Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Recently, The Empire Life Insurance Company expanded its offering of segregated funds by introducing six new multi-strategy guaranteed investment funds (GIFs), along with two new standalone GIFs. The Empire Life Multi-Strategy Funds, which include three equity and three global balanced funds, each offer exposure to ETFs and other investments from third-party managers that include passive, smart-beta, and active strategies. Aside from potential diversification through multiple investment styles, they can be used for tactical management to take advantage of market opportunities. Meanwhile, the two standalone funds — the Empire Life Global Dividend Growth GIF and the Empire Life Short Term High Income GIF — offer customers an opportunity to diversify their holdings within the fixed-income and global dividend areas. When presented with this information, the average Canadian investor might ask “so what?” After all, they already stand to enjoy multi-asset diversification, tactical management, and exposure to fixed income and dividends from investing in ETFs and mutual funds. But what they may not realize is that segregated funds may address many investor needs. “In many independent surveys, Canadians consistently indicate that they value having some or more of their retirement savings guaranteed,” explained Geoff Gibson, Director, Investment Marketing and Product Development at...

A new study from the University of British Columbia has revealed that the use of brand-name discount cards is leading to higher health care spending for both public plans and private insurers. “Although the cards are generally thought to cover enough to make the patient’s copayment similar to that of an equivalent generic, costs to insurers for the remaining portion of the drug can be higher,” said authors Michael Law, Fiona Chan, Mark Harrison, and Heather Worthington. As they explained in the report published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the increase in cost for insurers arise because the difference in cost between a branded product and the equivalent generic drug is covered only for the patient and not the insurance plan. The increased cost, they said, is more likely for claims that are sent to the plan for adjudication before the card is applied, thus making it appear to the insurer that the patient is filling a standard brand prescription. Based on discount-card usage data covering the period from September 2014 to September 2017 — which included 2.82 million instances of brand discount cards being used for 89 different medications — they found that monthly use of the...

Great West Life has announced the enhancement of select group retirement savings plans with the addition of KOHO’s no-fee, full-service spending account to select group retirement savings plans. Aside from a prepaid, reloadable VISA 0.5% cashback card, KOHO accounts are paired with an integrated mobile app that gives users real-time insights into their spending habits to encourage real behavioural changes. According to KOHO, the average user reduces their spending by 15% within the first three weeks of using the app and card, resulting in savings of nearly $500, which Great West Life anticipates for its own members with the account. “We know saving for retirement is tough for many people and we want to help Canadians find new ways to achieve this goal,” said Ryan Weiss, Vice-President, Group Customer Product & Experience, Great-West Life. “What’s really unique about our collaboration with KOHO is that members using the prepaid Visa spending card will be able to sweep their 0.5% cashback rewards into their employer-sponsored retirement savings account,” Weiss said. “They can also choose to round-up every purchase to the next dollar and save the difference. It’s a great way to make saving for retirement an everyday event.” “We were pleased to...

Dartmouth, NS (Nov. 12, 2019) – Storm Insurance Group (“Storm”) announced today that its employee ownership group has acquired Axxium Assurance Inc. (“Axxium”), of Montreal Quebec, effective November 1, 2019. “Axxium is Storm’s first acquisition in Quebec; a strategic achievement towards our Vision 2020 strategy. This opportunity now makes us one of Canada’s few National Independent Insurance Brokers with full operations in all four regions; Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and West.” says Jamie Reid, President. With creative vision, focus on service excellence, and industry engagement, Sébastien Vaval, former owner of Axxium, has quickly built a reputable, successful brokerage since its establishment in 2009. Mr. Vaval was a former Board member of the Insurance Brokers Association of Quebec, and actively involved in insurance industry relations. “We are incredibly fortunate to welcome Sébastien Vaval and the Axxium team to Storm. Sébastien’s entrepreneurial drive and ambition will be an asset to our group as we expand in Quebec and throughout the rest of Canada” says Mr. Reid. Following November 1, Timothy Branson, Vice President Eastern Region, will lead the Quebec brokerage in partnership with Mr. Vaval. Together, they’ll focus on a targeted organic growth strategy, new distribution channels, and further acquisitions. “We are proud to...

Québec, QC (Nov. 12, 2019) – On Side Restoration Services is pleased to announce the completion of its acquisition of Soluxe, which took place on November 2, 2019. “Soluxe, led by Manuel Martineau, has a very strong team with a great reputation within the emergency property restoration sector,” said Emmanuel Robitaille, Regional Director for Qurbec . “We’re very excited to welcome them to our On Side family!” Original Soluxe owner, now Quebec City Branch Manager, Manuel Martineau was not actively searching for buyers of his successful emergency property restoration business. Since 2016 he watched the industry shifting away from merely a transaction-based environment toward a full customer-solutions focus. He knew that he and his team had to either lead the way or keep up to ensure longevity of his team and company. Seeing On Side make inroads in Quebec, Manuel came to identify the same qualities that he esteemed at his own firm. “As an individual personally dedicated to performance improvements and customer service, I was excited to discover a firm who was so impressively aligned with my own values.” Manuel has 16 years in the emergency property restoration industry and holds his IICRC training for WRT 101-201 and 301....

Guelph, ON (Nov. 12, 2019) — The Co-operators, in partnership with WorldCare Health, Inc. (WorldCare), are proud to announce that a new, innovative Medical Second Opinion (MSO) product for mental health is now available to its group benefits clients. With phase two of the research program successfully complete, and a 100 per cent positive satisfaction rate from participants, The Co-operators and WorldCare are ready to officially launch the MSO product – which will be the only institution-based MSO product that virtually recreates the experience a client struggling with either a critical medical or mental health illness would receive if they were to visit a physician or psychiatrist in-person. “As Phase 2 closed, we continued to see success in the cases we reviewed and truly believe we can bring transformative help to those hundreds of thousands of Canadians who face challenges because of mental illness,” says Richard Heinzl, Global Medical Director with WorldCare. “Access to the right kind of psychiatric guidance is the key. Giving people a complete comprehensive review of where they’re at and where they’re going can have a very positive effect.” The new MSO product combines the critical illness medical second opinion review with an additional layer that...

Staff | November 12, 2019 Hub International Ltd. is expanding its Canadian employee benefits and retirement services with six key service areas. It also named its employee benefits leadership team for the country, including Robert Taylor of TRG Group Benefits, which was acquired by Hub in January; Hub chief innovation officer Faizal Mitha; Mary-Lou MacDonald, Hub’s national practice lead of health and performance for Canada; Lisa Jandali, senior vice-president at TRG; and Matt Lievers, president of employee benefits and pension. Read: Hub acquiring Manitoba benefits consultancy Going forward, Hub’s service areas will include pharmacy resources, such as drug efficacy research and insights, access to complex drugs and a knowledge database called DrugHUB; a total member health strategy with resources that help plan sponsors identify problems and offer solutions for their employees; data analytics and predictive modelling; health and wellness programs; mental and financial health programming; and disability and absence management services. “Focusing on these strategic benefit services will enable us to build on our strengths to increase the quality and value of benefits we provide clients in order for them to achieve their recruiting, retention and cost-management goals,” said Taylor, in a press release. Hub will also continue to build on its Canadian retirement practice,...

Staff | November 12, 2019 Over the weekend, the Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the provincial government intends to examine the ramifications of disentangling Alberta from multiple federal cost-sharing programs. At a conference in Red Deer, Alta. on Saturday, he announced the formation of a panel that will consult on subjects such as whether the province should start its own pension system and attempt to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan. It will also discuss the potential outcomes of the federal government’s proposed pharmacare program. “The panel will consult with experts, hold open town hall meetings across the province and undertake research to inform their recommendations,” noted a release from Alberta’s government. Read: Alberta will study already ‘compelling case’ for its exit from CPP: Kenney However, the release also said the premier’s priorities for the panel are almost solely aimed at bolstering the province’s fossil fuel industries. Further, calling it a platform commitment yet to be fulfilled, it said the province intends to demand reforms to the employment insurance program, “to make it more fair to Alberta workers, who continue to subsidize unemployed beneficiaries in other parts of Canada, even though Alberta’s unemployment rate has been above the national average for four years.” In response, Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley said...

Janet Rabovsky | November 12, 2019 The recent federal election highlighted interest in climate change, as well as the potential impacts on communities and the population, with the issue No. 1 or 2 in priority for most voters. Climate change is one of a broader set of environmental, social and governance issues percolating through the investment world right now. ESG, or sustainable investing, is the more evolved version of socially responsible investing, which was prevalent in the 1990s. SRI was about exclusion and traced its roots in Quaker and Methodist religious theory. John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, in his sermon “The Use of Money” outlined his basic tenets of social investing; namely, don’t harm a neighbour through business practices. This meant avoiding industries like tanning and chemical production, both prevalent at the time, which could harm the health of workers. Read: Back to basics on responsible investing Over the years, this morphed into avoiding “sinful” companies that sell products related to guns, liquor and tobacco. In some cases, it also included companies engaged in mining, oil extraction and lumber. In the 1990s, products abounded, with new indices developed to help investors avoid non-SRI compliant companies. While some organizations (usually endowments, foundations, religious...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) In a lawsuit against his 78-year-old father, two siblings and an adult son, Todd Dyer, the “Bring it on” felon who is doing 15 years for stealing $3 million, lays out a plan that would provide him with a six- or seven-figure nest egg when he is released. In the lawsuit, Dyer, who is being held in a low-security federal prison in Ohio, charged his father, James A. Dyer, with breach of contract and conversion of funds. Todd Dyer claimed in the suit that he gave his father cash to be put in “various trusts set up for Plaintiff Dyer and Plaintiff Dyer’s children’s care and maintenance.” His father kept the money, Todd Dyer charged. “It is well documented that Todd is a prolific liar,” his father, James A. Dyer, said in an interview Friday. James Dyer said his son never gave him money. Rather, he said, he and his late wife loaned Todd Dyer, 56, hundreds of thousands of dollars but were not paid back. Todd Dyer’s lawsuit appears to be banking on winning a separate lawsuit filed against the Bakleys, a northern Illinois family that he scammed out of $900,000, according to court records...