Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) (“MetLife”) and Bequest, INC (d/b/a Willing), a leading digital estate planning service, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which MetLife will acquire Willing. This transaction brings new digital capabilities to MetLife and reinforces the company’s commitment to providing simple and easy-to-use benefits that respond to consumer needs. Willing makes it easy to create a quality estate plan in as little as 15 minutes from anywhere. Since its inception in 2015, Willing has helped more than half a million families create important legal documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. “Willing serves a digitally native audience unlikely to go see an attorney for estate planning services,” said Todd Katz, executive vice president, Group Benefits at MetLife. “Willing complements Hyatt Legal, our existing legal services offering, and positions us to lead the industry by offering customers more choices in how they address their estate planning needs.” Willing’s services will continue to be offered to consumers online and there are plans in place to make the services available to MetLife’s group customers. The addition of Willing brings new technology capabilities to MetLife. “Whether you’re on Willing after having a baby, buying a home,...

Staff | November 20, 2019 In 2019, employers are increasingly making diversity and inclusion initiatives and education assistance for employees part of their total rewards offerings, according to new research by WorldatWork. Its annual inventory of total rewards programs and practices, which surveyed more than 700 U.S. employers, found the percentage of organizations offering employees some form of education assistance — through scholarship, student aid or loans — increased substantially, from 10 per cent in 2018 to 26 per cent in 2019. The percentage of employers now offering diversity and inclusion efforts also grew, from 58 per cent in 2018 to 65 per cent in 2019. Read: Will Canadian companies follow U.S. trend towards student loan assistance? Recognition programs are also on the rise, with appreciation luncheons, outings and formal events up from 76 per cent in 2018 to 81 per cent in 2019 and major family event celebrations jumping from 27 per cent to 38 per cent. Initiatives to support parents also increased. Some 57 per cent of survey respondents now offer paid parental leave, up from 52 per cent. And adoption reimbursement increased from 20 per cent to 26 per cent. In addition, 26 per cent of employers now offer college scholarships for their employees’ children,...

Aon will accelerate growth of CoverWallet’s core offerings and apply underlying technology to broader digital client experience platform Acquisition combines Aon’s industry-leading investment in data and analytics with CoverWallet’s advanced technology to create new sources of value for clients London, UK (Nov. 20, 2019) – Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CoverWallet, the leading digital insurance platform for small and medium-sized businesses. The acquisition provides Aon with additional access to the fast-growing, $200+ billion premium digital insurance market for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the opportunity to leverage CoverWallet’s platform to develop and scale innovative digital client experiences that support the firm’s Aon United growth strategy. “We are excited to combine Aon’s expertise in data and analytics and global distribution with CoverWallet’s market-defining platform to create new sources of value for our clients,” said Greg Case, CEO of Aon. “CoverWallet’s culture of innovation is transforming the insurance landscape, and together we have the opportunity to further strengthen and expand the application of their digital client experience.” Post-close, CoverWallet will join the growing portfolio of...

Top Insurers to shape Hartford InsurTech Hub’s second-generation program Hartford, CT (Nov. 20, 2019) – Hartford InsurTech Hub is pleased to announce the launch of its newest initiative, focused on providing innovative solutions to Life, Annuity, Retirement, Long Term Care and Employee Benefits insurers and providers. Hartford InsurTech Hub 2.0 is bringing together Life, Annuity, Retirement, Long Term Care and Employee Benefits insurance leaders to set the direction for the second generation of the Hub, advance new innovative ideas and technology, and share how their organizations think about staying ahead of disruption. The program offers sourcing mature and forward-thinking companies that will impact their ability to compete in the future within these lines of insurance. “At a time when technology is expected to transform Life, Annuity, Retirement, Long Term Care and Employee Benefits lines, it is crucial that scale-ups and corporates have a platform to share ideas, experiment and develop business opportunities,” says Managing Director Dawn LeBlanc of Hartford Insurtech Hub. “We are excited by the agility and creativity that scaleups will bring to support our ambition of strengthening innovation. We are thrilled to be working with a group of powerhouse insurers and supporting organizations to serve on our board...

Staff | November 20, 2019 The Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund are calling on the province’s auditor general to examine the 2019 budget proposal that would put the pension’s investments under the control of the Alberta Investment Management Corp. In a letter to the auditor general, the ATRF said it would prefer to remain in control of its own investments. “Without the discretion to have full control of all aspects of managing the investment portfolio, the board is concerned that this will fundamentally impact ATRF’s ability to continue to provide effective pension management and, most importantly, meet the pension promise,” the letter said. Read: Alberta budget includes changes to public pensions, expanded biosimilars initiative Meanwhile, the ATA is calling the budget proposal a “pension grab” and is concerned that the Alberta government hasn’t consulted with teachers on the matter. “Teachers are not convinced this move is in their interests,” said Jason Schilling, president of the ATA, in a press release. “The ATRF board is also not convinced that this is in the best interest of plan members. We need to pause this legislation; otherwise, this move amounts to a hijacking “Show us the numbers and convince us it is in our interests, instead of unilaterally seizing our pension assets. If AIMCo...

A/B Testing your offsite campaigns— By Ian Jeffrey, Co-Founder and CEO, Breathe Life — In part one, A/B Testing For Your Website, I set out to explain the basics of A/B testing and ideas for testing elements of your website that are most likely to impact conversion. If A/B testing is a new concept to you, I recommend giving it a read. Meanwhile, here are a few (‘TL:DR’) takeaways from part one: Data is the lifeblood of the insurance business A/B testing delivers data on customer behavior and is a proven best practice in digital marketing Statistical significance is critical to effective A/B testing Focus on items most likely to have a meaningful impact on customer engagement on your website The goal of A/B testing is to identify what works, do more of what works, and eliminate what doesn’t work Why A/B testing is important KPMG’s 2019 overview of top InsurTech trends noted that “Insurers that lack data, or the partners and models that generate it, can expect to find their business models severely challenged.” This is especially true when it comes to new customer prospecting because cost of customer acquisition is the most critical lever. It stands to reason,...

Those who are concerned about a decline in life insurance coverage among Canadian households will surely find some relief from LIMRA’s latest research. In the 2019 Canadian Life Insurance Ownership Study — Household Trends Report, LIMRA said that the number of Canadian households with life insurance coverage has increased since 2013 to reach 12.6 million. With that growth in volume, penetration throughout the population has remained at a decent level, with more than two thirds of households having either group or individual insurance. “I feel very confident about our report’s findings,” said Jim Scanlon, senior research director at LIMRA. “They’re consistent with trends in the Canadian economy and the population overall.” The data showed that the number of households with individual life insurance coverage has grown 41% since 2013, while those with group insurance have increased by 35%. From Scanlon’s vantage point, that growth makes perfect sense as the 2013 numbers are symptomatic of a lingering contraction following the global financial crisis; a few years after that, Canada’s economy would be sent reeling by a collapse in oil prices that smothered Alberta’s booming energy sector. “If you’re an employer facing financial difficulties, you might cut back employee benefits, or reduce...

Asserting its leadership in Canada as the top firm in net segregated fund sales since 2016, iA Financial Group has enhanced its line-up with five new funds that better address current market trends. The firm has bolstered its options for U.S. equity exposure with two new investment offerings from external managers: Fidelity Investments and Dynamic Funds. With the Fidelity Insights Fund, iA Financial Group staked a claim as the first firm to offer the strategy from Fidelity Investments as a segregated fund. Meanwhile, with the American (Dynamic) Fund, the firm offers its clients a high-conviction strategy with attractive growth potential. iA Financial Group is also adding three new specialty funds with additional options: The Emerging Markets Fund from Jarislowsky Fraser, a strategy with excellent risk management that is also making its debut in the segregated fund space; The Global Infrastructure (Dynamic) Fund, described as a highly coveted fund; and The Floating Rate Income Fund, managed by iA Clarington’s Jeff Sujitno, which is designed to minimize risk associated with interest-rate fluctuations. “These new funds and changes are part of our objective of offering a comprehensive, high performance segregated fund lineup that includes complementary management styles, broader geographic coverage and most of...

The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), together with the Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition (EHPC), has released a new guide for healthcare providers and their patients to better understand how private health insurance works. The guide, titled Supplementary Health Insurance Explained for Healthcare Providers, was released in line with Financial Literacy Month. Available on the CLHIA website, it is meant to help providers of health services covered through private health insurance plans. The guide is designed to facilitate a broader understanding of the private health insurance environment among healthcare providers, who in turn can help their patients understand the services they receive through their insurance plans. “In order to provide the best care possible, many healthcare providers want to be able to help their patients identify whether coverage is available, the amount of available coverage, what is eligible to be claimed, and even contacting insurance companies on their behalf,” said CLHIA President and CEO Stephen Frank. “The guide is intended to make those questions easier to answer.” Aside from describing the kinds of benefit plans patients may present to their healthcare provider, the guide offers insight on how plans work, including healthcare spending accounts, along with explanations of many...

Staff | November 19, 2019 Nearly half (47 per cent) of working Canadians believe there’s a serious risk they could outlive their retirement savings, according to Sun Life Financial’s latest survey. The survey, which polled more than 2,000 employed Canadians aged 20 to 64 and 750 retired Canadians aged 55 to 80, found 75 per cent of those still working don’t have a financial plan and 44 per cent expect to be employed full-time at the age of 66. Among retirees, nearly 23 per cent described their lifestyle as “frugal” and 72 per cent said their retirement isn’t what they were expecting. For those who are still working at age 66, about two-thirds (65 per cent) said it was because they needed to work, compared to 35 per cent who said it was because they wanted to work. Only 14 per cent said they had a financial plan prior to retirement. Read: Canadians estimate $756K will provide a comfortable retirement “Many Canadians don’t realize their employer offers tools and resources designed to help them achieve lifetime financial security,” said Tom Reid, senior vice-president of group retirement services at Sun Life Canada. “Across the country, more and more Canadians can access workplace savings vehicles such...