Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

News-Journal (Daytona Beach, FL) DAYTONA BEACH — A grandmotherly woman sitting in court on Tuesday is either a stone cold killer who a prosecutor said beat a disabled man to death to cash in on an insurance policy she had taken out on him; or she is the “default” defendant who was arrested because investigators could not find the real killer, a defense attorney said. Diane Reid, 57, of Daytona Beach, is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated neglect of an elderly disabled adult. Reid is accused of killing 49-year-old Pernell Robinson, who a prosecutor described as having the understanding of a child despite his nearly five-decades of life. When not in court, Reid is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $250,000 bail. Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano is presiding over the trial in front of a jury of six men and two women, including two alternates, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center. When Robinson’s brother went to prison and could not care for him, Robinson went to stay with Reid on 224 Taylor Road in Daytona Beach. Robinson had only been with Reid for about six weeks before he died. Reid took out the Metlife life...

Toronto, ON (Dec. 10, 2019) – CSIO has received overwhelming support from the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (CAMIC) for the recent advancements made by the Commercial Lines (CL) Working Group. Recognizing the importance of CL Data Standards, many mutual members have prioritized the implementation of these standards in order to support the automation and digitization of underwriting and rating processes. CSIO Data Standards are well-established in personal lines, resulting in streamlined workflows and less friction in the broker channel. The CL Working Group was formed in July 2018 to help commercial lines realize the same benefits. Participants include broad stakeholder representation from CSIO insurer, broker and vendor members. Gore Mutual, Heartland Mutual and Wawanesa Insurance are among the CAMIC members who participate in the Working Group. In the short time since launching, the CL Working Group has finalized the minimum data set common to all commercial risks, regardless of size or complexity, and established a standard set of questions for industry codes required in underwriting small contractor business. CSIO has met with CAMIC members to discuss how vendors and insurers have demonstrated real-time functionalities for quoting using the data standards. “CAMIC members are very excited about the work...

Staff | December 10, 2019 When central banks took on the challenge of saving a drowning global economy during the 2008 financial crisis, pension plans appeared to have plenty to be thankful for. However, as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank embark on their latest round of monetary stimulus, these policy changes mean pension plans are now operating in a radically different financial environment, according to a survey by French asset management firm Amundi and CREATE-Research. Read: Global investors cite interest rates as key portfolio risk: survey The survey asked European pension plans whether quantitative easing has proved to be a blessing or a curse. “After averting a 1929-style global depression in the wake of the Lehman collapse in 2008, central banks in key economies have faced the Herculean task of unwinding their crisis-era emergency measures, involving zero-bound interest rates and large-scale asset purchases,” it said. “Ten years on, advanced economies have continued to operate below their natural speed limits. QE has reached the point of diminishing returns, while denting the credibility of its principal architects.” The survey respondents appeared somewhat split on the effects of quantitate easing. About a third (36 per cent) said it has kick-started the global economy’s growth after...

The shift is intensifying and realigning fundamental elements of the insurance business, requiring us to erase the idea that we can ease our organizations into this new era with minor adjustments: Majesco report takes a look back and forward on the disruptive forces transforming the future of insurance Morristown, NJ (Dec. 4, 2019) – Majesco, a global leader of cloud insurance software solutions for insurance business transformation, is pleased to announce the release of a new research report, Future Trends – Looking Back and Leaping Forward. The report takes a retrospective view from the first Future Trends report published nearly four years ago that discussed a major shift due to the converging “tectonic plates” of people, technology and market boundaries. These changes are disrupting and redefining the world, industries and businesses — including insurance — to where the industry is today and where it needs to leap forward for tomorrow. Underscored within the report are the dramatically different demands of agility, speed and innovation as we enter 2020, compared to where they were in 2015. To succeed in the future of insurance, which is coming faster than most realize, insurers must lay the groundwork of a new digital insurance business...

79% of finance leaders say investors want more insight into corporate culture 74% say investors use nonfinancial information in their decision-making 60% say the quality of finance data produced by AI cannot be trusted as much as data from usual finance systems London, UK (Dec. 5, 2019) – Although the majority of finance leaders (79%) say they have the data volumes today to give stakeholders the insight they want into company culture, only 37% report quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs) in this area, according to the sixth EY Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) global corporate reporting survey. The report, Does corporate reporting need a culture shock?, highlights the growth of investors’ demands for more transparency and actionable insights from company reports, at a time when the potential to use artificial intelligence (AI) and ever-growing volumes of data offer a transformation in the accountability of businesses. Peter Wollmert, EY Global and EY EMEIA FAAS Leader, says: “Finance leaders are under no illusion that the shift in investor focus toward company culture means there is a pressing need for them to realign corporate reporting to focus more on long-term value. No longer seen as a ‘soft’ issue that has little to do...

Kelsey Rolfe | December 9, 2019 More than half of Canadians say they’ve witnessed at least one instance of inappropriate sexual behaviour at work, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. The report on gender-based violence and unwanted sexual behaviour found men were slightly more likely (56 per cent) than women (53 per cent) to have witnessed this behaviour in a work setting. “That, to me, says they have more opportunities to intervene, and so companies should focus on building healthy bystander culture,” says Gillian Hnatiw, a Toronto-based lawyer specializing in sexual assault and harassment cases. Read: Women more likely than men to experience workplace harassment: Stats Can She suggests the policy is framed as a way to support the employee who’s the subject of the conduct, not as punitive to the employee who’s the harasser. “Just because they are laughing or seeming to shrug it off doesn’t mean it’s actually inconsequential to them.” The survey also found women were more likely to be the target of inappropriate behaviour. Three in 10 (29 per cent) women said they experienced one or more instances within the 12 months preceding the survey, in comparison to less than two in 10 (17 per cent) men. The most common behaviour cited by both...

Gartner reveals predictions to guide marketers through uncertain times ahead Stamford, CT (Dec. 2, 2019) – By 2025, 80% of marketers who have invested in personalization will abandon their efforts due to lack of ROI, the perils of customer data management or both, according to Gartner, Inc. In fact, 27% of marketers believe data is the key obstacle to personalization – revealing their weaknesses in data collection, integration and protection. “Personal data has long been the fuel that fires marketing at every stage of the customer journey, and the drive to find new forms of fuel and devise new ways to leverage them seems to be boundless,” said Charles Golvin, senior director analyst in the Gartner for Marketers practice. “However, this quest has failed to meet marketers’ ambitions and, in some cases, has backfired, as consumers both directly and indirectly reject brands’ overtures.” Marketers face other impediments to personalization success including the continuing decline in consumer trust, increased scrutiny by regulators and tracking barriers erected by tech companies. While personalization comprises 14% of the marketing budget, more than one in four marketing leaders cite technology as a major hurdle to personalization. “Consumers have developed an increasingly jaundiced eye toward marketers’...

Acquisition accelerates iA’s growth strategy, capitalizing on positive growth trends within the vehicle warranty market Creates a leading U.S. vehicle warranty platform of scale with significant synergies, which will drive iA’s participation in future industry consolidation Diversifies iA’s product and geographic mix, as well as distribution capabilities Adds a strong, proven management team, led by Patrick Brown, which will drive U.S. expansion efforts in vehicle warranties Advances iA’s ongoing shift towards a capital-light business Quebec City, QC (Dec. 4, 2019) – iA Financial Corporation Inc. (the “Company”), the holding company of iA Financial Group, announced today that it has entered an agreement to acquire the American company IAS Parent Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively “IAS”). The agreed purchase price is US$720 million. Based in Austin, Texas, IAS is one of the largest independent providers of solutions in the U.S. vehicle warranty market with more than 600 employees and over 35 years of history. IAS provides a comprehensive portfolio of vehicle warranties and related software and services sold through one of the industry’s broadest and most diverse distribution networks consisting of over 4,300 dealers in all fifty states. This acquisition is highly complementary to the Company’s existing warranty operations in...

Staff | December 9, 2019 Domtar Corp. is entering into an agreement with Sun Life Financial for a group annuity buyout. The transactions will transfer about $360 million in obligations and related assets from the paper mill company’s defined benefit plans in Canada over to the insurer. Read: Rayonier Advanced Materials pension taking on annuity buyout In addition, it will convert about $101 million of existing buy-in annuities with existing insurers into buyout annuities to complete the full transfer of these obligations. The annuity buyout transactions will transfer responsibility for pension benefits for roughly 1,265 Domtar retirees and spouses in receipt of survivor pensions. The insurance companies will begin making benefit payments to the affected retirees and spouses on March 1, 2020. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Key Findings from Allianz Global Assistance Canadian Winter Vacation Confidence Index 51 per cent of Canadians say they won’t take a winter vacation – majority (66%) who won’t be travelling say they do not have the budget for a trip this year. Lack of finances is by far the biggest obstacle among Millennials (75%), Gen Xers (73%), and women (73%) who don’t think they’ll be able to take a vacation. Of those who are planning a winter vacation, they expect to spend more to do so – $2706. That’s the highest anticipated spend in the past four years. Canadian households are expected to spend over $13.5 billion on winter vacations this year. Toronto, ON (Dec. 3, 2019) – As winter is setting in across Canada and the busy travel season begins, it appears half of Canadians will be spending it at home. “It looks like this coming winter season will at best include a frigid ‘snow-cation’ at home instead of a warm, sandy beach for more than half of Canadians,” said Dan Keon, Vice President, Market Management, Allianz Global Assistance Canada. The fourth annual Canadian Winter Vacation Confidence Index, released by Allianz Global Assistance Canada, a leading provider of travel...