Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Chicago, IL (May 12, 2020) – CFC, the specialist insurance provider and pioneer in emerging risk, has announced the release of its bespoke insurance solution for licensing agreements. The new product expands on the company’s robust suite of media and intellectual property insurance products. Worth an estimated $280 billion, the global licensing industry is rapidly expanding as brand owners increasingly monetize their intellectual property assets – like logos, trademarks, graphics and animations – through third parties. However the Covid-19 pandemic has halted a long line of global events, and the financial impact of each cancellation or rescheduling decision could have a catastrophic effect for promotional partners, licensees and businesses involved in merchandising. License agreements often include a mandated insurance requirement, but to date the market has struggled to deliver a bespoke solution, forcing clients to purchase a full-fledged media liability policy instead. We’re excited to offer a standalone product with cover that’s designed specifically for these licensing exposures.Jade Giltrap, Media Team Leader, CFC Designed to protect licensees against unintentional breach of a licensing agreement, CFC’s new liability product offers a fit-for-purpose solution that covers individual licensing contracts or annual licensing agreements between multiple brands and the licensee. CFC’s new product...

Integration allows Shift’s Force fraud detection solution to seamlessly deliver alerts to snapsheet users Boston, MA (May 11, 2020) – Shift Technology, a provider of AI-native fraud detection and claims automation solutions, and Snapsheet, a leading provider of claims management technology and virtual appraisal solutions for insurance carriers, risk managers and TPAs, today announced a strategic partnership between the two companies. As a result of the agreement, users of Snapsheet’s claims management platform can receive notification of suspicious claims directly from Shift’s Force fraud detection technology. The goal of every insurer is to settle policyholder claims as quickly, fairly and accurately as possible. The ability to do so benefits not only the insurer, but also its customers. Having an effective claims management strategy in place, supported by the right combination of technology, is critical to making sure both the business’ and the policyholders’ expectations are met. Snapsheet addresses these requirements by delivering Snapsheet Claims, a digital-first, cloud-native claims management solution designed to provide faster, better experiences for all parties involved in the claims process. “For most insurers, the claims process is incredibly manual and complex, and without effective technology in place, everyone involved suffers,” explained Brad Weisberg, CEO and founder,...

CFOs Plan to Spend More on Cloud, Robotics, and Advanced Analytics Stamford, CT (May 11, 2020) – A Gartner Inc. survey of 161 finance executives on May 3, 2020* revealed that in May and June the number of companies furloughing staff, as well as cutting salaries and workforce will have more than doubled since the end of March. Eleven percent of respondents reduced staff in March, and 25% plan to reduce staff in May and June (see Figure 1, below). “CFOs are unsure what reopening will look like and have little visibility into when revenue will start to normalize. This is driving CFOs to look for the next round of structural cost cuts to preserve cash for the coming months,” said Alexander Bant, practice vice president, research, for the Gartner Finance Practice. “Companies are conducting robust analysis about which of their business lines and products sets they will rescale, reinvest, return, reduce, and retire. As they do this, they are determining which sets of staff they need to succeed in the short-and-long-term.” Figure 1: What cost reduction actions has your organization taken or do you plan to take in May/June in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? “CFOs want to optimize...

Willis Towers Watson survey also finds employers adding flexibility to leave programs Arlington, VA (May 11, 2020) – Companies are making enhancements to their health care, wellbeing and leave programs, according to a new Willis Towers Watson survey examining the business impact of COVID-19 on health benefits. The survey, conducted April 20-23, found that nearly half of respondents (47%) are enhancing health care benefits, 45% are broadening wellbeing programs, and 33% plan to make changes to paid time off (PTO) or vacation programs. And while some companies are reducing costs in other ways — furloughs, pay cuts and reductions in 401(k) matching contributions — many are preserving wellbeing plans at a time when employees are facing significant challenges. “Although most employers anticipate a significant negative impact from COVID-19, many are taking steps to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees,” said Regina Ihrke, senior director and wellbeing leader, North America, Willis Towers Watson. “Employers are doing what they can to support their workers through this difficult time. The pandemic has led to high levels of employee anxiety and stress, so employers are making it easier for employees to get help across all aspects of the wellbeing spectrum.” Supporting physical...

Martha Porado | May 15, 2020 With the coronavirus pandemic set as the backdrop for the foreseeable future, employers are getting mixed signals about the best way to function safely and effectively. “You have to look at this from the perspective of [having] the federal government saying, ‘Here’s what we think you should do,’” says Kathleen Chevalier, partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP. “You’ve got each provincial government coming out with guidelines, reopening plans, regulations for employers. Then you’ve got the public health authorities. And it would be a gross oversimplification to say all of those are in step with each other.” Read: 41% of Canadian businesses have laid off staff due to coronavirus: Stats Can For organizations where all or the majority of employees can do their jobs from home, many are pulling together policies and procedures to ensure the parameters of remote work are clear, she says. “These are more about setting the groundwork and laying out expectations for people while they’re working from home. Obviously, the expectation is you’re still working, you’re still being productive, still being efficient. You’re still expected to request and track vacation time. You’re still requested to let us know if you’re taking sick time. More important than ever...

By Aly Dhalla, CEO & Co-Founder, Finaeo — I started my career as a retail financial advisor working for TD Canada Trust. My branch, located in a middle-class neighbourhood in Coquitlam, British Columbia, was a community close to my heart. I attended Centennial high-school just up the road and many of the families that came through our branch were parents or relatives of kids I grew up with. Being at Austin TD was like a reunion, daily. The 2008/09 recession was an extremely challenging time. I witnessed many families struggle to keep their homes, their businesses, and sometimes their families, intact. To go through that experience early in my career changed my life forever. I learned that financial wellness is directly tied to mental wellness. Generally, the less stress you have about money, the better life you can live. That’s not to say “money buys you happiness” but it is true that money and emotions are highly correlated. When we started Finaeo, my Co-Founder, Donald Chu, shared a story with me about the first time he delivered a claim cheque. He called it, “a privilege and an honour”. As an advisor, one of the most rewarding parts of our job is...

Yaelle Gang, the Canadian Investment Review | May 15, 2020 The extent of fiscal and monetary intervention in the economy in response to the coronavirus crisis is likely to lead to deficits unlike anything seen before and result in asset prices faring better over the near term than the overall economy, said Bert Clark, president and chief executive officer of the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario, during a webinar hosted by the C.D Howe Institute on Wednesday. “While lower government bond rates may not get people onto planes or into restaurants, they can drive up the value of financial assets. One has only to look to the last 10 years to see the effects of sustained central bank involvement in the capital markets.” In the current environment, the IMCO is focusing on asset class diversification and ensuring it has enough liquidity, Clark said. “You cannot be a long-term investor if you put yourself in a position where you are a forced seller of risk assets in times of market strain.” Read: Building blocks of the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario Further, volatility is expected to continue. As a result, the IMCO has entered arrangements with specialist managers to buy high-quality, publicly traded assets during bouts of...

Staff | May 15, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has prompted U.S. employers to make several changes to their health and retirement offerings, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. On the health benefits side, nearly all respondents (98 per cent) said they’re offering virtual health services, up 10 per cent from before the pandemic. And nearly half (49 per cent) reduced or eliminated virtual health cost-sharing to encourage employees to use it. In recognition of the myriad stressors employees are facing, 12 per cent of employers added virtual mental-health services to their benefits offering and nine per cent reduced or eliminated cost-sharing for those benefits. An additional six per cent relaxed or eliminated their eligibility requirements. Read: Drug plan considerations during the coronavirus pandemic The survey also found 35 per cent of employers have extended prior authorization periods for prescription drugs, 29 per cent increased quantity limits and 13 per cent waived prior authorization requirements altogether. On the retirement side, companies are looking at plan changes. Of the companies that provide matching contributions, two per cent said they had reduced the match and eight per cent suspended it. Nearly one in 10 (18 per cent) said they haven’t yet made changes...

Of course, the early rumblings of the coronavirus pandemic were already underway in the early weeks of 2020, but they were still very far removed from Canada’s reality. At the time of writing these words in mid-April, worldwide coronavirus cases had topped two million. It was estimated the number of employees working at home or part time had increased by 415 per cent. Employers were laying off staff and taking several other measures to ensure they remained in business. And global stock markets saw some of the swiftest and steepest losses in history. Read: Number of staff working remotely, part time up 415%: survey Without being too inflammatory or dramatic, the world we know has changed completely — and we have no timeline or map to follow to find our way back. Instead, everyone is stuck in limbo, adjusting to the new normal. For Benefits Canada’s readers, the workplace they were already tirelessly working to manage, support and grow has essentially imploded. Every component of their jobs pre-coronavirus is now covered with the fingerprints of this new culprit. We’re all employees and employers. And now, we’re all struggling with what the new reality means for us. Some of us are working...

Benefits Canada | May 15, 2020 While many Canadians can’t wait to start drawing down Canada Pension Plan benefits when they turn 65, it’s important to consider whether that’s the right move Bonnie-JeanneMacDonald, director of financial security research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing Delaying CPP is the safest, most inexpensive approach to receiving more secure retirement income. Yet 95 per cent of Canadians claim their CPP by age 65. Why does it matter? CPP benefits last for the rest of your life and keep up with inflation. More than 96 per cent of Canadians aged 60 will survive to age 70, and nearly 50 per cent will live beyond age 90. Waiting until age 70 to take CPP would bring those benefits to about 150 per cent of what they would be at age 65 and about 250 per cent of what they would be at age 60. Read: Why a little bit of retirement planning knowledge can be a dangerous thing My research has found most Canadians with registered retirement savings plans are better off using a portion of those savings in early retirement as a bridge to a higher delayed CPP benefit, rather than stretching their RRSP withdrawals over...