doctors, connects plan members with a case manager who will assess their health history, set up a consultation with a psychologist or psychiatrist and keep in touch to make sure plan members feel supported. Read: Empire Life adds mental-health navigator, TeksMed launches mental well-being app Through the navigator, plan members can speak with a clinician to review an existing mental-health diagnosis, discuss their symptoms and receive advice and treatment options. “COVID-19 has had many impacts to our society and economy,” said Jacques Goulet, president of Sun Life Canada, in a press release. “As we continue to navigate the implications of the pandemic, our focus is on supporting Canadians in putting their mental health first. At Sun Life, we continue to strengthen our suite of virtual-care solutions to support Canadians and make it easy to get help from home.’ Plan members can access the navigator through their extended health- or critical-illness coverage. Read: 60% of Canadians with mental-health concerns not using workplace support tools Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

By Dan Gumpright, Global VP – Products, FRISS — History has proven that times of economic crisis see a huge increase in insurance fraud across most lines of business. We want to make sure you’re armed with a few best practices and examples to look out for. We’ll also discuss how a time like this can be your time to shine, by differentiating yourself from the competition in the way you handle claims and new policy applications. How are insurers responding to the potential for fraud in personal lines’ claims, some of which are a result of a changing dynamic as entire families are now homebound for work and school, creating exposures the actuaries may not have anticipated? Expect opportunistic fraud Claims fraud will typically occur anywhere there is an open opportunity, especially during economic downturns. There will be increased fraud wherever human interaction is reduced, which is quickly becoming the norm in 2020. Some examples seen and documented include: An increase in staged accidents and vehicle thefts Procedure billing for phantom services (including telehealth) Fake accidents occurring at homes Many of these scams create an easy way to protect income in an uncertain economy. These and more will resurface...

Staff | May 27, 2020 With the expectation that most of its workers will be working from home for the rest of 2020, Google is giving all of its global employees an allowance of US$1,000, or the equivalent in their country, to purchase necessary equipment and office furniture. In a letter to employees on Tuesday, Sunder Pichai, chief executive officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc., said the organizations are approaching the return to office with a gradual, phased approach, taking both team and individual needs and preferences into account. “We are taking slow, deliberate steps to begin re-opening offices in areas where they still remain largely closed. We’re also investing more in your work-from-home setup to make sure you have what you need to be productive and comfortable.” Read: Twitter to allow employees to work from home ‘forever’ Starting July 6, Google will start to open more buildings in more cities, he said, noting this will provide employees who need to come back to the office the opportunity to return on a limited, rotating basis. “We’ll have rigorous health and safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and sanitization guidelines are followed, so the office will look and feel different than...

Staff  | May 27, 2020 Manulife Financial and its subsidiary John Hancock are giving their more than 35,000 employees a day off on Friday to say thank you for all the hard word they’ve done. The companies will also be providing five additional personal days next year to each employee to support their well-being by encouraging regular time off and will provide the opportunity for employees to take vacations, which they may not have been able to do in the current environment. Read: Ceridian raises engagement, productivity with flex time-off policies “I am so proud and grateful for the commitment our people have shown — it’s taken energy and incredible stamina,” said Roy Gori, Manulife’s chief executive officer, in a press release. “While many communities begin the process of reopening, it’s safe to assume that things won’t be returning to what we thought was ‘normal’ for some time. So we will all need to continue to take care of ourselves and practice healthy habits, which include unplugging and taking time to unwind. We’ll be getting that done together, as a global team, on Friday, June 19 this year.” The insurers have also taken a range of actions to support the well-being of their employees and their families...

Toronto, ON (May 27, 2020) – On Tuesday, May 26, CSIO hosted its 2020 Members’ Governance Meeting virtually, bringing together industry partners across Canada. The meeting included highlighting the accomplishments achieved by CSIO in 2019, the introduction of a new board member – Tatjana Lalkovic, Enterprise Chief Information Officer, Economical Insurance – to the Board of Directors, and remarks from Catherine Smola, President and CEO of CSIO, and Cam Loeppky, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Collaboration within the industry was a consistent theme. Mr. Loeppky, chairing his inaugural governance meeting, commended the industry for its ability to adapt quickly during the global pandemic. “Without the possibility of face-to-face meetings, insurers and brokers alike have adopted or heightened their use of digital tools, including CSIO’s My Proof of Insurance (MPOI), to ensure consistent customer service and continued innovation,” says Loeppky. “It’s been a challenging time to navigate but I’ve been very impressed with our industry’s resilience.” 2019 Highlights Catherine Smola spoke on the successes CSIO had over the course of 2019 and the role digital collaboration played to accomplish these. Beginning with My Proof of Insurance, Smola highlighted the impact it made last year and how digital solutions can be a key differentiator....

New offering provides additional mental health support Toronto, ON (May 27, 2020) – A recent Sun Life survey found that 56% of Canadians said the COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on their mental health; this is supported by independent Teladoc Health research. Of particular concern, 60% of those affected said they are not seeking support.[1] To help Clients navigate their mental health issues, Sun Life is offering Mental Health Navigator from Teladoc Health. This complements the resources available through Lumino Health, an innovation from Sun Life. Mental Health Navigator is a confidential and personalized service that draws on a team of clinicians including psychologists and psychiatrists. The service aims to efficiently help determine the right diagnosis and treatment for individuals, while allowing people to receive care on their terms and manage their mental health as they need. Depending on a Client’s needs, they can connect virtually to conduct a thorough review of an existing mental health diagnosis, discuss symptoms or receive advice and treatment options. Through their acquisition of Best Doctors in 2017, Teladoc Health has expanded services to include Mental Health Navigator. Mental Health Navigator is now available to Sun Life Group Benefits plan members with access...

Deployment by IMS sister company Carrot Insurance demonstrates the effectiveness of digital self-service within connected insurance programs Waterloo, ON (May 26, 2020) – IMS (Insurance & Mobility Solutions), a subsidiary of Trak Global Group (TGG) and one of the world’s top three providers of connected car data solutions to insurers, mobility operators and governments, is pleased to announce a new partnership with SmarTek21®, an industry leader in accelerating digital evolution and transformation for companies. IMS chose to partner with SmarTek21 to integrate its SmartBotHub Conversational AI platform within Carrot, the UK direct-to-consumer digital insurance business owned by IMS parent company, TGG. In addition to adding self-service support to Carrot’s end-to-end digital customer experience, it also allows the chatbot technology to be tested live in market before IMS makes it available to insurers as a module within the Carrot UBI platform, launched earlier this year. To further streamline the digital customer experience offered to its UK customers, Carrot has been increasing the provision of alternatives to voice-driven communications over the course of 2019. With this implementation, SmartBotHub was layered over Carrot’s existing webchat platform to ensure that 100% of all chats could be initially handled by a bot. However, early results...

Additional investments in reporting tools, agent/customer access, and unstructured text ingestion used to differentiate in competitive marketplace: Novarica Boston, MA (May 21, 2020) – Specialty insurers are now differentiating themselves in a competitive marketplace through investments in distribution (especially new business submission), product development, underwriting, and claims. In a new report, Business and Technology Trends: Specialty Lines, research and advisory firm Novarica provides an overview of specialty carriers’ business and technology issues, data about the marketplace, and about 20 examples of recent technology investments by specialty carriers. “To accommodate a wide variety of risks, the specialty market requires a significant amount of operational flexibility to meet the needs of the insurer and the insured,” said Mitch Wein, Senior Vice President of Research and Consulting and co-author of Novarica’s new report. “Insurers must be able to test new specialty lines without large up-front capital investments and determine profitability, driving the need to invest in flexible technology.” Among the key findings of the report are: Insurers are pursuing long-term data strategies. Specialty insurers are prioritizing reporting tools and investing in data science capabilities to optimize their portfolios and improve underwriting. Ingestion of unstructured text is a newer area of focus leveraging AI,...

IBC Collaboration with Police Leads to Charges Toronto, ON (May 26, 2020) – Today, investigators with the York Regional Police Organized Crime and Intelligence Services laid charges related to organized-crime for violent property damage, fraud and drug trafficking, as part of an ongoing joint-forces investigation into the tow truck industry, known as Project Platinum. Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is proud to assist and support this ongoing investigation. “IBC applauds the efforts of all partners involved in this joint-forces investigation, Project Platinum, that resulted in criminal charges being laid,” said Bryan Gast, National Director, Investigative Services, IBC. “Insurance fraud is a safety issue for consumers. Lives can be put at risk as a result of these criminal actions. Insurance fraud costs Canadians in added insurance premiums, and strains our already burdened health care, emergency services and court systems.” This ongoing investigation has identified several organized crime groups working within the towing industry who have used violence and property damage to gain control and territory within the industry. A number of towing companies have been involved in defrauding insurance companies, using vehicles involved in collisions and staged collisions. These towing companies partnered with auto repair shops, physiotherapy clinics, as well as...

Calgary, AB (May 26, 2020) – Trufla is excited to announce the launch of their new Digital Summit series, the Amplify Sessions, on June 4-5, geared to help brokerages across the country with their digital presence from marketing to operations. “COVID-19 has forced us to change how we do business, has challenged us to think outside of the box, and has accelerated the shift from traditional to digital for many brokerages,” said Sherif Gemayel, CEO of Trufla Technology. “But what happens next? When the dust settles, how do we pick up the pieces to build an even brighter future? Trufla’s Amplify Sessions seeks to answer some of these unknowns by bringing together some of the top minds and talent in the industry, to try to solve some of the biggest issues we have in front us.” Gemayel will be giving a presentation on how to drive and manage leads to secure a successful future. The inaugural digital summit has an impressive line-up of speakers including Jeff Roy, President and CEO of Excalibur Insurance. Roy will be presenting on Humanizing the Digital Experience: Exploring how digital technology and innovation is not a free pass to growth. In this session, Roy will...