Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Term life insurance new premium rose 8% in the first quarter, with 40% of term life writers reporting double-digit increases, according to LIMRA data. The term premium increase is the highest since the second quarter 2007, according to LIMRA’s First Quarter 2020 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey. Sixty percent of term life writers reported positive growth. LIMRA attributed some of term’s success to online access and tools that helped with sales to homebound consumers. Other life products did not fare as well but that was not unexpected because of a late 2019 sales push before a new CSO table took effect. Term market share jumped to 24% in the first quarter 2020. Since 2011, term premium market share has been in the 21-22% range. Insurance brokers account for the largest share of term premium (38%) and reported growth of 11% over first quarter 2019, LIMRA reported. Advertisement Outside of term life sales, most of the remaining life insurance products posted sluggish first-quarter sales, LIMRA reported. The total number of individual life insurance policies sold in the first quarter fell 1%, compared with the same quarter of the prior year. Universal life new annualized premium fell 3%, driven primarily by...

Foxquilt leaders offer practical business advice amid global pandemic and lockdown Toronto, ON (May 28, 2020) – The current situation has taught many businesses, including our own Foxquilt team, how to adapt to working remotely in a new normal, a new virtual world. Usually, we host our Foxquilt Entrepreneur Summit every quarter to provide a place for business owners to learn and network with one another. However, we should all continue staying at home, practicing physical distancing and avoiding large in-person gatherings. That’s why we’ve adapted to bring the event to your home by hosting our first virtual Foxquilt Entrepreneur Summit! We will be focusing on “How to Take Advantage of Our New Virtual World: Practical Business Advice From Foxquilt’s Leaders.” On June 4th, 2020, learn how you can make the most out of your post-COVID business plan with advice and digital solutions from our Tech, Marketing, Finance and HR Chief Officers as well as our own Foxquilt CEO. Then, get a chance to virtually network with other business owners and entrepreneurs in sessions led by the Foxquilt leadership team. To learn more about the event and our speakers, visit get.foxquilt.com/virtual-fqes-june2020. There are a limited number of virtual spots, so...

PR Newswire As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact everything from the economy to daily life, worries over personal safety have driven 83 million Americans to consider buying life insurance or increasing their life insurance coverage, according to a new survey from ValuePenguin.com by LendingTree. Key Findings: 1 in 4 Americans say COVID-19 has increased their interest in life insurance, with men more likely to agree than women.  38% of men said they want to buy life insurance or increase their life insurance coverage, compared to just 14% of women. Most people already have some life insurance, but many aren’t sure what it actually does. While 65% of all respondents said they already had life insurance in place, 40% claimed they were not very familiar with, or did not know what life insurance does. Over 30% of Americans don’t know how much life insurance they need. While the appropriate amount of coverage changes for every person based on their financial needs, most respondents came in with estimates that were too low for a typical scenario. Only 10% cited the common rule of thumb that coverage should be equal to 10 times their annual salary. How much does life insurance cost and...

Kelsey Rolfe | May 28, 2020 The union representing more than 200,000 Canadian public sector employees says the Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s investment in a for-profit, long-term care provider is inconsistent with its fiduciary and legal obligations to plan members. The Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling on the PSP to end its investment in Revera Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, and to transfer its management and control to provincial health authorities across Canada. “We’ve raised these issues in the past on several occasions, but we’ve got nothing but lip service back,” says James Infantino, pensions and disability insurance officer at the PSAC. “We think the way they’ve managed these facilities put the [pension] plan in a situation of undue risk and that is contrary to its obligations toward plan members.” Read: Unions across job sectors crying out for increased safety measures Revera, which operates long-term care and retirement homes across the country, is the target of a $50-million class action lawsuit launched by families of coronavirus victims in the company’s Ontario facilities. The families allege the facilities lack proper sanitation and testing protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. In a May 11 letter to Neil Cunningham, president and chief executive officer at the PSP,...

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...