Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | June 2, 2020 Will this summer be prime vacation time for Canadians? While travel restrictions and social distancing protocols are still in effect, many employers are encouraging their staff to take breaks to avoid burnout, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. About a third (33 per cent) of survey respondents said they’re encouraging staff to take all of their vacation time before the end of the year, with 32 per cent suggesting staff take at least some time off. Just 21 per cent of employers said they’re requiring employees to take at least some vacation, with a further 10 per cent requiring them to take all of their vacation time. Almost two in 10 (17 per cent) said they haven’t communicated vacation expectations to their employees, while just three per cent said they’re requiring staff to take time off on days selected by the employer. Read: 5 benefits predictions for the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic For those employers mandating that staff take their vacation, more than half said they aren’t exempting employees in critical roles (52 per cent), front-line workers (69 per cent) or employees that have increased workloads due to the pandemic (56 per cent). The survey also found the...

Staff | June 2, 2020 A quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians indicated moderate to severe anxiety levels, 23 per cent said they felt lonely occasionally or most of the time in the past week and 20 per cent reported feeling depressed occasionally or most of the time in the past week, according to a new survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The inaugural survey, conducted by global research technology company Delvinia between May 8 and 12, polled more than 1,000 Canadians aged 18 or older. It also found people with a job that exposes them to a high risk of the coronavirus were more likely to have high levels of anxiety compared to those in lower-risk jobs — 33 per cent compared to 24 per cent. Changes to employment status are also affecting mental health. Those who have lost their job or are no longer working because of the pandemic are more likely to have moderate to severe anxiety levels (34 per cent) compared to other groups (22 per cent). They were also more likely to report feeling lonely (31 per cent) compared to other groups (22 per cent). Read: Employees still in work with reduced salaries show lowest mental-health levels: survey “CAMH regularly deploys surveys to...

Staff | June 2, 2020 The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is appointing Nick Chamie as chief strategist to lead the organization’s asset allocation, currency management and fixed income strategies within the total portfolio and capital markets group.  With more than 25 years of experience in portfolio management, trading and research, Chamie was most recently a senior portfolio manager at the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., where he led the foreign exchange team’s strategic hedging, tactical overlay and overall investment strategy activities. He has also worked at RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank. “I am thrilled to have Nick on the team,” said Jean Michel, the IMCO’s chief investment officer, in a press release. “The chief strategist is a key role in our success and Nick’s leadership will anchor sound investment decisions and offer impactful oversight for IMCO’s total portfolio.” Read: IMCO appoints senior managing director of private markets In other news, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is appointing Harald Krüger as senior advisor for Europe.  In the new role, Krüger will focus on identifying and evaluating potential investment opportunities and partners that complement the CPP’s long-term investment strategy across all asset classes, with a particular focus on the DACH region, which comprises Germany,...

Over the past decade, U.S. life insurance ownership has fallen 9 percentage points to 54%, according to the 2020 Insurance Barometer Study. Researchers attribute the drop in ownership to a broad decline in employer-paid group life insurance benefits over the past 10 years (chart). Despite this drop in ownership, the intent to purchase life insurance is at an all-time high with 36% of Americans saying they intend to purchase life coverage in the next 12 months. “While we are encouraged by the increased interest to purchase life insurance coverage and believe the COVID-19 pandemic may also bolster the perceived need for life coverage and increase purchase intent, our past research shows just a fraction of people actually follow through and buy the coverage they need,” said Alison Salka, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of LIMRA research. One thing that deters consumers is their perceived cost of life insurance. Since the study began, consumers have consistently overestimated the cost of life insurance. The study shows more than half of Americans estimating the cost of a term life insurance policy at more than three times the actual cost. Younger Americans are likely to estimate the cost to be as much as...

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...