Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

First American product available on the Exchange is mandated liability insurance for counselors working for California school districts Toronto, ON (Sept. 10, 2019) – Apollo Insurance Solutions (“Apollo Exchange”), Canada’s largest insurance marketplace, has entered the American market with a liability insurance product tailored for educators in California. The product allows consultants, instructors, and therapists to purchase their mandatory liability coverage that school district requires online and in real time, in line with modern buyers’ expectations. “This is a global supply chain: insurance capacity from Lloyd’s of London syndicate Beazley UK, distributed by US-based brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher, and powered by Canadian InsurTech Apollo,” said Apollo CEO Jeff McCann. “This is an exciting moment for the Apollo team, and a giant leap forward for the insurance industry.” Thanks to a partnership with Jigsaw — a subsidiary brand of Gallagher — practitioners can now immediately get a quote, purchase the insurance via credit card, and have their policy emailed to them in real time by the Apollo Exchange in under five minutes. “When one of these providers shows up at a school, they need this coverage,” said McCann. “Rather than waiting for weeks, unable to work while their insurance documents are...

Ottawa, ON (Sept. 10, 2019) – Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) congratulates the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA) on its flagship report, Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience, which is a clear call to action to all nations to adapt now, boldly and fairly. The report found that the economic benefits of climate adaptation have very high rates of return, with cost-benefit ratios ranging from 2:1 to 10:1, when investment is made in five areas: early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved dryland agriculture, mangrove protection, and more resilient water resources. The report also found that increased investment in natural infrastructure, such as wetlands, is critical. In line with policy recommendations that IBC has advocated for, the report calls on governments to align land-use regulations, infrastructure investments and fiscal policies with natural environmental objectives. Last fall, IBC released a report that called for urgent action to curb the possible devastating loss of natural infrastructure assets in Canada. Combatting Canada’s Rising Flood Costs: Natural Infrastructure Is an Underutilized Option urges communities to consider natural infrastructure to limit their flood risk and to help address the economic risk associated with climate change. The GCA report recognizes the Canadian example...

Aviva Canada announced on Sept. 4 the launch of its Global Corporate and Specialty (GCS) team, which offers custom insurance solutions Canadian large corporate and commercial companies doing business in Canada and the United States. “In today’s insurance market, large corporate and commercial companies often struggle to find innovative and flexible insurance and risk management solutions to meet their unique needs,” says John Mattioli, Executive Director of GCS at Aviva Canada. “GCS provides truly client-centric service by leveraging an integrated team of underwriters, loss control specialists, and dedicated claims professionals who study a business from tip to tail to best understand and address issues before they become claims. This is an underserved market in Canada, and we have created a team that has earned the right to play, and be competitive in this space.” GCS brings together five business operations within Aviva Canada: Corporate Risk, Programs, Specialty Risk, Surety, and Equipment Breakdown. The GCS team supports a range of sectors, including real estate and construction, manufacturing and industrial, technology and telecommunication, food and beverage, health and public sector, distribution and wholesale, and retail. Prevention-first approach Aviva describes GCS as a “prevention-first approach to risk protection that leverages the latest technology to identify...

Staff | September 9, 2019 Sun Life is launching Equinoxe LifeCare’s virtual medical evaluation services to help plan sponsors with disability management. The service allows plan members and their dependants to connect with virtual health-care services and licensed health-care practitioners. It also enables them to consult with medical professionals through secure video or chat via smartphone, tablet or computer. In addition, the service allows plan members to requisition prescriptions and diagnostic tests, lab results or specialist referrals remotely. Read: 2019 Group Benefits Providers Report: How digital health is affecting the benefits industry “Technology and advancements in artificial intelligence are enabling new opportunities,” said Daniel Martz, chief executive officer of EQ Care, in a press release. “We want to continuously leverage them to optimize the patient’s health-care journey and, with augmented decision support, to achieve the best level of quality care for Sun Life’s clients.” Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press | September 9, 2019 The federal government’s effort to rein in the cost of reimbursing veterans for their medical marijuana appears to have failed as new figures show Ottawa shelled out a record $75 million in the last fiscal year. And that’s only the beginning: the Veterans Affairs Canada figures show the government is on track to spend nearly $100 million this year as more and more former service members ask the government to pay for their cannabis. The growing use of medical marijuana by veterans — and the growing cost to taxpayers — comes despite an overhaul of the way the government reimburses ex-military personnel for pot in November 2016. It was then that the Liberal government reduced the amount of marijuana it would cover from 10 grams per day to three. It also capped the amount it would pay at $8.50 per gram. Read: New medical marijuana policy for veterans cuts reimbursement allowance by seven grams The government cited rising costs and a lack of scientific evidence about the drug’s medical benefits as the primary reasons for the new restrictions, which were met with anger and concern in the veterans’ community. Veterans Affairs has paid for medical marijuana for...

New report illustrates extreme catastrophe risk from a global perspective Boston, MA (Sept. 9, 2019) – Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) has released its 2019 Global Modeled Catastrophe Losses report, detailing key loss metrics from AIR’s global industry exceedance probability (EP) curve. Based on the report, AIR estimates that the global modeled insured average annual loss from catastrophes worldwide is about USD 92 billion. The 1 percent aggregate exceedance probability insured loss (or the 100-year return period loss) is nearly USD 288 billion, which is more than double the record losses seen in 2017 from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and other natural catastrophes. The 2019 report derives its loss metrics from the most current suite of global property and crop models from AIR, including new models and updates released during 2019 as well as databases of property values for more than 110 countries; the report excludes losses from AIR’s pandemic, cyber, and casualty models. AIR Worldwide is a Verisk business. The global aggregate average annual loss (AAL) and exceedance probability loss metrics for 2019 reflect changes in risk based on AIR’s annual review of industry insured values around the world, which includes a complete update of its industry...

Swiss Re Institute’s latest sigma report: Global economy now has less capacity to absorb a shock than it did in 2007 Switzerland, Canada and the US have highest economic resilience; euro area resilience has decreased most since 2007 Insurance resilience (protection needed vs that available) for three core risk areas – natural catastrophes, mortality and healthcare spending – has improved in most regions since 2000 A record-high USD 1.2 trillion protection gap for the three risk areas presents huge opportunity for insurers to boost resilience In Europe, insurance resilience has improved notably, even as the protection gap for the three risks has more than doubled In the US and Canada, almost two thirds of protection needs are currently covered by existing resources including insurance Zurich, Switzerland (Sept. 7, 2019) – The world economy is less resilient now than in 2007 at the onset of the global financial crisis, according to the new Macroeconomic Resilience Indices jointly developed by Swiss Re Institute (SRI) and the London School of Economics (LSE). By contrast, separate insurance resilience indices show that the resilience of households against three main areas of risk – natural catastrophes, mortality and healthcare spending – has improved in most regions...

More than one-quarter of industry CEOs see environment/climate change as biggest threat, KPMG Survey of U.S. Insurance CEOs reveals Toronto, ON (July 31, 2019) – All of the U.S. insurance chief executive officers polled in KPMG’s 2019 CEO Outlook survey are confident about the growth prospects of their companies in the next three years, as technological innovations that improve customer engagement, lower costs and provide better insights may unlock significant growth. “CEOs said that meaningful growth in insurance is possible only if companies are agile and innovative enough to meet changing customer expectations, while slow movers will be left behind,” said Ed Chanda, Insurance Sector Leader, KPMG LLP. “A good example is automated underwriting that allows for better decisions, lowers the burden on the customer and lowers cost; potentially opening the market for the underwriting of smaller risks.” In terms of the greatest risk to this optimism, 27 percent of CEOs identified environmental/climate change risk as the biggest threat due to the increasing frequency of intense catastrophes, particularly wildfires and tornados. Increased Confidence in the Use of Cloud Technologies The key to agility and innovation is the use of cloud technologies, with many CEOs (82%) feeling more confident with their...

Staff | September 9, 2019 Fiera Capital Corp. is appointing Michael Quigley as executive vice-president and head of institutional markets. In the new role, Quigley will lead the team, focusing on improving and guiding the implementation of Fiera’s institutional distribution strategy. “Michael brings a deep understanding of the institutional business environment and extensive knowledge of both traditional and alternative asset classes, and we are thrilled he has joined Fiera Capital to lead the evolution of the institutional markets team,” said Jean-Philippe Lemay, president and chief operating officer for the Canadian division of Fiera Capital, in a press release. “He is a proven institutional leader who has achieved great success with asset management firms of varying sizes in both Canada and the United States.” Read: Fiera Capital to acquire Ontario investment management firm Prior to the new role, Quigley led the institutional business development team across Canada at Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd. He was also the vice-chairman and senior vice-president of distribution for Natcan Investment Management Inc. “I am excited to be leading an established team that is focused on excelling in client service, with a collaborative approach to growing the business in Canada,” said Quigley. “I look forward to working closely with the institutional markets team to enhance investment strategy knowledge and deepen our partnerships with...

Sun Life Financial has announced that Léo Grépin will become the new President of Sun Life Asia following the retirement of Claude Accum on Dec. 31, 2019. The President of Sun Life Asia is responsible for the life, health and wealth management businesses in seven Asian markets – Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India – as well as the International High Net Worth Business. Grépin was appointed President ASEAN in April 2019, responsible for Sun Life’s businesses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, and regional distribution and marketing. He was previously Senior Vice-President, Individual Insurance and Wealth for Sun Life Canada, responsible for the creation and distribution of insurance and wealth management products and solutions for the Individual business. In a statement released Sept. 5, Dean Connor, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Financial thanked Accum for his contribution to the company. “Over the course of his 36-year career at Sun Life, Claude has made lasting contributions to Sun Life’s growth and success,” said Connor. “Under Claude’s leadership, Sun Life Asia has gained market share and enhanced the Client experience. On behalf of the Executive Team and Board of Directors, I thank Claude for everything he’s accomplished over his career at Sun Life and wish him all the best in his retirement.”  Connor added...