Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

MassLive.com Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., one of the largest employers in Massachusetts, will remain closed through the summer. CEO Roger Crandall announced the decision during an all-staff meeting. Employees will return to their offices no earlier than the beginning of September. Approximately 96% of MassMutual employees have worked from home since mid-March, with a limited number of essential staff still working on-site. Timing for reopening will be based on guidance from federal, state and local government as well as a reduction in the number of new cases in states where offices are based. MassMutual has about 3,500 employees based in their Springfield office, 1,500 in Enfield and about 500 in Boston. The company also has offices in Arizona and New York. Advertisement The company announced in mid-March that it would close its offices as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States continued to grow. At the time, Massachusetts had 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Two months later, the number of confirmed cases in the commonwealth has reached 79,332 as of Tuesday. Prior to the office closure, thousands of employees were already working from home due to school closures. Massachusetts schools will remain closed through the end of...

BOSTON – American General Life Insurance Company (AGLI) will pay over $360,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to calculate correctly interest payments for death claims, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. Under an assurance of discontinuance filed in Suffolk Superior Court, AGLI will pay over $180,000 to consumers and an additional $183,000 to the state. The AG’s Office alleged that AGLI violated the state’s consumer protection law when it failed to calculate the payment of interest pursuant to Massachusetts law for policies on which it had paid a death benefit since January 1, 2015. “Life insurance issues are incredibly personal and important to consumers who need financial stability after the death of a friend or family member,” said AG Healey. “Beneficiaries need to be treated fairly and receive all the amounts to which they are entitled under the law.” Consumers with questions about this settlement should contact Attorney General Healey’s Insurance & Financial Services Division at 1-888-830-6277. Individuals who are eligible for a restitution payment will be contacted by AGLI. This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Jasmine Jean-Louis of the Attorney General’s Insurance and Financial Services Division. Advertisement Read the original article at insurancenewsnet.com

Element AI publishes new AI Maturity Framework to guide enterprises in assessing their AI readiness Montréal, QC (May 13, 2020) – Element AI, a global developer of AI-powered solutions and services, is pleased to announce it has published the AI Maturity Framework, which consists of a mapping tool and a whitepaper. The whitepaper provides in-depth insights on how organizations across all industries can become AI-ready faster and the tool helps organizations quickly map their AI-readiness. The tool and whitepaper address a knowledge gap in the AI industry, as few resources exist on how organizations can actually evolve their AI-readiness from theory to practice. Since 2019, Element AI’s Artificial Intelligence Maturity Survey has collected data vital to informing the AI Maturity Framework whitepaper and tool. To date, the survey has collected insights from 200 senior decision-makers across multiple industries—primarily in North America—and determined that organizations are still struggling with their AI journeys. Key findings in the survey reveal: Fewer than one in ten organizations are mature enough to operationalize and scale AI production 79 percent of organizations surveyed haven’t graduated from experimenting with AI in a lab setting Only 14 percent of organizations surveyed are formalizing their approach to deploying AI...

Chicago, IL (May 13, 2020) – Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Vestas Financial Services Firm Inc. (Vestas). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Vestas is an independent firm providing commercial and personal insurance with a focus on various industries, in particular, construction and design professionals, which supports Hub’s Specialty practices[1] by complementing and strengthening its existing capabilities. Phillipe Monette, President of Vestas, and Senior Vice Presidents Martin Brodeur and Patrice Gravel will join Hub International Quebec Limited (Hub Quebec). Notes 1. Hub International Launches Industry Specialty Practices (Feb. 12, 2018). About Hub’s M&A Activities Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com. About Hub International Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services. With more than 12,000 employees in offices located throughout North America, Hub’s vast network of specialists provides peace of mind on what matters...

Preparing and responding to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak New York, NY (May 11, 2020) – Marsh has released its Global Insurance Market Index for the first quarter of 2020. The increase, the largest since the index was launched in 2012, comes despite the minimal impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on pricing in the quarter. Average price increases were driven principally by increases in property insurance and financial and professional lines. Among other findings, the survey noted: The first quarter of 2020 was the tenth consecutive quarter of average price increases. Globally, pricing for property risks increased 15%; financial and professional lines rose nearly 26%; and casualty increased 5%. Composite pricing in the first quarter increased in all geographic regions for the sixth consecutive quarter. The US (14%), UK (21%), and Pacific (23%) regions all experienced double-digit pricing increases. As well as increases in property pricing, much of the increase, was driven by increases in financial and professional lines, and directors and officers (D&O) rates in particular. Commenting on the findings, Dean Klisura, President, Global Placement and Advisory Services at Marsh, said: “Pricing was trending higher in the first quarter, prior to any meaningful impact from losses associated with COVID-19.  We...

Drummondville, QC (May 11, 2020) – UV Insurance is proud of the successful launch of My Universe, its new individual insurance technology platform that includes new illustration software, an electronic application and an advisor and client portal. A simple, quick and intuitive solution that is greatly appreciated by its partners. Within the first week following the launch, nearly 1,000 financial advisors registered to participate in webinars to introduce the new platform. “At the onset of the pandemic, we had no choice but to find an alternative solution for our launch and the webinar proved to be very effective in reaching our network across the country. Our new technology solution responds fully to the needs of the marketplace by greatly facilitating the distance sales that have become indispensable in current environment,” said Julie Michaud, Senior Vice-President, Individual Insurance and Investment and Retirement. With My Universe, advisors have access to new illustration software that takes them directly to the electronic application. At the end of the process, the transaction is easily completed using the electronic signature, thus avoiding travel and face-to-face meetings. UV Insurance also took the opportunity to introduce a new, simplified, medical-free issue process for its permanent and term life...

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...