Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | May 12, 2020 The Pension Investment Association of Canada is raising concerns about the impact of the impending merger between Aon and Willis Towers Watson on pension plans and funds in Canada. In a letter to the Competition Bureau, Simon Fréchet, the association’s chair, said the PIAC’s members use actuarial consulting services to support the effective fiduciary management of pension plan assets and benefits. “The availability of impartial, high quality and cost-effective services in these areas is imperative to the sustainability of our members’ plans affecting thousand of Canadians.” Read: Aon and Willis Towers Watson set to merge The merger, announced in March, raises concerns that the competitive market for actuarial services will be dramatically reduced, stated the letter, since both consultancies are currently major players in the area of actuarial consulting professional services across Canada, including pension fund asset management, design, funding and administrative services. Referring to Aon, Eckler Ltd., Mercer, Morneau Shepell and Willis Towers Watson, Fréchet noted these five firms represent significant barriers for competition in the section. “Actuarial services require the ability of handling large volumes of sensitive personal data, as well as deployment of sophisticated software, resulting in very material upfront fixed investment in advanced [information technology] infrastructure. These capabilities cannot be easily developed, replicated...

Staff | May 12, 2020 iA Financial Group is teaming up with Dialogue Technologies Inc. to improve health-care access for its group benefits plan members. The platform allows plan members and their families to speak with health-care professionals, anywhere in Canada, at any time. Available online or on any mobile device, its services include: prescription renewal and free delivery of prescription drugs; secure video appointment with a physician or a mental health-care professional; referral to a specialist when medically required; and diagnostics co-ordination when medically required. Read: Sun Life, Dialogue partner on free virtual care for plan members iA Financial Group’s group benefits plan sponsors with supplemental health insurance and that wish to add the service to their group benefits offering can take advantage of a preferred rate. In addition, if they commit to offering the platform for at least 12 months, plan sponsors will receive it free of charge until July 31, 2020. “Virtual health-care services are in line with our commitment to the peace of mind and well-being of our clients,” said Éric Jobin, senior vice-president of group insurance and retirement solutions at iA Financial Group, in a press release. “We are pleased to simplify the access to health care for hundreds of thousands of Canadians and members of...

Courtesy of LIMRA Insurers have serious concerns about distribution and profitability in the new COVID-19 world, a new survey finds. LIMRA worked with the Society of Actuaries and Oliver Wyman to conduct a series of short surveys on the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential effects on the insurance industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in social-distancing practices and volatile market conditions that have caused disruptions in many life insurance companies’ processes. About 90% of the companies rated distribution/social distancing and pricing/new business profitability (89%) as a concern and 77% listed in-force profitability. Advertisement “Companies have had to be nimble in making adjustments where needed to their product rates and pricing,” said Marianne Purushotham, research actuary, LIMRA, who co-authored the survey. Depending on the product, various factors contribute to companies’ current pricing challenges:• Increased cost of hedging and declining government bond rates were the biggest concerns for variable annuity writers;• Declining government bond rates and rising credit spreads/default risk topped the concerns for fixed and/or fixed indexed annuity writers;• Underwriting uncertainty, declining government bond rates, and increased/uncertain mortality/morbidity were the primary concerns for term life writers; and• Declining government bond rates and underwriting uncertainty presented the biggest challenges for permanent life...

Staff | May 11, 2020 More than half (56 per cent) of Canadians said the coronavirus is having a negative impact on their mental health, with social isolation the top contributing factor, according to a new survey by Sun Life Canada. The other factors include concern for loved ones (57 per cent), fear of contracting the virus (56 per cent) and financial concerns (51 per cent). The survey also found the virus is having a greater negative impact on the mental health of women (62 per cent) compared to men (49 per cent). “The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health emergency of our lifetime,” said Jacques Goulet, president of Sun Life Canada, in a press release. “Canada was already facing a mental-health crisis. The pandemic adds new layers of stress and we’re deeply concerned about the long-term mental-health implications that may follow. At Sun Life, we’re focused on supporting our employees, advisors, clients and all Canadians to manage their mental well-being.” Read: Webinar: Coronavirus and workplace mental health Close to 60 per cent of Canadians whose mental health has been negatively impacted said they aren’t receiving treatment or social support. When they were asked what barriers were stopping them from receiving support for...

Quebec City, QC (Jan. 10, 2020) – Since staying home remains the smartest option to limit the propagation of COVID-19, iA Financial Group is facilitating access to healthcare for its clients by teaming up with Dialogue, the Canadian telemedicine leader. Dialogue: virtual healthcare, available 24/7 The Dialogue platform enables the whole family to speak with healthcare professionals, anywhere in Canada, at any time. Dialogue is fully confidential, available online or on any mobile device and provides various services, including: Live chat with a multidisciplinary team Prescription renewal and free delivery of prescription drugs Secure video appointment with a physician or a mental healthcare professional Referral to a specialist when medically required Diagnostics coordination when medically required With Dialogue, more than 70% of medical problems — which would normally require a visit to a clinic — can be treated remotely, thus avoiding several hours of waiting. If the medical condition calls for an in-person consultation, Dialogue helps by scheduling an appointment in a nearby clinic. Free until July 31, 2020 Clients whose group insurance plan includes supplemental health insurance with iA Financial Group and who wish to add the telemedicine service to their group benefits offering can take advantage of a...

Willis Towers Watson report addresses COVID-19’s impact on the P&C insurance industry Arlington, VA (May 7, 2020) – North American commercial insurance buyers will continue facing upward pricing pressure across most lines of business compounded by a newfound scrutiny of their coverage terms and conditions. These top-line observations emanate from Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities 2020 Spring Update. Notably, the report expects that the decline in economic activity will lead to large reductions in insurable values, yet not a single line of business predicts overall rate decreases; however, in many lines, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 and the economic downturn remains to be seen. “The pandemic and economic downturn will very likely extend the hard market through 2021, with market discipline continuing as insurers’ losses materialize and their investment income deteriorates,” said Joe Peiser, global head of Broking, Willis Towers Watson. “While we expect pressure on coverage to last for the foreseeable future, mainly due to significant policy language disparities brought into focus by the inconsistent language addressing pandemics, the good news is the insurance industry is solvent, well capitalized and positioned to deliver.” Favorably, according to the report, despite all the stress and pressure of the pandemic, business...

New obstacles come on the heels of solid results for P&C insurers last year Jersey City, NJ (May 7, 2020) – The private U.S. property/casualty insurance industry had solid results in 2019, with increases in net income, underwriting gains, and policyholders’ surplus, but faces considerable challenges in 2020 as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic unfold, according to Verisk, a leading data analytics provider, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA). Net income after taxes rose to $61.4 billion in 2019 from $59.6 billion in 2018. Net underwriting gains increased to $3.7 billion, after $0.2 billion of net underwriting losses a year earlier, due in part to high catastrophe losses in 2018. The industry’s surplus reached a record high $847.8 billion by the end of the 2019, as the stock market recovered from a significant downturn a year earlier. Moving forward, several factors related to COVID-19 could affect industry results in 2020, including the following: Millions of people are staying at home and driving less, leading many insurers to react by returning a portion of personal auto premiums during the pandemic. Many businesses had to close or significantly curtail their activities. High unemployment rates and declines in consumption and...

Gartner identifies nine trends for HR leaders, including Expanded Data Collection, Emergence of New Top-Tier Employers and Increase in Organizational Complexity Stamford, CT (May 6, 2020) – Organizations can differentiate themselves from competitors during the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging nine ongoing trends, according to Gartner, Inc. These trends are broken into three categories: accelerating trends, new impacts that were not previously part of the future of work discussion, and pendulum swings – temporary shorter-term reactions. “It is critical for business leaders to understand the large scale shifts that are changing how people work and how business gets done,” said Brian Kropp, chief of research for the Gartner HR practice. “Then, they must apply this knowledge to their specific organization so they can alter their strategy accordingly.” Gartner recommends HR leaders evaluate the following trends to determine if and how they apply to their business. Accelerating Trends • Increase in remote work. Gartner analysis shows that 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 30% pre-pandemic. In fact, 74% of CFOs intend to increase remote work at their organization after the outbreak. To succeed in a world of increased remote...

How will today’s uncertain times affect consumer behavior? New York, NY (May 6, 2020) – Key takeaways from Deloitte’s first consumer poll during the global pandemic lockdown include: Health concerns generally exceed financial concerns in the U.S., with more than 50% of respondents concerned about health and nearly one-quarter of respondents worried about finances. Only one-third of U.S. consumers (34%) feel safe going to the store right now. Millennials lead the online shopping charge in the U.S. predominantly with in-store categories such as groceries, everyday household goods and alcohol. Consumers in India and Japan show a bigger anxiety spike than the U.S. Why this matters As a global health crisis potentially morphs into an economic one, Deloitte is conducting a series of biweekly surveys around the globe to better understand the interplay between personal safety and economic vulnerability as a driver of purchase decisions and consumer behavior. The first such survey titled “Deloitte Global State of the Consumer Tracker,” conducted in 13 countries during the week of April 13, 2020, queried 1,000 consumers in each country. The responses provide insight into how consumers in different countries intend to weather this dual crisis. Health and financial concerns remain relatively high worldwide Global...

Acquisition of Callisto to help Accenture’s clients make manufacturing more efficient and flexible New York, NY (Mar. 7, 2020) – Accenture has acquired Callisto Integration, a Canada-based provider of consulting and technology services. The company provides digital manufacturing services to large companies in the food and beverage, chemicals, utilities and other industries. The acquisition expands Accenture’s capabilities to help clients in North America ensure the timely production of orders, increase their yield and enhance the quality of their products. Among Callisto’s key services are the design and implementation of manufacturing execution systems, industrial internet of things (IoT) systems and shop-floor control systems. These systems ensure the materials, workers and equipment for each production order are ready when needed. They also provide real-time data on the production process. As a result, companies can better detect and address quality issues and more accurately predict machine failure. The 160 Callisto employees join Accenture’s Industry X.0 practice. This part of Accenture uses digital technologies — such as the IoT, data analytics and artificial intelligence — to improve how companies design, engineer and manufacture products and services and operate industrial facilities. Callisto is headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. It also has two offices in the United...