Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

By George Tsintzouras, CEO & Co-Founder, Alert Labs — Recent physical distancing measures have made it harder for maintenance teams at multi-family properties to carry out routine walk-throughs and inspections. Smart leak and flood solutions that allow teams to monitor remotely help keep tenants and staff safe and buildings damage-free. Water leak detectors that send alerts, and even make phone calls, whenever a water damage event occurs ensure that your team can intervene early – potentially avoiding the need to file an insurance claim and absorb the cost of repairs. In short, smart leak and flood solutions can help lower the risk of self-insurance. A garden-style apartment, high-rise residential building orany multi-family property can be monitored for leaks andfloods with smart sensors 24/7 leak and flood monitoring Even before current distancing measures, walking the building can still miss the most costly sources of water damage such as pinhole leaks behind drywall. Without smart building sensors that monitor 24/7 for leaks and floods, assets remain exposed to catastrophic losses. Real preventative maintenance is possible with IoT (Internet of things) smart building sensors and software (e.g. water flow sensors to detect leaks). The risk of damage and losses can be minimized with...

Canada Life has strengthened its menu of segregated funds with the addition of nine new global funds. Leveraging the global competencies of some of the world’s largest investment managers and capitalizing on opportunities outside Canada, the new funds aim to provide more diversification and stable returns for customers’ portfolios throughout a full market cycle. “These new funds will enhance and complement our existing shelf, helping our customers increase their exposure to global funds and further diversify their portfolios to meet their investment needs,” said Paul Orlander, executive vice president, Individual Customer at Canada Life. Last fall, Canada Life announced that it was putting the best segregated fund mandates from Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life together into one streamlined shelf under the Canada Life brand. “Working with our advisors, we’ve identified the need for more global investment options for our customers. These mandates are in demand across the industry,” said Hugh Moncrieff, executive vice-president, Advisory Network and Industry Affairs, Canada Life. The new global segregated funds offered by Canada Life include: Read the original article at https://www.lifehealthpro.ca/rss/

Based on statistics surrounding business owners’ struggles, unemployment, and the performance of financial markets in recent weeks, the pandemic’s crushing effect on people’s wealth is painfully clear. The stream of reports on coronavirus infection models and statistics has also placed its impact on health squarely in the spotlight. The new normal imposed by the pandemic likewise poses a threat to Canadians’ mental health. Numbers on that front are harder to come by, but new findings from Sun Life provides crucial guidance. A worrying rise Drawing an Ipsos poll of 1,000 individuals conducted between April 29 and May 1, the insurer said that 56% of Canadian adults have reported a negative impact on their mental health from several factors related to the pandemic, with the foremost factor being social isolation, cited by 66% of those surveyed. “Social isolation is a very personal thing,” said Dave Jones, senior vice-president for Group Benefits at Sun Life Financial. “You could be living alone and dealing with the effects of being isolated; you could be living with others and feeling the same thing.” Over the past five years, Sun Life has seen an over-20% increase in Canadians filing disability claims related to mental-health issues, and...

Staff | May 12, 2020 The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan has added two more employers to its DBplus offering. Skills Canada Ontario and Fraser Group are the latest organizations to join the pension, bringing the number of employers in the plan to 33 since its launch 18 months ago. Employers joining DBplus can select a fixed contribution rate from five per cent to nine per cent of its members’ annual earnings, matched by the employer. Read: Canadian law firms to join CAAT’s DBPlus pension plan “We are delighted to welcome these new organizations and their members into the [plan],” said Derek Dobson, the CAAT’s chief executive officer, in a press release. “We are proud of being able to provide a secure, simple and valuable pension solution that works for a variety of groups across Canada.” Skills Canada Ontario, which is dedicated to building the province’s skilled trades and technology workforces, joined the plan retroactively to Jan. 1, 2020. Fraser Group, a research firm working in the employee benefits and insurance space, joined as of March 1, 2020. “We are very pleased to offer a secure and predictable defined benefit pension to Skills Ontario employees without taking on the financial risks associated with...

Staff | May 12, 2020 The Pension Investment Association of Canada is raising concerns about the impact of the impending merger between Aon and Willis Towers Watson on pension plans and funds in Canada. In a letter to the Competition Bureau, Simon Fréchet, the association’s chair, said the PIAC’s members use actuarial consulting services to support the effective fiduciary management of pension plan assets and benefits. “The availability of impartial, high quality and cost-effective services in these areas is imperative to the sustainability of our members’ plans affecting thousand of Canadians.” Read: Aon and Willis Towers Watson set to merge The merger, announced in March, raises concerns that the competitive market for actuarial services will be dramatically reduced, stated the letter, since both consultancies are currently major players in the area of actuarial consulting professional services across Canada, including pension fund asset management, design, funding and administrative services. Referring to Aon, Eckler Ltd., Mercer, Morneau Shepell and Willis Towers Watson, Fréchet noted these five firms represent significant barriers for competition in the section. “Actuarial services require the ability of handling large volumes of sensitive personal data, as well as deployment of sophisticated software, resulting in very material upfront fixed investment in advanced [information technology] infrastructure. These capabilities cannot be easily developed, replicated...

Staff | May 12, 2020 iA Financial Group is teaming up with Dialogue Technologies Inc. to improve health-care access for its group benefits plan members. The platform allows plan members and their families to speak with health-care professionals, anywhere in Canada, at any time. Available online or on any mobile device, its services include: prescription renewal and free delivery of prescription drugs; secure video appointment with a physician or a mental health-care professional; referral to a specialist when medically required; and diagnostics co-ordination when medically required. Read: Sun Life, Dialogue partner on free virtual care for plan members iA Financial Group’s group benefits plan sponsors with supplemental health insurance and that wish to add the service to their group benefits offering can take advantage of a preferred rate. In addition, if they commit to offering the platform for at least 12 months, plan sponsors will receive it free of charge until July 31, 2020. “Virtual health-care services are in line with our commitment to the peace of mind and well-being of our clients,” said Éric Jobin, senior vice-president of group insurance and retirement solutions at iA Financial Group, in a press release. “We are pleased to simplify the access to health care for hundreds of thousands of Canadians and members of...

Courtesy of LIMRA Insurers have serious concerns about distribution and profitability in the new COVID-19 world, a new survey finds. LIMRA worked with the Society of Actuaries and Oliver Wyman to conduct a series of short surveys on the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential effects on the insurance industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in social-distancing practices and volatile market conditions that have caused disruptions in many life insurance companies’ processes. About 90% of the companies rated distribution/social distancing and pricing/new business profitability (89%) as a concern and 77% listed in-force profitability. Advertisement “Companies have had to be nimble in making adjustments where needed to their product rates and pricing,” said Marianne Purushotham, research actuary, LIMRA, who co-authored the survey. Depending on the product, various factors contribute to companies’ current pricing challenges:• Increased cost of hedging and declining government bond rates were the biggest concerns for variable annuity writers;• Declining government bond rates and rising credit spreads/default risk topped the concerns for fixed and/or fixed indexed annuity writers;• Underwriting uncertainty, declining government bond rates, and increased/uncertain mortality/morbidity were the primary concerns for term life writers; and• Declining government bond rates and underwriting uncertainty presented the biggest challenges for permanent life...

Staff | May 11, 2020 More than half (56 per cent) of Canadians said the coronavirus is having a negative impact on their mental health, with social isolation the top contributing factor, according to a new survey by Sun Life Canada. The other factors include concern for loved ones (57 per cent), fear of contracting the virus (56 per cent) and financial concerns (51 per cent). The survey also found the virus is having a greater negative impact on the mental health of women (62 per cent) compared to men (49 per cent). “The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health emergency of our lifetime,” said Jacques Goulet, president of Sun Life Canada, in a press release. “Canada was already facing a mental-health crisis. The pandemic adds new layers of stress and we’re deeply concerned about the long-term mental-health implications that may follow. At Sun Life, we’re focused on supporting our employees, advisors, clients and all Canadians to manage their mental well-being.” Read: Webinar: Coronavirus and workplace mental health Close to 60 per cent of Canadians whose mental health has been negatively impacted said they aren’t receiving treatment or social support. When they were asked what barriers were stopping them from receiving support for...

Quebec City, QC (Jan. 10, 2020) – Since staying home remains the smartest option to limit the propagation of COVID-19, iA Financial Group is facilitating access to healthcare for its clients by teaming up with Dialogue, the Canadian telemedicine leader. Dialogue: virtual healthcare, available 24/7 The Dialogue platform enables the whole family to speak with healthcare professionals, anywhere in Canada, at any time. Dialogue is fully confidential, available online or on any mobile device and provides various services, including: Live chat with a multidisciplinary team Prescription renewal and free delivery of prescription drugs Secure video appointment with a physician or a mental healthcare professional Referral to a specialist when medically required Diagnostics coordination when medically required With Dialogue, more than 70% of medical problems — which would normally require a visit to a clinic — can be treated remotely, thus avoiding several hours of waiting. If the medical condition calls for an in-person consultation, Dialogue helps by scheduling an appointment in a nearby clinic. Free until July 31, 2020 Clients whose group insurance plan includes supplemental health insurance with iA Financial Group and who wish to add the telemedicine service to their group benefits offering can take advantage of a...

Willis Towers Watson report addresses COVID-19’s impact on the P&C insurance industry Arlington, VA (May 7, 2020) – North American commercial insurance buyers will continue facing upward pricing pressure across most lines of business compounded by a newfound scrutiny of their coverage terms and conditions. These top-line observations emanate from Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities 2020 Spring Update. Notably, the report expects that the decline in economic activity will lead to large reductions in insurable values, yet not a single line of business predicts overall rate decreases; however, in many lines, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 and the economic downturn remains to be seen. “The pandemic and economic downturn will very likely extend the hard market through 2021, with market discipline continuing as insurers’ losses materialize and their investment income deteriorates,” said Joe Peiser, global head of Broking, Willis Towers Watson. “While we expect pressure on coverage to last for the foreseeable future, mainly due to significant policy language disparities brought into focus by the inconsistent language addressing pandemics, the good news is the insurance industry is solvent, well capitalized and positioned to deliver.” Favorably, according to the report, despite all the stress and pressure of the pandemic, business...