Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Swiss Re and Pioneer have co-developed first-of-its-kind telematics solution, to be included in Swiss Re’s telematics suite Thanks to this partnership, Swiss Re’s telematics suite will include real-time driver warnings and claims-related services, including crash detection The innovative solution will be launched early next year, following market demand Swiss Re’s telematics app Coloride is already one of the most technically advanced and sophisticated telematics apps globally; the new addition is set to further increase value for insurers Zürich, Switzerland (Oct. 17, 2019) – Swiss Re and global car electronics company Pioneer have co-developed an innovative telematics solution that provides insurers with better and more personalised risk assessment, while supporting safer driving behaviour. The combined solution will be integrated in Swiss Re’s Coloride app and is set to be launched globally early next year. Swiss Re’s Coloride is one of the most technically advanced and sophisticated telematics apps globally.[1] It assigns a risk score to each driver that an insurer can use to calculate the usage-based insurance premium. By offering a financial incentive to cautious drivers and flagging risky behaviour, insurers can encourage responsible driving, making roads safer for everyone. With the new solution, Coloride will provide real-time driver warnings based...

Chicago, IL (Oct. 17, 2019) – FRISS, the global provider of AI-powered fraud and risk solutions for the P&C insurance industry, has announced that the company is the first Guidewire PartnerConnect™ Solution Partner that is leveraging Guidewire DevConnect™ to develop an add-on for fraud and risk management related claims support. The FRISS add-on will deliver plug-and-play access to real-time fraud scoring. Insurers can now deploy the fraud solution quickly and without cumbersome IT projects. The add-on is designed to deliver processing efficiencies by enabling the insurer to immediately stop the payment of fraudulent claims, with a combination of out-of-the-box risk and fraud indicators and powerful AI techniques such as predictive models, network analysis, and text mining. DevConnect is a new Guidewire developer platform providing insurers easy access to innovative solutions that will enable business acceleration and is supported by both Guidewire and participating Solution partners. The Friss add-on is designed to allow Guidewire customers to deploy the FRISS solution in just minutes without any programming involved. Two-way data transfer will be seamless, providing a FRISS Score and actionable insights in real time. This will help staff make the best decisions quickly, while enabling straight-through processing of legitimate claims. Carriers are...

Vancouver, BC (Oct. 17, 2018) – Almost double the number of pedestrians are injured in crashes from October to January as the weather changes and daylight hours decrease.* That’s why ICBC is launching a pedestrian safety campaign with police and TransLink to urge pedestrians and drivers to stay safe as crashes with pedestrians spike at this time of year. The safety of pedestrians is a serious concern in B.C. – they’re the most vulnerable road users and face risk of serious injury when a crash occurs. Drivers should take extra time to look for pedestrians before turning, especially near transit stops; avoid distractions and be ready to yield. Pedestrians can help stay safe by making eye contact, watching for drivers turning left or right at intersections, and using designated crosswalks. ICBC, TransLink and community policing volunteers will be handing out reflectors and safety tips in high pedestrian traffic areas across the province to help pedestrians stay visible. This year’s campaign reminds drivers: You see pedestrians when you really look for them. “This is the time of year when police see an increasing number of crashes involving pedestrians,” said Chief Constable Neil Dubord, Chair of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of...

Staff | October 18, 2019 Canadian defined benefit pension plans are increasingly focused on implementing long-term goals and mitigating asset risk amid a year of market volatility and shifting regulatory landscape, according to a new survey by Aon. Its biennial Canadian pension risk survey found 96 per cent of plan sponsors said they have a long-term strategy to reach their objectives, up from just 50 per cent a decade ago. More than half of respondents with a long-term plan identified sustainability — having an affordable level of contributions with low volatility — as their lead strategy in reaching long-term goals. A high proportion of plan sponsors said they’ve already deployed or are likely to turn to delegated investment solutions to better manage asset risk. For instance, 43 per cent of respondents said they already outsource asset manager monitoring, while 31 per cent said they’re very or somewhat likely to do so. Read: 2016 Top 40 Money Managers Report: The ins and outs of OCIO The survey also found plan sponsors are moving away from traditional asset classes and towards alternatives, particularly foreign equities, real estate and illiquid alternatives like private equity and infrastructure. “When it comes to investments, plan sponsors are embracing more active approaches to managing market...

Martha Porado | October 18, 2019 While an angle on environmentalism can be applied to virtually every asset class, when it comes to bonds, it’s not easy being green. More specifically, there’s no real standardization for what constitutes a green bond, says Colin Purdie, chief investment officer for credit at Aviva Investors. Super-national organizations, such as the World Bank, pushed forward the creation of these investment vehicles, he says. “They wanted to do these projects and I think we’ve got a lot to be thankful for. And then some corporates started to follow suit. It’s been a pretty positive trajectory in terms of the [assets under management], but the fixed income markets have been growing very fast as well. So people look at the AUM for green bonds and say, ‘This is incredible,’ but the whole market’s been going up.” Read: CPPIB issues Euro-denominated green bonds Now that the idea has gained major traction among institutional and retail investors alike, further growth will need to come from private enterprise, says Purdie. “It’s incumbent on the corporates to do more.” But besides simply growing in the amount of debt raised to support green projects, further progress is required to ensure the investments genuinely qualify, in some capacity, as green, and...

Staff | October 18, 2019 Benefits Canada recognized winners across seven categories at the 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards on Thursday. At a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Arcadian Loft in Toronto, more than 100 leaders in the benefits, pension and investment industries gathered to see awards presented to Canadian employers that are proactively and passionately making a difference in their employees’ financial, mental and physical well-being.  The winners of the 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards are: Benefits plan communications: WSP Canada Inc. Absence management: Scotiabank Diversity program: Scotiabank Health/wellness program (under 1,000 employees): Franklin Templeton Investments Health/wellness program (at least 1,000 employees): Fidelity Canada Mental health: Niagara Casinos Pension plan communications: Goodyear Canada Inc. Sanofi wellness pioneer: NAV Canada Read: Which companies are finalists in the 2019 Workplace Benefits Awards? Congratulations to all the finalists and the winners. And a big thank you to this year’s sponsors, Green Shield Canada and Morneau Shepell Ltd.  We’d also like to thank the panel of judges that helped select this year’s finalists and winners: Sarah Beech, Accompass Inc.; Gavin Benjamin, Willis Towers Watson; Jordan Fremont, Bennett Jones LLP; Jean-Guy Gauthier, CQFD Actuariat; Alyssa Hodder, Eckler Ltd.; Linda Lewis-Daly, Lewis-Daly & Associates; Marliee Mark, Marilee Mark Consulting; Colin Ripsman, Elegant Investment Solutions Inc.; Kim Siddall, Aon; and Alethea Spiridon, Benefits Canada. Special thanks also...

Staff | October 18, 2019 The Benefits Alliance Group’s board of directors is appointing Jim Edmands as president.  In the role, Edmands will be responsible for new business development nationally and maintaining service relationships with the Benefits Alliance’s current partnerships, said a press release. “With his experience and positive attitude, Jim is well-positioned to grow BA and our strategic partnerships,” said Lio Spagnuolo, board chairman of Benefits Alliance in the release. Read: Benefits Alliance Group highlights conflicts of interest in CLHIA’s compensation disclosure guideline Edmands has held executive positions with several insurance companies, including SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc., where he was senior account executive, and in the sports and entertainment business where he was last vice-president of sales and marketing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club. “Jim’s leadership approach, years of experience and belief in our vision will be a dynamic combination as we look to deliver innovative product, support and digital solutions to our Benefit Alliance members from coast-to-coast,” noted the release. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Jennifer Paterson | October 18, 2019 It’s an election year and, of course, I have a lot of opinions. But I’ll try to keep my political leanings as neutral as possible and simply lay out the facts. This issue will hit desks days before the federal election. However, as I write these words in mid-September, the main parties are just rolling out their platforms, with quite a few campaign promises related to our industry. While the Conservative Party hadn’t introduced a formal platform at press time, it did pledge in August to make parental benefits tax-free. In its platform, the Liberal Party also promised tax-free parental benefits, as well as a new 15-week leave for adoptive parents, a strengthened old-age security benefit and an increase in the survivor’s benefit under the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan. Read: Liberals pledging to boost investments in mental health, pharmacare It also promised to take the “critical next steps” towards a national pharmacare program, and committed to establish the Canada Drug Agency, implement a national formulary with provinces, territories and other stakeholders to lower drug prices and introduce a rare disease drug strategy to help Canadians save money on high-cost drugs. The New Democratic Party...

Benefits Canada | October 18, 2019 As the pension industry faces shifting demographics and rising longevity, and both the former and current federal governments have taken opposite positions on changing the retirement age, the issue is still up for debate. Carly Wybrow, spokesperson for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries When the Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan were established in the mid-1960s, life expectancy at age 65 was 13.6 years for men and 16.9 years for women. According to the most recent CPP actuarial report, those figures have increased to 19.9 and 22.5, respectively. Over the past decades, retirement has become more expensive, due in large part to lower interest rates. Private sector employers have moved away from defined benefit pension plans, replacing them with defined contribution plans or, sometimes, no pension at all. Read: New report calls for updated retirement age to reflect reality of today’s workforce Faced with these changing demographics and financial pressures, many Canadians are already choosing to work beyond age 65. Yet, the target eligibility age for CPP/QPP and old-age security benefits remains at 65. It’s time to update Canada’s retirement age from 65 to 67 to reflect the reality of how long Canadians are choosing to work,...

Expansion will enable property and casualty insurance professionals to enter the digital world Toronto, ON (Oct. 16, 2019) – Indio Technologies, an insurance technology company that streamlines the business insurance application process, today announced its entry into the Canadian marketplace with its workflow management platform designed to transform the commercial insurance industry. Indio provides insurance brokerages with a white-label platform that digitizes the insurance application process through smart forms allowing for a seamless experience in applying for and renewing property and casualty insurance. Brokers provide immense value to the insurance industry; however, they are currently ill-equipped to provide customers with a modern digital experience which dramatically shortens the application and renewal process and reduces the amount of paperwork passed back and forth. Many basic internal and administrative tasks are not time efficient and can be streamlined with the use of software, which allows brokers to focus on more technical tasks and business development. Indio has created the technological infrastructure required to service brokers in Canada, compliant with Canadian data storage regulations, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and is a member of the Centre of Study for Insurance Operations (CSIO). Indio is also a partner of international...