Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

New service helps members navigate and manage mental health issues Winnipeg, MB (Oct. 10, 2019) – One in five Canadians (20%) believe they needed mental healthcare in the past year, yet one third of them did not get adequate help.[1] Without that help, many face incorrect diagnoses and longer recovery periods. To address this critical gap, and in recognition of World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, Great-West Life is pleased to 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,” says Ryan Weiss, Vice-President, Group Customer Products & Experience, Great-West Life. “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 well-being 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...

Mental health in the workplace is a growing concern for employers Montreal, QC (Oct. 10, 2019) – Dialogue is launching phase II of its Stress Management and Well-Being program. The new program, now available to all employers in Canada, builds on Dialogue’s full suite of virtual healthcare services to offer cross-functional resources to employers who wish to provide proactive and convenient mental health and healthcare support to their employees. Phase I of the mental health program was developed over the course of the last year in partnership with industry leaders like SSQ Insurance who made the service available to their employees. Informed by thousands of mental health consultations in its first phase, the Stress Management and Well-Being program is the first virtual program to be supported by a multidisciplinary and cross-functional care team. Dialogue ensures that patients have access to psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and doctors, nurses and medical specialists, all working together as a team to offer a personalized treatment plan and provide the right resource at the right time in response to the patients’ needs. “Dialogue’s new expanded mental health program is a perfect example of how new technologies can improve access to quality care by making prevention...

MINNEAPOLIS – Americans’ fear of a recession continues to rise, as half of Americans now say they are worried a major recession is coming, according to the latest Allianz Quarterly Market Perceptions Study. This number, up steadily from 48% in Q2 and 46% in Q1, shows that consumers are increasingly anxious about the effects of market volatility on their finances, according to the Q3 findings from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). Similarly, an increasing amount of respondents say they are worried a big market crash is on the horizon (48% in Q3 compared with 47% in Q2 and 46% in Q1). “Market volatility didn’t take a vacation this summer,” said Kelly LaVigne, vice president of Advanced Markets, Allianz Life. “With major fluctuations over the past quarter, it’s not surprising that Americans are skittish about investing and worried that a market crash and recession might be around the corner.” Interestingly, while all generations are increasingly rattled by the markets, millennials continue to be more concerned than Gen Xers and baby boomers about a coming recession or market crash, with 56% saying they are worried about a recession being right around the corner, compared with 51% of Gen Xers...

Martha Porado | October 10, 2019 Looking at South Korea today, it’s hard to believe the country was one of the world’s poorest just a few decades ago. But since the 1960s, its economy has been growing quickly. “In fact, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, it had one of the highest growth rates in the world, and at times in the ‘80s it had the highest growth rate in the world,” said Michael Seth, professor of history at James Madison University, during the Canadian Investment Review’s podcast “Pension Passport.” “This came rather unexpectedly by most outside experts. And it was certainly unprecedented that any developing country should transform itself as fast as South Korea. What drove it was a number of factors. But partly, it was that the South Korean government — that played a big role in planning economic development — hit upon some good strategies, which included export-oriented economic development, encouraging foreign investment and investing heavily in education.” Read: Are institutional investors about to dive back into emerging markets? In the 1990s, South Korea experienced a blip in its growth, caused by the Asian financial crisis, said Seth. “It was response to a financial crisis that began in Thailand and spread throughout Asia. And...

Staff | October 10, 2019 Medavie Blue Cross is launching a digital health platform that helps plan members access resources to manage their health when and where they need it. Available through a mobile app and online through the insurer’s plan member services site, Connected Care has accessible virtual opportunities that connect directly to Canadian doctors through a partnership with virtual care provider Maple. Read: Just 9% of employers offer virtual health care: survey Plan members will also be able to order personalized pharmacogenetic testing and engage a professional for internet-enabled cognitive behavioural therapy, noted a press release. “Innovation is expected in our industry, but introducing unique member programs that improve the quality of our health-care service offerings remains a true differentiator,” said Shane Reid, director of product, pharmacy and provider management at Medavie Blue Cross. “Connected Care offers convenient access and preferred pricing to leading online health-care providers and services, so members can access the care they want, when they need it, from anywhere.” Read: The role of convenience, personalization in a changing health-care landscape Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | October 10, 2019 Great-West Life Assurance Co. is launching a collaborative health-care program that draws on clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists and other experts to help group benefits plan members get the right diagnosis, and provide them with an action plan and guidance through the mental-health system. The Best Doctors’ mental health navigator services from Teladoc Health Inc. is available to plan members whose group benefits plans already include traditional Best Doctors’ services, including Great-West Life’s own employees. Read: Mental-health benefits on the rise in Canadian workplaces: survey “A growing number of people are struggling with mental-health issues, having limited or no access to the mental-health supports they need,” said Ryan Weiss, vice-president of group customer products and experience at Great-West Life, in a press release. “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 well-being of Canadians, and extends our long-standing commitment to championing mental-health issues in the workplace.” Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Staff | October 9, 2019 Unionized employees at Dearborn Ford in Kamloops, B.C. are receiving a pension boost and wage increases in a new three-year contract, which they voted to ratify earlier this week. The agreement, which applies to 43 workers represented by Unifor Local 10-B, includes a 0.25 per cent increase to employer contributions in the defined contribution pension plan, a 2.5 per cent wage increase per year, work retention gains, better overtime provisions and stronger language around sick leave. “The new collective agreement at Dearborn Ford is the result of tough bargaining and impressive solidarity,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president, in a press release. “The bargaining committee and the entire unit should be proud of their work.” Read: Border officers’ union calls for 25-and-out pension Unifor said the negotiations had a “turbulent start,” with the union filing a bad faith bargaining complaint with the B.C. Labour Relations Board in August. The union alleged Dearborn Ford’s managers interfered with union members during bargaining to discuss the company’s proposed concessions. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished and overcame during this round of bargaining. Solidarity with their bargaining committee made a difference at the negotiating table,” said Rene Pellerin, president of Unifor Local 10-B. “Unifor Local 10-B has had...

Staff | October 9, 2019 Hub International Ltd. is acquiring PDF Financial Group Inc., a Toronto-based brokerage that offers employee benefits, human resources and related financial advice consulting, as well as outsourcing services. Peter Demangos, the brokerage’s founder and president, will join Hub International Ontario Ltd. The deal is the latest in Hub’s ongoing strategy to acquire smaller Canadian employee benefits consulting firms. Read: Hub acquiring Ontario-based benefits, retirement firm Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

42% Crash Reduction and 7% Combined Ratio Improvement Using Carrot Insurance Waterloo, ON (Oct. 8, 2019) – IMS, the insurance telematics technology arm of Trak Global Group (TGG), is now positioned to offer North American and European insurers unprecedented access to the learnings from driver data via TGG’s award-winning Carrot Insurance brand. Carrot’s direct interaction with its installed customer base has driven innovative product development, including the latest telematics smartphone based “Better Driver” app, which recently won the prestigious 2019 UK Insurance Times Technology and Innovation Award for Best Customer Mobile app. “Carrot’s award-winning technology has modified driver behavior in a positive way, and we are eager to make our learnings accessible to insurers,” said Nino Tarantino, CEO- Americas, IMS. Accessing this critical data will enable insurers to: Improve policyholder engagement Offer a reward platform that builds loyalty Motivate safer driving behavior Realize the positive impact on combined ratios “We have developed and tested our insurance telematics propositions with our own Carrot customers so our insurer partners don’t have to,” Tarantino continued. “No other telematics service provider has this kind of direct-to-policyholder experience and insight, but we do through Carrot, and we want to share what we have learned with...

International health insurer establishes a new office in Toronto to serve new and existing customers Toronto, ON (Oct. 9, 2019) – Allianz Care has announced the opening of a new office branch in Canada. The office is based in Toronto and is the first operational branch for the company in the region. Allianz Care, the international health brand of Allianz Partners, specializes in providing international health and life insurance and associated health and protection services. The new office opening comes at a time of key growth for Allianz Care in the Americas region. It will cater to four provinces in Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, with a view to expanding in the future. The branch will provide service and support to large companies, NGOs and IGOs. Giving them access to a range of cover including international health, life, disability and accident insurance along with support services for their staff such as employee assistance programmes, counselling and travel security services. Speaking from the official launch, Ida Luka-Lognoné, the company’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Opening a local branch in Toronto is a big step for us in delivering the best solutions for our customers in this important region. Our strong...