Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Gold Bars 1000 grams. Concept of wealth and reserve. Martha Porado  | August 28, 2019 During the past decade’s bull market, gold has been largely off the radar for institutional investors. But as key bond yields turn negative, among other recessionary signals, chatter about the commodity is heating up. “All precious metals have no correlation to the rest of the marketplace so that tends to be why gold and precious metals get looked at as a haven asset when markets get wonky,” says Stan Kiang, director of strategic accounts at Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc. Most large corporate and public plans will have exposure to gold within their commodity holdings, which are usually between zero and 10 per cent of the portfolio, he says. However, if markets take a serious tumble, gold may look more attractive. Read: BCI to oppose proposed Goldcorp, Newmont Mining merger “I would see pensions or institutional investors using the [exchange-traded funds] available in the marketplace because they’re a quick, cheap access to that tactical play that they want to make,” says Kiang. “And I think we’ve seen that this year with flows into ETFs. That generally tells you there’s some nervousness out there, just from what we’ve seen of flows into products...

New SMA Blog by Karen Pauli, Principal, Strategy Meets Action — Our digital world has changed many things in a blink of an eye, it seems. I don’t need to remind you. There are tens upon tens of blogs that remind us of all the ways digital has – or sometimes has not – changed the business of insurance. One thing that has not been explored in-depth, however, is product proliferation. During my career, I have led teams that developed products. It was always a very long process. From concept to roll-out, it was usually two years, and sometimes more. Clearly, that time frame is unacceptable in today’s world. But it was more complicated back then due to the manual nature of things. Enter the InsurTechs – many of which have targeted the digital distribution of products and experimented with various business models – and time frames have condensed considerably. Early on, in response to the pressure, InsurTechs (and many primary insurers) pulled out the stops to provide renter’s insurance, and more recently, small business and gig economy products. In all cases, product proliferation ascended to a high art form! Make no mistake – many of these efforts benefit consumers....

Canada Life believes the move to a one-product shelf has strengthened its position in the industry and given more advisors more choice. In April, the company announced plans to amalgamate three insurers, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life, under a new Canada Life brand means more choice for advisors and It has, therefore, opened up its full suite of Canada Life wealth and insurance products to both Wealth and Insurance Solutions Enterprise (WISE) and Freedom 55 Financial advisors. The brand and products will also be offered through all distribution channels, including Managing General Agency (MGA) and National Account (NA) partners. The move has also prompted new product offerings and enhancements, introducing two new term products – the term 30 and term to age 65 – to its WISE, MGA and NA partners through Canada Life’s digital individual insurance application, SimpleProtect. The SimpleProtect app has also been enhanced by extending the offerings to the two new aforementioned products and featuring non-face-to-face, providing customers with the ability to review and sign their applications on their own device, eliminating paperwork and making applying for term insurance faster. Following the launch of the Pathways Mutual Funds with Mackenzie Investments, Canada Life is now...

Life insurance settlements can offer a compelling solution for policyholders who need quick access to cash. But in certain instances, a straight cash offer isn’t the best way to address the need for liquidity — in which case, a little creativity is needed. Lisa Rehburg, president of US-based Rehburg Life Insurance Settlements, recently drove home that point in a piece published by ThinkAdvisor. Rehburg shared the story of a couple and their financial struggle in the wake of a devastating diagnosis. The husband, now in his late 50s, was found to have brain cancer nearly 10 years ago; he underwent treatment and beat the disease — only for it to come back very aggressively. “His doctor had written a letter stating that he had six months to live,” Rehburg wrote. The man had a US$500,000 term policy; after some research on life settlements, he received an offer of US$380,000 in exchange for his policy, but his wife did not think it was enough. “The life insurance agent contacted me, explained the situation, and asked if there was a way to help the couple,” Rehburg said. By the time she had discussed the issue with the agent, the husband had only...

For Canadian health policy experts, the problem of drug shortages is certainly not new; neither are calls for an investigation into its causes. But as Canadian patients make plans to visit warmer climes this autumn, the need to resolve the issue may be more urgent than ever. In a recent commentary, Dr. Charles Shaver, a former chair of the section on general internal medicine of the Ontario Medical Association, explained how a shortage of common medications could affect Canadian snowbirds who rely on travel insurance. “Even a change in dose of medications within three months of travelling could invalidate private travel insurance, and certainly a change to a ‘close-cousin’ in the same family would do so,” Shaver wrote in the piece published by The Chronicle Herald. “Now a larger group of persons – those who have been stable for years on various medications – face possible loss of insurability.” He explained that well-established drugs — including ones used in cancer therapy as well as treatments for hypertension, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, heartburn, and seizures — have been on “backorder” status for many months. Health Canada, he added, reports a total of 1,848 drug shortages in the country at present; around...

Five pharmaceutical companies have filed a complaint in Quebec’s Superior Court questioning the constitutionality of new Canadian regulations that the federal government set up to lower patented drug prices. The filing was advanced last Friday by the Canadian arms of U.S.-based Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Inc, Germany’s Bayer AG and Boehringer Ingelheim, and France’s Servier Inc, according to Reuters. The move escalates a long-drawn-out confrontation between the pharmaceutical industry and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Government, which has committed to affordability as a key plank of its election campaign platform. Under the new rules published last Wednesday, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) will have new powers to support its ability to cap drug prices. Set to take effect on July 1, 2020, the new rules will provide for capabilities including access to information that would allow the board to consider cost-effectiveness, measured in quality-adjusted life years, for the first time. Advocates and supporters of the measures argue that the rules will lead to much-needed savings for patients, employers, insurers, and government drug plans, which will come at the expense of drug company profits in Canada. But in separate news releases, the five pharmaceutical companies...

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today that it is considering settlement agreements with both the Royal Bank of Canada and with the Toronto-Dominion Bank, concerning allegations that the bank’s foreign exchange (FX) traders improperly shared confidential customer information on a regular basis with FX traders from other firms. In two separate notices issued today, the OSC, in each case said it identified “many hundreds of prohibited disclosures” during the material time – a period of at least three years, from 2011 to 2013. In both instances the regulator says the banks shared confidential customer information with FX traders at other firms in electronic chatrooms and failed to establish and maintain an adequate compliance system that addressed inappropriate information sharing. It also says the banks did not sufficiently promote a culture of compliance in the FX trading business, which allowed FX traders to behave in a manner which put the banks’ economic interest ahead of the interests of its customers, other market participants and the integrity of the capital markets. In its statement of allegations, the OSC says the prohibited disclosures included detailed information about customer orders such as trade sizes, timing, price and stop-loss levels. It says the prohibited...

Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) A New Jersey man believes he is entitled to a $1 million life insurance policy after his wife and son were slain. Two years after his wife and 6-year-old son were stabbed to death in their Maple Shade apartment, a South Jersey man is fighting to collect $1 million in life insurance on the victims. Late on March 23, 2017, Hanumantha Rao Narra told police on a 911 call that he had “just come from the office” to find his family dead at home. Forty-six days after the slayings, Narra sought to collect on two life insurance policies, each worth about $500,000. But Prudential Financial Co. has refused to pay him. Police have made no arrests in the deaths of Sasikala Narra, 38, and the couple’s son, Anish, who lived in the Fox Meadow apartment complex. The investigation is continuing, said Joel Bewley, spokesperson for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. For that reason, the insurance company has declined to pay Narra’s claim. Prudential’s lawyers have cited New Jersey’s slayer statute, which prevents anyone responsible for a death from benefiting financially. While police have not identified Narra as a suspect in the crime, lawyers for the insurance company...

Staff | August 27, 2019 The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s chief operating officer of enterprise operations is moving to a new role at the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. Rosemarie McClean will become chief executive officer of the pension fund, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Since joining the Ontario Teachers’ in 1986, McClean has gradually taken on more responsibility, including shaping the plan’s member services strategies, introducing programs and efficiencies that have netted awards and contributing to the pension plan’s technology foundation. Read: Ontario Teachers’ posts 6.3% for first half of 2019 “I have been very fortunate to spend the majority of my career at such a great organization as Ontario Teachers’. The people here are truly exceptional,” said McClean, in a press release. “It has been an honour working with such dedicated teams, who come to work each day with the clear mission of providing excellent service and retirement security to teachers in the province of Ontario.” Ron Mock, the Ontario Teachers’ retiring president and CEO, said McClean’s influence has been felt throughout the plan. “In addition to being enormously smart and capable, Rosemarie is a genuinely caring person who has always put our members first. We are thrilled for her as she embarks on this...

Guelph, ON (Aug. 27, 2019) — The Co-operators has purchased Cadieux Beausejour Dupras Inc. in Saint Jérôme, Quebec. “This is exciting news as we remain focused on strengthening our agency distribution system in Quebec,” says Patrick Décarie, Vice President Quebec Region, The Co-operators. “We look forward to serving our new clients and ensuring they have access to the insurance and investment products they need to achieve financial security, and ultimately, peace of mind.” The brokerage’s portfolio includes personal and commercial insurance policies. Any existing insurance coverage will remain in effect for the current policy term. Clients will receive first-rate service from a leading national insurance co-operative and gain access to a full suite of insurance products including home, auto, life, travel and commercial. About The Co-operators The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian co-operative with more than $46.7 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies, it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. The Co-operators is ranked as the Corporate Knights’ #1 Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada and listed among the Best Employers in...