Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Greg Lindberg Billionaire insurance magnate Greg Lindberg is asking a North Carolina federal court to overturn his March 5 bribery conviction and grant him a new trial. Lindberg’s lawyers filed a motion Thursday for acquittal and for a new trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. His attorneys submitted a 69-page document, claiming court errors, the government failed to meet the standard of “beyond reasonable doubt,” and that Lindberg was entrapped by state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Lindberg has a simultaneous lawsuit against Causey in the Middle District of North Carolina, in which he accuses Causey, who wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI, of “abuse of power and breach of the public trust.” Lindberg, a Durham, N.C., billionaire, was convicted of using the promise of millions in campaign money to bribe Causey. Lindberg owns Global Bankers Insurance Group, a managing company for several insurance and reinsurance companies. The federal jury also found Lindberg associate John Gray guilty on two public corruption charges. Associate John Palermo was found not guilty. Lindberg and Gray could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for one of the charges and up to 10 additional...

How will your insurer support you through the coronavirus pandemic? Toronto, ON (Apr. 3, 2020) – We are in the midst of a pandemic. Canadians, and people around the world, are facing economic, social, and mental health challenges in addition to the health threat posed by the global spread of COVID-19. Everyone has questions. Those providing services and products – in insurance as in other industries – are making decisions on the fly, often answering questions which may have significant ramifications for both parties. Since this whole thing started, we’ve been struggling to keep up to date on what various insurers were saying about their responses, with loads of e-circulars, updates, etc. causing a nightmare for our team. So Mitchell & Whale built a searchable database where brokers (or customers) can easily search for the appropriate answer to their question, e.g., are insurers waiving NSF fees, paying business interruption claims, allowing working from home, etc. The answers are presented for each of a number of insurance companies which M&W represent. Given we’ve built it, we though it might be helpful for other brokers also struggling to keep up-to-date with this tool. As the situation is dynamic and fluid, the information...

Acquisition strengthens and scales Majesco’s position in L&A and group segment, expands growth potential and enhances domain depth as insurers seek successful digital and business transformation Morristown, NJ (Apr. 1, 2020) – Majesco, a leading cloud and SaaS provider for insurance businesses, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of InsPro Technologies Corporation (OTCBB: ITCC), a U.S. based software leader in the life and annuity insurance market. InsPro Technologies brings an insurance administration and marketing system that supports group and individual business lines, and efficiently processes agent, direct market, worksite and website generated business. Majesco expands their customer portfolio of leading insurers and third-party administrators who currently process over 15 million policies daily, including some with over a million policies each. The expertise, talent and experience that the InsPro Technologies team brings is critical to meeting the demands of today’s digital customer and reinforces Majesco’s commitment to creating a future of insurance that is agile, nimble and fast. InsPro also strengthens and supports Majesco’s strategy to continue leading the industry with innovative, cloud-based solutions that help carriers take advantage of current market opportunities. “Our acquisition of InsPro Technologies complements and expands one of our key strategic focus areas. We...

Dynamic risk governance is significantly more effective than traditional approaches Stamford, CT (Mar. 26, 2020) – Organizations’ current approach to risk governance is not sufficient to tackle the complex risk environment organizations are facing today, according to Gartner, Inc. The COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest in a line of recent risk events showing how organizations are not properly set up to manage risk, especially fast-moving ones. Gartner research showed that 87% of audit departments say their organization uses a ”three lines of defense” (3LOD) model for risk governance. This model states that line management should act as the first line of defense, identifying risks and implementing controls. Risk and assurance functions such as legal, compliance and enterprise risk management (ERM) should act as a second line, overseeing and monitoring risk management processes. Finally, internal audit should act as a third line, taking a birds’ eye view of the effectiveness of controls and risk management. “The response to the coronavirus pandemic is a perfect example of when the 3LOD and traditional risk governance don’t work very well,” said Malcolm Murray, vice president and fellow, research for the Gartner Audit and Risk practice. “Traditional approaches fail because they can’t effectively deal...

InsurTech company has a track record of decreasing the time and costs associated with the claims process and improving the customer experience within three months Raleigh, NC (Mar. 30, 2020) – Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, today announced it has entered into an agreement to partner with SPLICE Software, an InsurTech company that specializes in using big and small data, and voice technologies, to drive customer engagement. SPLICE’s innovative technology provides a multi-pronged approach to customer communications. It enables insurance agents and personnel to respond in real time to requests for information initiated by clients, through text message, web chat, social apps, and/or home assistant devices. Additionally, insurers can capture and manage customers’ permissions and preferences – enabling them to personalize, test and measure their messages. Insurers are also able to send proactive communications throughout the customer lifecycle to make the experience as human as possible. SPLICE leverages its industry-leading, permission-based integrated solutions to design better customer experiences that drive engagement, loyalty and operational savings. Sapiens and SPLICE Software have partnered to provide streamlined billing, claims, marketing and customer experience communication solutions to insurers that are automated through Sapiens property &...

Toronto, ON (Apr. 2, 2020) – Canadians across the country have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviva Canada has pledged to support Canadians with an extensive pandemic relief package, ranging from cash donations and flexible payment options for vulnerable customers to free roadside assistance for healthcare workers. “We can all agree that we find ourselves in extraordinary times, but when it comes to supporting communities across Canada, Aviva Canada has a long history of being there on the ground. We have more than 4,000 employees across Canada committed to being there for our customers when they need us the most – and I see this as another way that we can extend that same commitment to those impacted by COVID-19,” said Jason Storah, Chief Executive Officer, Aviva Canada. A $500,000 donation to Canadian Red Cross A long-time partner of the Canadian Red Cross, Aviva Canada is donating $500,000 to support the charitable organization’s Response and Emergency Management programs for COVID-19, as well as other disaster response efforts. The donation will help to: Fund relief supplies such as cots, blankets, pillows, masks and gloves Support emergency response personnel deployed to assist with the comfort and care of Canadians returning to...

Latest acquisition expands DKI Canada’s presence in Northwestern Ontario Mississauga, ON (Mar. 31, 2020) – DKI Canada is pleased to announce that Til-Ka Construction has joined DKI. Til-Ka Construction has been proudly helping their clients improve their homes and properties by providing full property restoration services in Thunder Bay and surrounding areas. From emergency mitigation to reconstruction, Til-Ka Construction’s staff is comprised of courteous, highly trained, IICRC Certified professionals work with their clients to fully restore homes and/or businesses back to pre-loss conditions quickly and efficiently. “2020 marks our 25th anniversary of serving the communities of Northwestern Ontario. In those 25 years, we have grown and evolved as a full-service Construction and Restoration Company. Becoming a DKI member begins a new era for us. We believe this partnership will only further strengthen our ability to help our neighbours in their time of need” said Jered Zieroth Co-Owner. “We are excited to have Til-Ka Construction join the DKI team,” said Adam Tzarik, Vice President, Business Development. “They have strong roots in the community and in-depth knowledge of the construction and Restoration market for the Thunder Bay and surrounding area. “ You can contact Til-Ka Construction DKI at: 636 Squier Street, Thunder...

New SMA Blog by Karen Pauli, Principal, Strategy Meets Action — Based on the title of this blog, your first reaction is likely to be – this is a blog about auto insurance or distracted driving. But it is not. It’s about lessons learned coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. And one of the lessons is very likely to be that a fundamental change is needed in how we, as an industry, view product and services development. Insurance product creation is based on historical data – the rearview mirror view. It always has been, and there is value in doing so. Past trends are likely to be repeated, and coverages and rating need to reflect that. And insurance departments require years of historical data to approve changes. However, there is a fundamental change afoot that cannot be ignored. The once-in-100-years event is rapidly headed toward becoming a once-in-10-years event. And as COVID-19 has shown, “we’ve never seen this before” is a veritable constant. As a society, and thus as insurers, never before have we experienced 9/11, the Fukishima nuclear disaster, Hurricane Sandy’s impact, the SARS and MERS global reach, and the list can go on. A stark reality is that...

Willis Re 1st View renewals report London, UK (Apr. 1, 2020) – Reinsurers took a measured approach to the April renewals, which saw significant rate increases on loss-affected accounts and more modest rises on loss-free business. The global reinsurance sector smoothly moved to the new working-from-home model following the COVID-19 outbreak and was able to provide uninterrupted service, according to the latest 1st View renewals report from Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. The largest risk-adjusted property price increases were seen on loss-hit catastrophe treaty contracts, which were up +30% to +50% for Japanese wind exposures. Loss-free treaties saw less dramatic rises and, in a handful of cases, renewed as expiring. Capacity provided through insurance-linked securities (ILS) decreased slightly, with occasional examples of funds reducing their 1 April offer due to recent investor redemptions. Reinsurers’ COVID-19 response was impacted by timing and underlying coverage considerations. Early firm orders were completed without specific exclusionary language. In other cases, several reinsurers sought exclusions. In some cases, these were achieved; in others, buyers provided comfort through letters of understanding, which explained that underlying original policies have no exposure to COVID-19-related losses. James...

Kelsey Rolfe | April 3, 2020 Alexander Kurth is planning to apply for the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit once the application is available on Monday. But despite being a gig economy worker who wouldn’t be able to receive employment insurance, it’s only because of a timing coincidence that he qualifies for the new support at all. Toronto-based Kurth is nearing the end of a two-week quarantine period after returning from travel outside of the country. His work doing live sound for bands at music venues and as a bartender for a craft brewery was wiped out by the coronavirus-related business closures. And, while he’s confined to his apartment, his other occasional gigs as a courier for Uber Technologies Ltd. and Foodora are on hold. Read: Feds adding $2,000 benefit for Canadians out of work due to coronavirus The CERB will provide $2,000 per month for up to four months to Canadians who’ve lost their income due to the coronavirus pandemic, retroactive to March 15. It applies to wage earners as well as contract workers and the self-employed — who wouldn’t qualify for EI — and to Canadians who are still employed but aren’t receiving income because of work disruptions. However, the benefit only applies to people who have...