Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | October 3, 2019 The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is taking over Webster Ltd., an Australian agribusiness company, for A$854 million. While the PSP already owns 19.1 per cent of Webster’s ordinary shares, its subsidiary PSP BidCo is acquiring the total remaining ordinary shares for A$2 per share, which is a 57 per cent premium on Webster’s most recent closing price. It will also buy all Webster preference shares on issue for A$2 in cash per share through a separate arrangement. The company operates walnut and almond orchards in New South Wales and Tasmania, and also owns land for cotton and other annual crops, cattle and Dorper sheep production, a water entitlements portfolio and an apiary business. Read: PSP making construction loan in D.C., Caisse taking part in sustainable rail travel proposal Maurice Felizzi, managing director and chief executive officer at Webster, said the PSP was the logical owner of Webster’s portfolio given the fund’s focus on long-term growth. “We are encouraged by their understanding of our business and its ongoing importance to regional and rural communities in Australia,” he said in a press release. “PSP Investments has a proven track record in managing and investing in agricultural assets over the long term...

Kitchener, ON (Oct. 2, 2019) – Alert Labs Inc., designer of easy-to-install, cellular-connected home protection technology, has announced its newest smart water solutions. Flowie-O and Shuttie lower utility costs and minimize property damage for residential, multi-family, and commercial buildings. Water Flow Sensor: Flowie-O Alert Labs announces the expansion of its water sensor technology to help more organizations reduce wasted water, property damage, and utility costs. Building on the success of the Flowie water flow sensor, Alert Labs has now expanded its capabilities with a new water flow solution, Flowie-O. Flowie has been saving property managers up to 23% on water costs and preventing property damage since 2016. Flowie-O is designed to easily connect to both outdoor and indoor water meters. It learns water use patterns and sends alerts to your phone or computer for power outages, temperature, humidity, leaks, and unusual water usage – no WiFi required. Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve: Shuttie Alert Labs also announces the release of their automatic water shut-off valve, Shuttie. Shuttie shuts off water mains to prevent water damage at the source. Using Shuttie, property managers have the flexibility to remotely shut off water based on the property’s unique water usage patterns and alerts. Shuttie...

Canada’s first on-demand insurance solution for short-term rental hosts announces next step in cross-country expansion Toronto, ON (Oct. 2, 2019) – Duuo, a digital insurance brand created by The Co-operators, today announced its launch of Rent-my-Stuff Insurance, Canada’s first on-demand digital insurance for peer-to-peer sharing platforms. Now available through Traveling Munchkin, a Canadian platform that allows parents to find and rent baby gear from local families, Rent-my-Stuff Insurance provides protection for peer-to-peer rental-specific damages and losses. This development reflects Duuo’s continued commitment to creating innovative insurance products that fit the needs of Canadians participating in a fast-paced and ever-changing digital economy. Rent-my-Stuff Insurance was developed by Duuo through their partnership with Slice Labs Inc. (Slice), the first on-demand insurance platform provider supporting tomorrow’s cloud-based, on-demand digital services ecosystems. “Peer-to-peer rentals are emerging as the next phase of the sharing economy, with Canadians gravitating towards platforms like Traveling Munchkin to rent their personal equipment as a way to earn additional income,” says Robin Shufelt, Managing Director of Duuo. “One of the biggest barriers to adoption in the rental market, especially for those looking to rent out their belongings, is the fear of damage. Our goal with Rent-my-Stuff Insurance is to provide...

Built leveraging Google’s knowledge in machine learning and computer vision, the new solution will produce both guided and automated estimates San Diego, CA (Oct. 1, 2019) – Mitchell International, a leading provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance and Collision Repair industries, has announced the release of its Mitchell Intelligent Estimating™ solution, an advanced, artificial intelligence claims automation solution. This news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that USAA has worked with Mitchell and Google Cloud on a jointly developed solution to enable their touchless claims vision.[1] An estimate no longer needs to be written from scratch. The Mitchell Intelligent Estimating solution is designed to predict and pre-populate all possible portions of an estimate. It also allows appraisers to further complete, review and/or approve a pre-written estimate. This breakthrough solution generates detailed auto physical damage estimates — including parts, operations and labor details — based on photos of vehicle damage transmitted by a policyholder, a repair facility or a staff appraiser. The Mitchell Intelligent Estimating solution combines Mitchell’s claims technology with its proprietary collision repair data, artificial intelligence and decision support tools to drive to an efficient and highly-scalable estimating solution....

Novarica study of 100 insurer CIOs reveals security spending also growing as a percentage of total budget; most digital and analytics spending still under IT umbrella Boston, MA (Oct. 1, 2019) – Insurer IT spending is growing for 2020 as insurers seek to improve speed to market, distributor service, and analytics capabilities, according to the 12th annual Insurer IT Budgets and Projects report from research and advisory firm Novarica. The report also finds that security is consuming a greater percentage of overall IT spending than in prior years. “While IT budgets are inching higher across the industry, but demands for new business capabilities are soaring,” said Matthew Josefowicz, president and CEO of Novarica. “Whether its improving speed to market, analytics-driven insights, or digital services, insurer technology leaders are being tasked with doing a whole lot more with just a little more budget.” Key findings include: IT spending is increasing slightly for 2020. Averages vary by size and sector of company, but all are up slightly from last year. Most insurers are planning for increasing or stable budgets in 2020. Business leaders want new capabilities and cost savings. Speed to market, distributor ease of doing business, and BI/analytics are the most...

Saskatchewan-based benefits consulting firm Hub’s latest acquisition Chicago, IL (Oct. 2, 2019) – Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Regency Advisory Corporation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Regency is an employee benefits consulting firm that provides innovative and proprietary benefit solutions to move clients to more cost sustainable and value-added benefits programs. “We continue to build on our efforts to add talented organizations like Regency to boost our employee benefits and pension capabilities in Canada,” said Keith Jordan, President and CEO of Hub International Manitoba Limited (Hub Manitoba). “Regency has been involved in many facets of employee benefits, and will be a great collaborator for innovation and drive client-centric services and solutions.” Darwin Forbes, CEO & Executive Benefits Consultant, and Ian DeCorby, Vice President, at Regency, will join Hub Manitoba. The move continues to reinforce Hub’s ongoing Canadian employee benefits growth and services strategy[1] to assemble best-in-class capabilities and entrepreneurial talent across Canada to develop a complete employee benefits and pension solution. “We are joining Hub with our client’s interests first,” said Mr. Forbes. “With Hub, we will enhance their overall experience...

PR Newswire John Hancock announced today it is expanding its Apple Watch program to include the new Apple Watch Series 5. Beginning this fall, customers can earn the watch through the John Hancock Vitality Program for just $25, simply by being more active. The newest version of the watch features an always-on retina display, an updated compass, and international emergency calling, as well as hard fall and electrical heart sensors. “Today’s announcement further cements our commitment to motivate and inspire customers to both protect their financial futures and live longer, healthier lives,” said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance. “The Apple Watch has been an extremely popular and effective component of our program as customers who use it report increased motivation and physical activity, the bottom line in what we’re trying to do with our insurance. Healthier lives are not only good for our customers and their families, but good for our business and society as a whole.” In a recent survey of John Hancock Vitality members with Apple Watch, 84 percent stated they are motivated to exercise by their Apple Watch and 90 percent wear an Apple Watch seven days a week. Furthermore, a RAND Europe...

Staff | October 3, 2019 The funded ratio of public pension plans in the U.S. has edged up slightly to 73 per cent in fiscal year 2018, but has been largely flat for several years and is below its 2001 peak, according to a new analysis. The research, from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, also found that liability growth for these plans slowed significantly between 2001 and 2018, which drove down the funded ratio from a high of 103 per cent in 2001. “Annual liability growth has steadily declined each year, from 7.7 per cent in 2002 to 3.8 per cent in 2018,” said the report. “The change in assets is primarily attributable to investment returns and cash flows.” Read: A refresher on the purposes of pension plan funding In terms of asset growth, the research found the average annualized investment return for U.S. public plans was 5.9 per cent, much lower than the assumed return, and cash flows averaged negative 2.7 per cent. “Combined with the relatively small impact of actuarial smoothing, actuarial assets have grown by only 3.5 per cent per year since 2001,” it noted. “Because actuarial assets and liabilities grew by 3.5 per cent and...

Staff | October 3, 2019 The majority (85 per cent) of global investment professionals said responsible investing is at least somewhat important to their organization, up from 68 per cent in 2018, according to a new survey by Aon. The survey found this growth occurred across all geographic regions and institutional investor types, including corporate pension plans, public pensions, defined contribution plans and endowments and foundations, and defined contribution plans. Some 87 per cent of respondents in the U.K. and 85 per cent in Continental Europe said responsible investing is important to their organization, compared to 66 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, in 2018. Though still representing a year-over-year jump, these numbers were slightly lower in the U.S. (78 per cent in 2019 and 57 per cent in 2018) and Canada (78 per cent in 2019 and 68 per cent in 2018). Read: Back to basics on responsible investing “I am sure it comes as no surprise that responsible investing is growing in importance in regions like the U.K. and Continental Europe, where there’s been a marked increase in RI regulation,” said Meredith Jones, author of the report and global head of responsible investing at Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting Inc., in a press...

Staff | October 3, 2019 Nearly a year since the legalization of recreational cannabis, most Canadians said it’s hasn’t had an impact at work in terms of health and safety (75 per cent), productivity (74 per cent), absenteeism (71 per cent) or quality of work (70 per cent), according to a new survey by ADP Canada. This is in contrast to opinions held in 2018, prior to legalization, when nearly half of working Canadians said they expected productivity (46 per cent) and quality of work (43 per cent) to decline, and health and safety incidents (55 per cent) and absenteeism (40 per cent) to increase. Read: Recreational marijuana legalization raises new questions for employers The majority (86 per cent) of working Canadians said their employer doesn’t permit recreational cannabis use and only eight per cent said cannabis use is allowed during the workday. Among this group, 63 per cent said they’re consuming it before work, 47 per cent are consuming during work hours and 72 per cent are consuming after work. However, when looking at all respondents, only a fraction of Canadians said they consume recreational cannabis before work (five per cent), during work hours (four per cent) and after work with colleagues (six per...