Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | May 7, 2020 The Ontario government has significantly cut financial penalties for plan sponsors making a late payment of a pension benefits guarantee fund assessment. The change, made through an amendment to the provincial Pension Benefits Act, will apply to plan sponsors that fail to pay their PBGF assessments that are due between April 30 and Dec. 31. Read: An overview of Canadian DB pension relief measures during coronavirus Plan sponsors will only be required to pay interest from the date the amount is due to the actual payment date at a rate of three per cent, plus the chartered banks’ rate on prime business loans on the payment due date. Normally, plan sponsors that fail to pay their PBGF assessments on time must pay 120 per cent of the amount owing, plus interest. The provision will only apply if plan sponsors pay their assessment plus interest by Dec. 31, 2020. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | May 7, 2020 Canadians who’ve started working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic are seeing some benefits, according to a new survey by Robert Half Canada Inc. More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of the survey’s 500 respondents said they’re currently working from home. Of that group, 60 per cent said they now realize it isn’t necessary to go into the office to do their job. More than half (55 per cent) said their work-life balance has improved now that they aren’t commuting, with parents 20 per cent more likely to say so. When Canadians do return to their offices, they’ll have new expectations of their employers. The majority (85 per cent) of survey respondents said they want to be allowed to work from home more frequently, while 73 per cent want better cleaning protocols in place and 68 per cent want fewer in-person meetings and training sessions. Read: Employers expect remote, flexible arrangements to linger after coronavirus: survey Almost half (48 per cent) said they want work schedules to be staggered, 40 per cent want to see a change in the office layout and 26 per cent want employees to be required to wear masks. Going forward, 72 per cent of respondents...

Staff | May 6, 2020 Employee benefits consulting firm the Leslie Group Ltd. is merging with Marathon Benefit Corp. to increase its footprint in Western Canada. “The addition of Marathon to our organization continues our commitment to our clients to provide a high level of service,” said Shawn Leslie, president and chief executive officer of the Leslie Group, in a press release. “In addition, I am especially proud to support Alberta though the expansion of the Leslie Group in Alberta.” Read: The Leslie Group partners with Collage to manage benefits, HR Lynn Favorite, managing owner of Marathon, noted the firm is excited about the merger and feels strongly that the two organizations’ combined areas of expertise will provide greater value for its plan sponsor clients. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | May 6, 2020 Morneau Shepell Ltd. is partnering with the Ontario government to provide its online cognitive behavioural therapy program to Ontarians aged 16 and over during the coronavirus pandemic. The program will be offered as part of a suite of mental-health supports now available to Ontarians for free. “During this time, people’s mental health and well-being are strained due to the many necessary changes to our lives, high anxiety and an increased risk of isolation given physical distancing practices,” said Stephen Liptrap, president and chief executive officer at Morneau Shepell, in a press release. “It’s more important now than ever to focus on mental health and overall well-being, We are pleased to partner with the government of Ontario to offer mental-health support to Ontarians and encourage all those who need help to seek support.” Read: How to support employees’ mental health during coronavirus Through the AbilitiCBT program, professional therapists ask questions and guide people through modules. It addresses anxiety, depression and anxiety symptoms related to the uniquely challenging aspects of pandemics, such as uncertainty, isolation, caring for family and community members, information overload and stress management.  “The combination of online modules and ongoing guidance and support from a therapist is what drives the clinical efficacy...

Charles F. Lowrey, chairman and chief executive officer of Prudential Financial. Prudential Financial is moving quickly away from life insurance products that rely on interest rates and equity markets, executives said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. The company reported adjusted operating income of $373 million from its individual annuities segment, a 21% decline from the first quarter 2019. The individual life segment reported a loss of $20 million in adjusted operating income, compared to income of $105 million in the year-ago quarter. The life insurer is moving fast to bring its product lineup more in line with the suddenly struggling economy, said Ken Tanji, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “The products that we are shifting to have a less interest rate sensitivity,” he said. “Products like variable life.” On the annuity side, Prudential is moving up the launch of its FlexGuard Indexed Annuity to later this month. Advertisement Overall, Prudential posted a 25% fall in adjusted quarterly profit on after-tax adjusted operating income of $939 million, or $2.32 per share. Increased volatility in financial markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic hurt Prudential’s asset management arm, executives said. The insurer reported a first-quarter 2019 adjusted operating income of...

New Chief Financial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer executive appointments will oversee global financial operations and support the execution of the company’s go-to-market strategy Montréal, QC (May 5, 2020) – Element AI, a global developer of artificial intelligence-powered (AI) solutions and services, today announced that it has appointed a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Roger Blanchette, and a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Stephan Rioux. These new members will work with the executive team and across all lines of business as Element AI continues to focus on delivering solutions and services to its global customers. As CFO, Blanchette will oversee all of Element AI’s financial activities including financial planning, forecasting, and reporting. Prior to joining Element AI, Blanchette was the CFO of Skyword, a private equity backed software company that provides a marketing content management solution. He has a proven track record of providing strong financial leadership while significantly contributing to the definition and execution of corporate strategy. Stephan Rioux, in his role as CRO, will establish strategic alignment for all revenue-related functions, including marketing, sales, customer support, and revenue management. Prior to joining Element AI, Rioux was the Global CRO for JW Player and spent 13 years at Adobe as Vice...

By Charles Dugas, Insurance AI Lead, Element AI — It’s no secret that the insurance industry is facing a challenging market right now. Managing General Agents (MGAs), like brokers and carriers large and small, are looking for new and innovative ways to accelerate growth to better serve their customers and to boost revenue, however few have turned to AI for answers. Why? Could it be that many MGAs believe AI to be outside of their reach? That’s a major mistake. AI isn’t just for large commercial carriers. In fact, many will be surprised to discover that certain AI solutions can be implemented for roughly the cost of an underwriter’s annual salary. We developed the Element AI OS for Insurance, a platform through which AI-powered solutions are deployed to augment workflows throughout the insurance industry. In this article, we’ll explain how the Element AI OS for Insurance empowers MGAs to improve the speed and accuracy of broker submission processing, so you can get more out of your team and increase submission throughput. We’ll focus on some key use cases where AI capabilities deployed through the EAI OS for Insurance augments the underwriting workflow. Read on for our top three ways to...

Toronto, ON (May 5, 2020) – CSIO is pleased to announce the launch of its new Commercial Lines (CL) Certification Program. The program is designed to support and recognize insurer and service provider members who have implemented CSIO CL Data Standards according to industry guidelines, providing the foundation for real-time quoting. This new program is offered to members at no cost and complements CSIO’s eDocs and Z-Code Compliance Certifications, recognizing organizations for their commitment to data standards best practices. With consistent and industry-wide adoption, CSIO’s CL Certification Program provides many benefits, including: Company recognition as an industry leader committed to continuous workflow improvement Increased confidence in accurate and up-to-date data exchanges with other certified organizations Improved operational efficiency with straight-through processing functionality, enabled by standards Spurred by the growing list of accomplishments achieved by the CL Working Group, the CL Certification Program was launched in order to guide those members who adhere to best practices and look to CSIO for providing a national and trusted standard. The certification is made up of three levels, each representing a milestone in the adoption of CSIO’s Commercial Lines Data Standards. Each milestone requires a certain set of criteria to be met and once met, members then move...

Niche marketing technology insurance solutions focus on social and mobile in field dominated by large, horizontal vendors: Novarica’s Insurance MarTech 100 report Boston, MA (May 5, 2020) – As insurance companies become increasingly aware of the importance of digital marketing technologies (MarTech) across a range of functions, the field of vendors is dominated by large, horizontal vendors advertising single-platform solutions for the whole marketing life cycle. In a new report, Insurance MarTech 100: Overview and Vendor Index, research and advisory firm Novarica classifies 100 vendors as cross-industry leaders, new or noteworthy, and even those with a known insurance focus. Some vendors have developed insurance solutions specifically to orchestrate the agent sales cycle, with a focus on mobile and social media. “Digital engagement has become so important that insurers can no longer ignore the data analytics, personalization, and automation tools available within a mature MarTech stack,” said Paul Legutko, VP of Digital Marketing and Analytics, and lead author of Novarica’s new report. “Insurers should watch startups for new capabilities and carefully navigate the continuous cycle of acquisitions as large, holistic providers try to consolidate their market share.” Among the key findings of the report are: Second-generation technologies are no longer small...

Chicago, IL (Apr. 29, 2020) – ReportLinker is pleased to announce the availability of a new report, Insurance in Canada: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sector Impact, which provides a brief review of the key trends and evolving developments that shape the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Canadian insurance industry. The report provides a snapshot of the impact on the Canadian insurance industry in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. It provides an overview of: the impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy, the key business lines impacted by the virus outbreak, and the revised market sizing estimates against pre-COVID-19 forecast period (2019-2023) across business segments of life and general insurance. The report brings together research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics in the country. Key Highlights Economic Impact. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak in the Canadian insurance industry. Key measures undertaken at both policy and regulatory level. Scope This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the Insurance Industry in Canada. It provides historical values for the Canadian insurance industry for the report’s 2015-2019 review period, and pre-covid-19 projected and revised projected figures for the 2019-2023 forecast period. It offers an impact...