Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

For adults who have others who depend upon them, life insurance is more of a necessity than an option. If you are married, have children, or support other family members, how would these loved ones meet their financial responsibilities if something were to happen to you that ended your life? Life insurance provides a safety net for your dependents; the payouts are made to your beneficiaries either in a lump sum or in installments over time. In addition to people who need life insurance because they support others, people without dependents will often purchase life insurance to cover the expenses associated with their funeral. Does life insurance cost too much? While it may be tempting to skip having life insurance in order to save money, there are ways to obtain low cost life insurance quotes. Be sure to purchase the appropriate amount of life insurance; to do this, you need to calculate an insurance payout that would replicate your income. Some insurance companies try to up sell their policies in order to maximize their profits, but this is often more life insurance than you actually need. Where do you go to get life insurance quotes? Another excellent way to find...

Martha Porado  | September 25, 2019 After years of dramatic post-Soviet growth, Poland is a major contender in the global marketplace. However, it’s a mixed bag for institutional investors, who are finding both opportunities and limitations in the market. The country is holding up well in an increasingly challenging global environment where other economies are seeing growth slow, said Rachel Van Elkan, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief to Poland and Switzerland, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s podcast “Pension Passport.” “Poland has seen one of the longest stretches of continuous positive growth in the world at more than 25 years. As a result, poverty, unemployment and income inequality have all declined sharply. Also, fiscal and external imbalances have declined, which helped shore Poland’s financial markets from regional and global turbulence.” Read: What will Italy’s new coalition government mean for institutional investors? However, the country isn’t without certain macroeconomic challenges, she noted. “Poland is at an advanced state of demographic transition. The working age population is already shrinking and forecast to decline by about one percentage point per year through the middle of the century. This will intensify the shift from excessive labour to labour scarcity. Large inflows of foreign workers in recent years, which account...

Staff | September 25, 2019 Canadian employees suffering from mental-health issues aren’t accessing support through their workplace benefits, according to new data from Sun Life Canada. The data found 59 per cent of working Canadians said they’ve experienced a mental-health issue, an increase from 52 per cent in 2017. Among this group, 60 per cent said they aren’t accessing support through their workplace benefits and 78 per cent also haven’t used government-funded services. Read: New online tool offers mental-health help in a box “We all have a role to play in supporting mental health in Canada,” said Jacques Goulet, president of Sun Life Canada, in a press release. “As an employer, it’s about creating a safe environment for your employees and ensuring they feel supported throughout their mental-health journey. Together, we can break down barriers and open the door for communication for someone experiencing a mental-health condition. Help is out there. No one should face these challenges on their own.” The data also found two out of three millennials have reported dealing with a mental-health issue at some point in their life. Three-quarters (76 per cent) of that group said they spoke to loved ones about it. However, when it comes to finding mental-health support, millennials are the least likely (39...

PR Newswire Infosys McCamish, a US-based subsidiary of Infosys BPM and a leading developer of platform-driven solutions and services in the insurance and financial services industry, launched Infosys McCamish NGIN, a new industry platform for the Global Life Insurance and Annuity industry. This platform is founded on an evolutionary architecture, configurable to address global and regional needs of insurance carriers. With plug-and-play components using open source technologies, it is simple to use, enhances time-to-market, and promotes a superior digital experience, while driving substantial operational efficiencies. Infosys McCamish NGIN is designed to be a single, go-to platform, comprising a comprehensive set of functionalities across all product lines and value chain functionalities. It encompasses features for term, whole life, universal life, and annuities. At the heart of the platform is a geo and tax regime independent core, and can be extended to meet regional and client-specific needs. Richard Magner, CEO and Managing Director, Infosys McCamish Systems, said, “The global life insurance and annuity industry is at an opportune moment to take advantage of the paradigm shift in the technology landscape, especially the API economy and cloud. The industry is in need of a survival critical platform that also enables accelerated profitable growth....

Mental health issues are on the rise among Canadians but the majority of people affected are not accessing support through workplace benefits or government-funded services. Findings from the 2019 Sun Life Barometer revealed 59% of working people have experienced a mental health issue, an increase from 52% in 2017, but that 60% are not getting help through benefits and 78% haven’t used government services. Jacques Goulet, president, Sun Life Canada, said: “We all have a role to play in supporting mental health in Canada. As an employer, it’s about creating a safe environment for your employees and ensuring they feel supported throughout their mental health journey. “Together, we can break down barriers and open the door for communication for someone experiencing a mental health condition. Help is out there, no one should face these challenges on their own.” The 2019 Sun Life Barometer is based on findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between March 28 and April 3, 2019. A sample of 2,901 Canadians was drawn from the Ipsos I-Say online panel, featuring 2,901 working Canadians from 20 to 80 years of age and 2,151 aged 20-64. The data was weighted to ensure the sample’s regional, age, and gender composition reflected that of...

A new report from online life insurance agency Haven Life has found that when it comes to selecting life insurance, there’s a disparity in the financial value that men and women place on their lives. In a national survey of U.S. men and women who have children under 18 years old, the firm found that men and women equally believe their death would have a “substantial” impact on their family, with nearly four out of five women (79%) and men (78%) agreeing with the statement. But the poll also found that women were less likely to get life insurance coverage. Just two thirds of women surveyed (67%) said they have life insurance, compared to around four out of five men (79%) who said the same. Of the ones who had an individual life insurance policy, female respondents reported having coverage amounting to US$231,342 on average. In contrast, men with life insurance were found to have an average coverage amount of US$423,102. That gap in appraising the value of their own lives was just about as remarkable among men and women without life insurance. When asked to give a numeric value for what they would purchase, women cited an average coverage...

Considering how long people can survive after retirement, it only makes sense to think about how inflation could affect their expenses through the decades. By extension, any financial plan that relies on guaranteed lifetime income through annuities should account for rising costs of living. But as David Blanchett, head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management, recently wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, an overwhelming majority of annuities do not include a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to help account for inflation. “[M]ost have payouts that are constant over time (commonly referred to as nominal)–even though nominal payouts can result in a significant decline in purchasing power for a retiree,” he wrote. Annuities that do take inflation risk into account generally do it in two ways. Some explicitly consider inflation by having payments that are tied directly to inflation, ensuring that a retiree will always have some constant amount available to spend, in today’s dollars, throughout their retirement. “Annuities linked to inflation are still relatively rare, though, with only about 0.2% of annuities quoted in 2018 including the option,” Blanchett said. The other approach is to implicitly consider inflation through a “fixed” COLA. Annuities that favour this approach increase...

With federal elections set to occur in a few short weeks, a new poll of adult Canadians has found overwhelming support for the notion of universal access to prescription drugs. Based on an Environics survey of over 1,500 Canadians over 18 years of age, Heart & Stroke and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) said that 93% of people in Canada agree on the importance for every person in the country to have equal access to prescription drugs. A slightly lower majority of 88% also said that the responsibility lies with the federal government to ensure it happens. Mirroring previous studies, the poll found that over the past 12 months, nearly one in four Canadian households (24%) includes an individual who has decided not to fill or renew a prescription, or used other means to stretch out their prescriptions, due to cost. A similar proportion of households include a member who has hesitated to quit or change jobs because they did not want to lose their prescription drug coverage. “Medications for heart disease and stroke play a critical role in prevention, treatment and recovery, and represent more than any other category of drug dispensed in Canada,” said Yves Savoie, CEO, Heart...

Even though more Canadians are recognizing depression and anxiety as disabilities compared to last year, a stigma around mental health still exists, according to a recent RBC Insurance survey. Three quarters of working Canadians say they would either be reluctant to admit (48 per cent) or would not admit (27 per cent) to a boss or co-worker that they are suffering from a mental illness. As well, the proportion who say they would not admit they were suffering from a mental illness is almost three times as high as it is for a physical illness (27 per cent vs. 10 per cent). Fear of negative consequences The main reasons for either not admitting or being reluctant to admit a mental illness include public stigma, not wanting to be treated differently and fear of negative consequences such as losing their job. “It’s encouraging to see that Canadians are making the connection between mental illness and disability, most likely because of educational efforts and the openness of those who are willing to share their personal struggles,” said Maria Winslow, senior director, Life & Health, RBC Insurance. “However, it’s apparent that the perception of stigma still exists, which impedes some people’s ability or willingness...

Staff | September 24, 2019 The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is asking financial stakeholders to take climate risks more heavily into account. In a letter addressing Canada’s governments, corporations and investors, the institute said quantifying and disclosing the financial impacts of climate change are key actions that will help mitigate the rise in global temperatures and will help Canadians adapt to the changing climate. The letter said stakeholders should prioritize national-level data collection on the financial impacts of floods, windstorms, wildfires and other climate-related events. It also suggested policies be put in place that mandate financial reporting of climate-related risks and opportunities. Further, it said relevant parties should use environmental, social and governance principles in financial and investment decision-making. Read: Global investors call for government action on climate change “Our actuaries work across diverse areas, including property and casualty insurance, pension plans, investments and more,” said Marc Tardif, fellow and president of the CIA, in a press release. “All of these areas see trends of uncertainty caused by changes in our climate, and we believe they are all pointing to the same conclusion: now is the time to act.” The letter also said Canadians would be able to better understand the financial risks of climate change...