Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Ask Doug Massey why it has been so difficult to create seamless and effective insurance technology and he will take you on an Uber ride from hell — metaphorically speaking, of course Massey knows all about the ride because his career has followed the route of insurance tech itself in the early 1990s, when he started a property and casualty quote engine company as a college student. Later, he worked with leading insurance tech companies such as Ebix. Massey is now the executive vice president for sales and relationship management with Insurance Technologies, which, as the name implies, is a key player in insurance tech. And he said the company is finally closing in on a eureka moment when it all comes together into a seamless insurance tech nirvana. But we are in an age when we can get dinner delivered by drone with a click of the thumb, so why is the life insurance and annuity industry’s tech seemingly stuck? Ah, step inside Massey’s exasperating Uber for an explanation. “Let’s assume I’m using my Uber app and I want to do a ride, but it’s the way insurance works,” Massey began. “I’ve got to open up my Google Maps...

Do you have what it takes to be an Olympic athlete? Most people would probably say, “No.” Others might say, “Are you crazy?” And some might even say, “Yes.” Those yaysayers probably have a secret weapon — two, actually: a plan and a schedule. The plan is the four-year map broken down into next year, next quarter and next month. The schedule is how you do it, day in and day out. That is how Paul Kingsman got into the Olympics and won a bronze medal in swimming. And he says that is the way you can become a Distraction-Proof Advisor, which happens to be the name of his book. In the first part of this interview in the October edition, Kingsman described how he journeyed from the Olympics to the world of advising. He started with Morgan Stanley in 2001, jumping into the financial services pool at one of the worst times in U.S. history. But he kept focused and persevered not only to be successful, but as a speaker, author and sales coach, he also helps others develop focus and planning skills. He still advises clients, as well. He realized that his ability to plan and focus was...

During a recent House Financial Services Committee meeting, Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., confronted SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a Republican, on critical remarks she had previously made. Peirce had called environmental, social and governance investors “shrill,” “self-appointed” and “self-righteous.” Porter demanded an explanation of Peirce’s comments and questioned whether the Securities and Exchange Commission shared those same sentiments. The exchange is as follows: Porter: Commissioner Peirce, you’ve compared ESG disclosures to scarlet letters, in the vein of the high school novel, The Scarlet Letter, in which an unwed, pregnant woman named Hester is marked with a red letter ‘A’ for adulteress. You’ve said and I quote, ‘As with the scarlet ‘A’ the ESG letters over-simplify complicated facts.’ Do you remember making that comparison between ESG disclosures and The Scarlet Letter? Peirce: I do. Porter: You actually said, and this is colorful, ‘We ought to be wary of shrill cries from a crowd of self-appointed, self-righteous authorities even when all they are crying for is a label.’ So, in your opinion those who support ESG disclosures, the requirement that companies give investors information about, for instance, their environmental impact or their gender diversity — those people are shrill, self-appointed and self-righteous. The...

Climate change has the potential to affect human life expectancy, which is one reason why life insurers must examine the possible consequences of a warming world. Read the original article at InsuranceNewsNetMagazine.com

I knew I was going to crash. I was on a new 10-speed bicycle heading into a curve when I willed myself to fall off the bike. I was already nervous because I was on a bicycle way too tall for a 12-year-old. In those days, you graduated from a banana-seat, Schwinn wannabe with streamers flapping from the high handlebars to something that was meant for the Tour de France. The bike seemed designed to get the rider’s posterior high enough to propel it over the rider’s head as soon as the dime-wide wheel hit a hole. Of course, that’s what happened on that afternoon. I saw the curve and thought that would be a likely place to crash, allowing me to see the arc of my trajectory play out in my imagination pretty much how it actually occurred. It took me a few decades more to know that nearly every endeavor was won or lost in my head before it was even ventured. I still learn that every weekend when I think about getting to the gym that week. “Of course I’m doing it,” means I’ll do it; “I’ll fit it in” means I don’t even have to bother...

Acquisition to drive greater connectivity and automation for Commercial Lines brokerages and insurers in the Canadian marketplace Mississauga, ON (Oct. 15, 2019) – Applied Systems today announced the acquisition of Policy Works, the leading platform for commercial lines business in Canada. This acquisition expands Applied’s commercial lines solutions and demonstrates the company’s commitment to advancing connectivity between brokerages, insurers, and the insured to create greater value for all stakeholders of the insurance lifecycle. “In today’s competitive and complex business environment, commercial insurance customers expect more risk management services and advice, in a growing insurance segment where the proposition of a broker is increasingly important,” said Taylor Rhodes, chief executive officer, Applied Systems. “As Canada’s leading provider of broker management systems, rating services and connectivity solutions between brokers, insurers and their clients, Applied’s acquisition of Policy Works will enable tighter integration between the combined company’s solutions to drive significant value for our customers.” Policy Works provides point-of-sale solutions that allow brokers to instantly create legally binding commercial lines policies. Policy Works’ P&C Issuance module for Lloyds coverholders provides the capability to issue Lloyd’s policies instantly, utilizing a full library of proprietary P&C wordings, and producing declaration sheets that adhere to Lloyd’s...

Leading analyst firm profiles Chisel AI with four other companies using advanced technologies to enhance insurance sales processes Toronto, ON (Oct. 16, 2019) – Chisel AI, a technology provider for the global insurance industry, is pleased to announce that it has been named an IDC Innovator in the recently published report, IDC Innovators: Canadian Insurance Sales Automation, 2019.* The report profiles five companies that offer solutions that enhance insurance sales processes using advanced technologies like AI, natural language processing, cognitive processes and cloud. In explaining why Chisel AI was chosen as an IDC Innovator, the report states: “Chisel AI provides solutions that address automation of policy processing in the P&C insurance industry for insurers and brokers using AI and natural language processing. Its extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and how AI can be effectively applied provides it with a competitive advantage that will be difficult for any potential competitor to match.” “We’re thrilled that our AI-powered solutions for commercial insurance are being acknowledged and validated by a leading independent analyst firm,” said Ron Glozman, CEO and founder of Chisel AI. “Our data extraction capabilities and automated workflows digitally transform slow and cumbersome back-office processes like policy checking and submission...

Toronto, ON (Oct. 10, 2019) – International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada just published an IDC Innovators report profiling five companies that offer solutions that enhance insurance sales processes using advanced technologies like AI, natural language, cognitive processes and cloud. The five companies named as IDC Innovators are Chisel AI, Finaeo, League, PolicyMe and ProNavigator. The five InsurTechs identified in this document are focused on increasing the efficiency of insurance sales processes and facilitating the introduction of new products solutions across the P&C industry. The industry is striving to move away from processes that require extensive manual intervention to digital solutions and innovative products that have the potential to transform it. These include digitizing the sales process by using voice and text interactions that minimize the need for human intervention. The challenges that InsurTech companies face in having their solutions adopted is the cautious way changes are made in the Canadian insurance industry, the large number of small brokerage companies, and the tendency of clients to prefer personalized services over do-it-yourself solutions. This need for hand holding has been exacerbated by the complexity built into many of the insurance products solutions and processes. “The future potential of the companies reviewed in...

Kelsey Rolfe | October 16, 2019 The Ontario government has launched a consultation on adopting benefits pooling for broader public sector employees. In previous discussions, both public sector employers and bargaining agents expressed interest in looking at centralized benefits pooling, according to a news release. The government said public sector compensation represents about half of all government spending, at a total cost of $72 billion, and estimates the move to benefits pooling could generate $115 million in savings. Read: Health pooling: is there a better way? “We have consulted with the broader public sector in good faith and have considered all ideas that have been put on the table,” said Treasury Board president Peter Bethlefalvy. “The government is working collaboratively with employers and bargaining agents to protect frontline services, public sector jobs and make Ontario fiscally sustainable.” Currently, Ontario has a benefits pooling arrangement with more than a dozen broader public sector employers. Suzanne Lepage, a private health plan strategist, says the government could see the most savings from big-ticket benefits plan items such as its drug plans, out-of-country coverage and private duty nursing. “Pooling allows organizations to share the risk or spread the risk over a bigger group, and so in doing that . ....

Cherokee Ledger-News, The (GA) A Canton man has been indicted in a $40 million financial fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said last Wednesday. According to a statement from Pak: James Torchia, 61, of Canton is accused in the indictment of running a fraud scheme that caused investors to spend more than $40 million on his company’s promissory notes. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court on Wednesday morning. “Torchia is alleged to have stolen investors’ hard-earned money by lying to them about the security of their investments and how he would use their money,” Pak said. “It is important that investors thoroughly investigate who they are investing with before committing any of their hard-earned savings.” “The harm that can be caused by greed and the false promise of safe investments can be devastating,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI Atlanta field office. “By disrupting this alleged scheme, the FBI has demonstrated our commitment to aggressively pursue those engaged in acts of financial fraud.” Pak presented at the arraignment that: Torchia was the CEO of a company named Credit Nation, which purchased life insurance policies and subprime auto loans and “offered investors the opportunity...