Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

BMO Insurance announced the launch of the North American Equity Enhanced Market Indexed Account (EMIA) yesterday, a new investment option available exclusively on its universal life insurance policies. “People in Canada want more certainty when it comes to their life insurance policies,” said Steven Cooney, Senior Vice President, Head of Individual Life and Annuities, BMO Insurance. “This has become even more important given recent market volatility.” The returns credited on the investment component of universal life insurance policies are important to meeting financial objectives. In today’s low interest-rate environment, some policy holders want higher returns than are available with guaranteed interest options, yet may not want the risks associated with equity-linked accounts. For these individuals, BMO Insurance created the EMIA. “The BMO Insurance EMIA is an ideal investment option for those wanting the upside potential of equity-linked returns without the risk of negative returns,” said Cooney. The investment strategy backing up the EMIA is managed by BMO Insurance in partnership with BMO Capital Markets. Using a combination of long-term bonds and enhanced equity investments, they can mitigate investment risk during market downturns. The credited rate is indexed to the S&P/TSX Composite Low Volatility Index (TXLV) and S&P500 Low Volatility Index (SP5LVI), giving policy...

One in five Canadians believes they needed mental healthcare in the past year, yet a third of them did not get adequate help. Without that help, many face incorrect diagnoses and longer recovery periods. To address this critical gap, and in recognition of World Mental Health Day, which was marked on October 10,  Great-West Life has announced the launch of Best Doctors Mental Health Navigator services from Teladoc Health – the first Canadian insurer to do so. “A growing number of people are struggling with mental health issues, having limited or no access to the mental health supports they need,” Ryan Weiss, Vice-President, Group Customer Products & Experience, Great-West Life, said. “Through Teladoc Health, we can increase access to specialized care, which has the potential to be life-changing, especially for those who find their condition is not improving despite a current diagnosis or treatment plan. This furthers our purpose in improving the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of Canadians, and extends our long-standing commitment to championing mental health issues in the workplace.” Mental Health Navigator is a collaborative program that draws on a team of clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and expert physicians to help get the right diagnosis, outline an action...

Virtual health platform Dialogue has launched phase II of its Stress Management and Well-Being program for Canadian employers who wish to provide mental health and healthcare support to their employees. “Dialogue’s new expanded mental health program is a perfect example of how new technologies can improve access to quality care,” said Dr. Julien Martel, Dialogue’s chief medical officer, in a statement. The new program, which was made available to all employers in Canada on World Mental Health Day, builds on Dialogue’s full suite of virtual healthcare services. Phase I of the mental health program, which enabled thousands of mental health consultations, was developed over the last year in partnership with industry leaders that opened access to the program to their employees. “Mental health issues are at the root of many issues and represent, as an insurer, a major concern,” said Éric Trudel, Senior Vice-President of Strategy and Product Management at SSQ Insurance, which was among the companies to partner with Dialogue. “We continually seek to provide relevant tools and deploy innovative solutions that will contribute to the well-being of our policyholders.” Phase I of the program reportedly yielded “overwhelmingly positive” results. Offering an online stress-management assessment questionnaire that could be...

While retirees are often advised to maintain an emergency fund large enough to cover six to 12 months of living expenses, it may be worthwhile for them to consider an alternative option to fulfill sudden needs for liquidity. “For retirees, financial setbacks, especially those due to health-related problems, are always a real and present danger,” said Robin Weinberger, director of national accounts and Peter Katz, co-director of national accounts with Life Insurance Settlements Inc. In a piece published in ThinkAdvisor, the two highlighted that an unexpected financial need becomes especially problematic during a down market. They pointed to recent episodes of volatility in the stock market, as well as predictions of recession advanced by many analysts. “Similarly, other investment markets like bonds and real estate can also be depressed at any moment in time,” they said. The combination of a down market and a critical cash need could require retirees to liquidate part of their retirement nest egg. Doing that with traditional investment portfolio assets would cause them to lock in losses from downturns, putting their long-term financial security at risk. To avoid such painful decisions, many retirement planners recommend that their clients keep an emergency fund invested in money-market...

Business Wire The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company (Penn Mutual) is pleased to announce Teresa M. Fitzgerald as the new managing partner of Lakeshore Wealth Strategies, its Chicago agency. With a background in strategic market and business development, Fitzgerald is in prime position to lead the agency toward optimal growth. Teresa Fitzgerald, new managing partner of Lakeshore Wealth Strategies, Penn Mutual’s Chicago agency (Photo: Business Wire) Fitzgerald joined the financial services industry in 2006, and during her tenure as an adviser and consultant, found a passion for serving clients at a mutual company. She specializes in financial adviser and team business coaching, talent management, leadership development and financial consulting. In her new role, she will work with advisers in career development, growth and market expansion. “Teresa is a welcome addition to the Lakeshore and Penn Mutual team,” says Tom Harris, executive vice president and chief distribution officer at Penn Mutual. “Her experience working within a mutual company aligns with our philosophy of putting our clients and policyholders first. Teresa’s ability to network with those around her will serve well as she oversees the agency’s growth in the greater Chicago area.” “I’m excited to support Lakeshore’s growth and for the opportunity...

New Aite Group research takes a deeper dive into understanding the challenges analytics executives face as they try to orchestrate the analytics process across their organization Boston, MA (Oct. 15, 2019) – Financial Institutions (FIs) hold a vast amount of consumer data, but many struggle to consolidate it into one centralized location, limiting their insight into how customers use the products and services offered across the organization. And even if FIs make all of their data accessible from one place, they will still be challenged with orchestrating the analytics process across the organization using their existing solutions. Aite Group’s latest report, Current State Assessment: Global Analytics Ecosystem, explores how FIs can truly orchestrate the analytics process in order to get a single view of a consumer and to take actions that can help the consumer. “Many FIs are assessing their analytics solutions to determine how to create an ecosystem that will allow them to quickly react to market changes and integrate new data and new analytics techniques, such as AI and ML, into their analytics process to create a competitive differentiator,” explains Tiffani Montez, senior analyst at Aite Group. The report, sponsored by TransUnion, explores the use of consumer analytics...

Staff | October 15, 2019 The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is investing in Axel Springer, a European digital publisher that’s active in more than 40 countries. The investment is through the pension fund’s wholly-owned subsidiary CPPIB Europe, alongside funds advised by KKR. The offer, at 63 euros per share, was made this past June in partnership with Axel Springer’s major shareholders, Friede Springer and Mathias Döpfner, to further develop the company and strengthen its position in the market. Read: CPPIB partners to capitalize European logistics venture CPPIB’s financial commitment will be at least 500 million euros. KKR has entered agreements to acquire the Axel Springer shares outside the public tender offer, amounting to about 1.04 per cent of the share capital and voting rights of the company. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | October 15, 2019 As the federal Conservative Party finally introduced its election platform last week, it included a number of provisions around pension plan solvency and retirement security. If elected, the party said it will mandate that all federally regulated companies report on the solvency of their pension funds. “This will give seniors the confidence that their hard-earned pensions are being well-managed and will alert them if their pension funds are being mishandled,” it noted. Read: Federal election platforms include health-care, pension policy proposals It’s also pledging to allow underfunded pension plans transfer to another, more successful pension plan. And to penalize executives who underfund their pension funds, the platform noted a Conservative government would restrict bonuses for the executives of companies who go through bankruptcy. The Liberals are promising similar measures. In September, the party said it would reform the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on Nov. 1 to improve retirement security and protect pension plans, following on its budget 2019 promises. In its platform, published in September, the New Democratic Party said it would keep pensioners at the front of the line if a company goes bankrupt and will prevent companies from paying out dividends and bonuses when their pensions are...

Staff | October 15, 2019 The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is seeking applications for four new technical advisory committees for the pension sector. As the regulator announced in July 2019, the committees will aim to address challenges specific to defined benefit single-employer pension plans, defined contribution plans, multi-employer plans and public sector plans. Read: FSRA creates new advisory committees on pension sector matters The committees will also advise the FSRA on proposed pension regulatory guidance and identify issues arising out of existing pension legislation. The regulator anticipates this work will help advance its goal of improving regulatory effectiveness and lessening regulatory burden for the pension sector. Committee members will be selected based on their pension knowledge, areas of expertise and level of experience. Term commitments will be two or three years and the committees will meet at least twice a year. Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Third edition of The Real Economy: Canada explores economic & political tensions facing the country’s next government and looks at measures it could take to boost Canada’s economy Toronto, ON (Oct. 15, 2019) – RSM Canada, the leading global provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses, today launched its third edition of The Real Economy: Canada – a quarterly report that provides Canadian businesses with economic analysis and insights into factors driving growth in Canada’s middle market. With the federal election this month, many businesses will be looking for insight into the economic and industry challenges facing the next government, with questions around what this means for them. The third edition of The Real Economy: Canada shines a light on the increasing headwinds facing Canada in the coming months and explores the measures the next government needs to put in place to re-ignite the country’s economy. Key findings in this quarter’s report include: Canada’s economy is slowing due to geopolitical tensions and trade wars, and its strong GDP performance is deceptive. U.S. tariffs on foreign economies such as China in 2018 kick-started a sense of hesitation around the world. Compounded with political tensions such as...