Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Cassandra Williamson-Hopp | October 23, 2019 Fidelity Canada’s traditional health and wellness program has evolved into a holistic initiative that incorporates every aspect of working life, leading to its award win for a health and wellness program for an organization with more than 1,000 employees at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Oct. 17. “I think the reality is we’ve worked really hard to advance our health and wellness programs,” says Diana Godfrey, senior vice-president of human resources at Fidelity Canada. “We’re looking to do the things that are right for the organization — but more importantly, right for our employees. We listen to them and make changes based on their input and our ability to move forward.” Read: Who are the winners of the 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards? The organization’s mindfulness program, for example, includes a wide range of offerings such as an enhancement to psychologist coverage for full- and part-time employees, mindfulness training through its employee assistance program provider, online mindfulness training available through the company intranet, lunch and learn seminars, guided meditation and desk yoga. As part of its investment in encouraging healthy eating habits, Fidelity Canada has continued its fruit basket initiative. Originally a charity fundraiser, where employees could purchase...

Staff | October 23, 2019 Employees cite meaningful work as more important to than compensation and perks, according to a new survey by the Workhuman Analytics and Research Institute. The survey, which polled more than 3,500 full-time employees in Canada, Ireland, the U.K. and U.S., asked employees to rank five factors from the most to least important to their careers. Meaningful work trumped all other factors with an average rating of 3.5 out of five across all age groups. Compensation and perks came in second with a 3.1 average, followed by supportive managers (3.0), positive company culture (2.8) and a fun team (2.6).  “Meaningful work is about shared purpose — connecting the day-to-day tasks to a greater company mission that’s fully aligned with one’s personal values,” noted the survey. Read: Scotiabank recognized for creating culture of diversity in workplace Survey respondents over the age of 65 ranked meaningful work the highest of all age groups, at an average of 3.8. On the other hand, employees between the ages of 18 to 24 ranked a supportive manager as the second most important factor, with an average 3.1 ranking. And workers between the ages of 35 to 44, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 cited compensation and perks as their second most important...

Naples Daily News (FL) Saying they needed a “clear and fresh mind” jurors deciding the fate of one of three men accused in the 2015 slaying of Bonita Springs doctor Teresa Sievers broke for the night. After seven days of testimony and a full day of closing arguments, jurors will continue deliberations at the Lee County Justice Center in Fort Myers at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Deliberations began about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after the defendant Jimmy Ray Rodgers, 29, declined to testify and the defense rested its case on Monday. The jurors returned early afternoon to request that the testimony of Rodgers’ girlfriend be read back to them before returning to deliberations. Rodgers is accused in the June 2015 bludgeoning death of Teresa Sievers, 46. Also accused are the victim’s husband Mark Sievers, 51, and Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., 51. Closing arguments in the Rodgers trial got underway after Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle denied a second motion for a judgment of acquittal from the defense on Monday. Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross began the state’s closing arguments, painting a picture of a conspiracy between Mark Sievers, Wright and Rodgers that ended with Teresa Sievers’ death. Ross told the jury they...

Just as concerns on e-cigarette usage have mounted south of the border, there’s an increasing level of domestic discourse about the potential negative impacts of the practice. Citing the increased incidence of acute vaping-linked illnesses in recent months — and a particularly concerning impact on young people — the Heart and Stroke Foundation has called for a political commitment to immediate and comprehensive measures for e-cigarettes to be regulated in the same way as tobacco. “The youth vaping crisis has been allowed to escalate because of inadequate regulation and irresponsible marketing practices,” said Dr. Andrew Pipe, chair of the Heart & Stroke Board of Directors, in a statement earlier this month. “There is no question that vaping is linked to serious short- and long-term health risks.” In the statement, Pipe asserted a need to regulate marketing, as well as a comprehensive ban on flavours and limits on nicotine content. For its part, the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) has also issued statements expressing concerns about youth access to nicotine e-liquid vape products. But the association also encouraged authorities to focus on the primary source of the outbreak. “[C]ontaminated cannabis (THC) products sourced on the black market have been implicated in many cases,”...

Canadian employees face a high likelihood of medication-related problems that could lead to serious health risks costs for employers — but they could be curbed through a new program and cutting-edge software. “Our research finds that employees are not optimizing their use of prescription medications – and that’s a huge cost driver for Canadian employers and insurance companies,” said Jeff May, president of HumanisRx, a platform that helps Canadians with unique or complex needs get the best results from their medications. According to May, the trend of issues relating to prescription medication use — which includes incompatible or duplicate medications, higher-than-recommended doses, sub-optimal therapy, or failing to take medication as prescribed — can be reversed through his company’s MedMonitor program and software. “Using a sophisticated set of hundreds of clinical algorithms, HumanisRx’s RxCompanionä software identifies employee medication risks, triages them, and initiates an intervention with a HumanisRx pharmacist,” the company explained in a statement. “The pharmacist then works with the employee and their healthcare providers to resolve the medication related issues and reduce health risks. Collaborating with Munich Re, GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions, and Disability Management Institute, HumanisRx conducted a retrospective study of prescription-drug claim data. It came from a sample cohort...

PR Newswire Nationwide is naming a new Chief Marketing Officer while expanding the responsibilities of its Chief Strategy Officer to drive the company’s innovation-related initiatives. Ramon Jones, a 19-year veteran of the company will succeed Terrance Williams, who announced that he is leaving the “Fortune 100” insurance and financial services provider in November. “Ramon is well-prepared to assume the role of chief marketing officer,” said Nationwide Chief Executive Officer Kirt Walker. “During his nearly two decades at Nationwide, he has held numerous leadership roles in the business and in marketing that make him uniquely qualified to promote and protect the Nationwide brand and position him to drive further business success.” As CMO, Jones will report to Walker and be responsible for Nationwide’s brand and marketing strategy, advertising, creative services, social media and corporate communications. As Jones takes on the new role as Nationwide’s marketing leader, Chief Strategy Officer Mike Mahaffey will take on additional responsibility for Nationwide’s innovation-related initiatives. “Our emphasis on innovation remains critical to our continued success,” said Walker. “Mike will be responsible for building upon a strong, technology-focused foundation, including our venture capital initiatives, strategic partnerships with companies like Amazon, and new platforms like the recently-announced Spire,...

Staff | October 22, 2019 The use of factor investing is on the rise among institutional investors, according to a new global survey by Invesco. “Factor investing has shifted from academic theory to an actionable strategy for global investors and the study allows us to understand what issues are key to their investment decisions,” said Mo Haghbin, chief operating officer of Invesco Investment Solutions, in a press release. Globally, 45 per cent of survey respondents said they’ve increased their allocations to factors in the last year. Meanwhile, 65 per cent of North American investors said they intend to increase their use of factors in the coming three years. Overall, 66 per cent of investors said their factor allocations have met or exceeded expectations. Read: Challenges for institutional investors around green bonds The survey also found factor investing is becoming increasingly accepted as part of fixed income, with 61 per cent of institutional investors saying factors were relevant to the asset class. “With interest rates now at record lows and around a quarter of bonds globally trading with negative yields, attention has turned to alternative ways of accessing the asset class,” said Haghbin. “Respondents see factor investing as a solution that could target sources of returns...

Staff | October 22, 2019 The Liberal Party of Canada is set to form a minority government after Tuesday’s federal election when it won 157 out of 338 seats. While the party made few health-care and pension promises in its election platform, the win puts a spotlight on the Liberals’ 2019 budget promises. Most notably, following the release of the final expert panel’s report on pharmacare in June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was committed to implementing a national program. The report recommended that the federal government begin working with the provinces and territories to develop a single-payer public system.  Read: Industry responds to expert panel’s pharmacare report It also suggested the introduction of a new drug agency to develop a national formulary. The formulary would include essential medicines by Jan. 1, 2022 and expand to be “fully comprehensive” by Jan. 1, 2027. The panel estimated the system would cost $15.3 billion per year once fully implemented in 2027. The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association said it looks forward to working with the government, as well as with provincial and territorial governments, on ways to improve prescription drug coverage, reduce costs and increase access for Canadians. “We are very supportive of the changes the federal...

Staff | October 22, 2019 Canada’s retirement system jumped one spot to ninth place in Melbourne Mercer’s annual global pension index. Comparing 37 global retirement systems, the report found the Canadian system showed improvement partly due to the growth in assets under the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan. It also demonstrated a link between the increasing household debt in developed and growth economies, as well as the rise in assets held by their government pension funds. This so-called wealth effect suggests that, as pension assets increase, people within these economies feel wealthier and are subsequently more likely to borrow. “As the wealth of an individual grows, whether it be in home ownership, investment portfolios or their retirement savings, so does their comfort with amassing debt,” said David Knox, a senior partner at Mercer and author of the study, in a press release. “The evidence suggests on a global basis, for every extra dollar a person has in pension assets, their net household debt rises by just under 50 cents.” Read: Feds urged to raise contribution limits for DC pension, RRSP savers Broadly, the report found global pension systems are experiencing certain common challenges. “Systems around the world are facing unprecedented life expectancy and rising...

Staff | October 21, 2019 The Public Sector Pension Investment Board and the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board are acquiring all issued and outstanding common shares of AltaGas Canada Inc. The Canadian company holds natural gas distribution utilities, as well as renewable power generation assets. In the transaction, the cash offering of $33.50 per common share is an approximate 31 per cent premium on AltaGas’ closing price as of Oct. 18, 2019. The deal puts the company value at around $1.7 billion. Read: PSP acquiring Australian agriculture firm for A$854 million “We are very pleased to have entered into an agreement to acquire ACI in partnership with ATRF,” said Patrick Samson, managing director and head of infrastructure at PSP Investments, in a press release. “ACI’s business comprises a diversified portfolio of high-quality regulated natural gas utilities and long-dated contracted renewable power assets that are well aligned with our long-term investment strategy. We look forward to supporting the company, its management team and all of its stakeholders as ACI continues to grow and succeed.” Currently, the deal is subject to shareholder approval, as well as certain regulatory approvals by the Alberta government. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com