Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Acquisition expands Brokerlink’s community presence in Alberta Toronto, ON (Aug. 20, 2019) – BrokerLink is pleased to announce that A-Plus Insurance Services Ltd. (“A-Plus”) has joined BrokerLink, effective August 1, 2019. This acquisition provides an opportunity for BrokerLink to grow its loyal customer base and support new community members. A-Plus, a family-owned and operated general insurance brokerage, has been serving Calgary, Alberta and area for over 30 years. As a full service broker, A-Plus offers personal home and auto insurance as well as commercial property, auto and general liability insurance. “This is an exciting next chapter for our organization,” says President of A-Plus, Bob Haider. “We look forward to joining BrokerLink where we will continue to do the things we excel at, while having access to the resources and support necessary to continue to grow and develop the brokerage.” Bob Haider and his 10 employees will continue to serve customers as part of the BrokerLink team. “A-Plus has established success in the industry by building a strong community presence,” says Joe D’Annunzio, President of BrokerLink. “We look forward to building upon the relationships A-Plus has made as we transition the brokerage to BrokerLink.” Terms of the transactions were not disclosed....

Business Wire Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America today announced the launch of the Allianz Life Pro+ Advantage℠ Fixed Index Universal Life (FIUL) Insurance Policy, which will serve as the company’s flagship FIUL product. Life Pro+ Advantage was built to be in compliance with the 2020 commissioners standard ordinary (CSO) mortality table. Life Pro+ Advantage offers enhanced flexibility and control, including multiple ways to access available cash value via policy loans and withdrawals1 and the unique index lock feature that provides the ability to lock in indexed interest credit at any point during the crediting period, prior to the policy anniversary2. “We’ve listened to both financial professionals and their clients and determined the desire for products that can help meet multiple financial needs is stronger than ever,” said Jason Wellmann, senior vice president of Life Insurance Distribution for Allianz Life. “With Life Pro+ Advantage, people can get the reassurance provided by death benefit protection while also adding the flexibility to address other financial needs, including emergencies, college funding, and supplemental retirement income1.” According to the Allianz Life 2019 Life Insurance Needs Survey*, 81% of respondents said that the ability to have access to multiple sources of retirement income was...

Janet Rabovsky | August 20, 2019 With the recent, global move to coordinated central bank easing, the industry has been talking about whether we’re creating a financial bubble. On Aug. 12, CNN published an article with the headline, “Central bank rate cuts are inflating a cheap money bubble,” while Bloomberg published an article with a similar headline on April 3: “Fed risks stoking financial bubble in drive to lift inflation.” Add to this the recent inversion of the U.S. yield curve — the two-year bond yield was marginally higher than the 10-year bond yield — and investors are wondering what it all means. Read: Uncertainty clouding institutional investor outlook: report Until recently, the U.S. Federal Reserve was on a tightening bias, increasing the federal fund’s rate — the rate at which banks lend to each other. With the most recent rate cut, that stance has shifted to monetary easing in a bid to increase inflation to the desired level. The European Central Bank is said to be embarking on a fresh round of monetary easing given slowing economic activity, in part due to the continuing trade wars between the U.S. and just about everyone and in part due to slowing global growth. When determining...

Staff | August 20, 2019 A new report looking at four U.S. states that moved new employees from defined benefit to defined contribution or cash balance pension plans found the changes resulted in higher taxpayer costs and no meaningful improvements to the plans’ funding and liabilities. The report, by the National Institute on Retirement Security, looked at Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia — four states that have closed their DB pensions and introduced alternative plan designs — to determine the impact of the changes. It found the move to DC or cash balance plans also reduced employees’ retirement security. Read: A look at DC pension trends in the U.S. “The data make it clear that closing a pension plan to new employees increases taxpayer cost and doesn’t close any funding shortfalls,” said Dan Doonan, NIRS’ executive director and a co-author of the report, in a press release. “What’s important to understand is that switching away from pensions starves the plan of employee contributions while the liabilities remain. This can reduce the economic efficiencies of a pension system as the number of retirees grows compared to the number of employees paying in. Ultimately, taxpayers are left with the bill.” Alaska, for example, closed its two statewide DB pensions...

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today published a research report identifying “behaviourally-informed tactics” for designing more effective investment fee disclosures. The report, Improving fee disclosure through behavioural insights, focuses on the annual reports on charges and other compensation investors receive from their registered dealer or adviser, and identifies 24 tactics for making these reports more engaging and easier to understand and act on, says the regulator. “This behavioural insights research study shows how plain language and attention to disclosure design can place investors in a better position to make informed decisions about their finances,” said Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the OSC. “Improving disclosure can be an effective way to enhance the investor experience.” Attention-grabbing language or visuals Tactics identified in the research included using electronic alerts or notifications that attract investors’ attention or, if the report is being provided by mail, including attention-grabbing language or visuals on the envelope; testing and employing simpler terms to describe key concepts and different types of fees; and listing actions investors can take to reduce their investment fees or increase the level of service they receive for those fees. The research also highlights examples of how the OSC is employing...

Staff | August 19, 2019 The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is investing US$500 million in Laboratorios Sanfer, an independent Mexican pharmaceutical company. The company, which currently maintains a presence in 25 countries, has been focusing on growth through acquisitions for the past two decades, according to a press release. The investment from the Caisse will enable further expansion within Mexico and across Latin America, both organically and through more acquisitions.  Read: Caisse investing in online golf equipment retailer “Our partnership with Sanfer is an opportunity for us to grow our exposure to targeted countries in Latin America, while investing in a key sector of these economies,” said Stephane Etroy, executive vice-president and head of private equity at the Caisse. Sanfer also has an existing relationship with global growth equity firm General Atlantic, which will maintain a significant minority stake in the company. The exact terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. “CDPQ shares GA’s long-term vision for the company and we welcome them as partners in this next exciting chapter for Sanfer,” said Martín Escobari, managing director and head of Latin America at General Atlantic. Read: Caisse investing in data centre operator, telecom infrastructure Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

New local agency offers more choice, savings and a better insurance experience Vancouver, BC (Aug. 19, 2019) – There’s a new player in town for optional car insurance. Launching today, Stratford Underwriting Agency offers better prices for an estimated 80% of British Columbians, and more options on optional coverage for a wider range of drivers. B.C. motorists are required to purchase basic Autoplan insurance through ICBC, but drivers have a better choice when it comes to protecting their vehicle, themselves and their families through optional coverage. A recent survey by Research Co. found that 78 per cent of B.C. drivers believe customers would benefit from more choice in the auto insurance market. The majority of respondents indicated a desire for better optional vehicle coverage (71 per cent) and a better product overall (67 per cent). “Car insurance rates are on the rise, and British Columbians are tired of paying too much,” said Colin Brown, CEO of Stratford. “We’re on a mission to bring more choice, more savings and a better overall experience. That’s the driving force behind our new company. We’re here to offer more, for less.” Stratford is preparing to bring innovation to auto insurance in B.C. with user-friendly...

Rate increases driving growth: Reagan Consulting Atlanta, GA (Aug. 19, 2019) – Agents and brokers in the independent insurance channel just posted their best second quarter (Q2) results since 2013. The 6.4% organic growth rate of independent agents and brokers across all business lines coupled with “a red-hot mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) market yield a healthy outlook for the future of the industry,” says Mark Crites, Vice President, Reagan Consulting. “2019 could be a historic year.” Buoyed by the good news, as revealed by Reagan Consulting’s Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) Q2 2019 survey, agents and brokers have “lifted their full-year 2019 growth expectations to 7.0%, up from 6.0% after Q1 results were posted,” reports Crites. Benefits Sector Rebounds Late 2018 optimism was tempered after Q1 2019 by the sluggish employee benefits sector. At only 3.8%, employee benefits posted its lowest first-quarter results since 2013. The sector has rebounded, however, allaying concern. It posted a 5.5% growth rate in Q2 2019 that trails only slightly below its nine-year historical average. That bounce back “bodes well for the rest of the year,” observes Crites. Personal Lines Standing Strong At 4.1%, Q2 organic growth rate for personal lines was the second highest since the...

While there are exceptions, the insurance industry is (still) not well known for using new technologies. This was true in the past, but insurance leaders are bringing together various organizations which provide different views of internal and external alterations and improvements. The result can demonstrate not only the value for clients, but radically improved products and services inside insurance entities. We’ll look at two emerging approaches: The evolution of InsurTech applications, and the impact of external climate change. Each provides views, which might well be approaching a new world order. Shaking the Insurance Industry Writing for Forbes on 9 July 2019, Alison Coleman, a freelance contributor, provides a strong argument to shake up the insurance industry. Coleman notes that “Insurance is one of the oldest and most traditional industries,  and, until recently, it has proved resistant to change.”  However, Coleman notes that insiders – U.K. insurers particularly – are taking down the walls.    (I would also suggest that this is true as well with US and Canada who take advantage of new technologies in local labs.) According to Coleman, InsurTech companies “tend to focus on increased personalization and greater speed and efficiency of services to meet changing customer needs, with many...

Winnipeg city administrators are going forward with plans to eliminate police overtime from pensionable income and require that police officers work longer before receiving their pension benefits, according to an email sent to city councillors. According to the CBC, a letter was sent to both the Winnipeg Police Association and the Winnipeg Police Senior Officers’ Association from Mike Ruta, interim chief administrative officer, notifying the unions that city council “will consider changes to the police pension plan.” Read: Soaring costs prompt Winnipeg to consider changes to police pension plan If the plan goes through, the city could save upwards of $1.5 million annually, said Ruta, noting the extra funds could be reinvested in police operations. In 2016, the city approached police unions about amending their defined benefit pension plan because of concerns about its sustainability. At that time, Ruta said the city spent $29.1 million to fund the plan while its members contributed $13 million. According to the CBC, the Winnipeg Police Senior Officers’ Association and the Winnipeg Police Association are planning to fight the city’s plan. “It will be a significant legal battle that could be expensive for both parties, but we will take every action possible to prevent the city from making unilateral changes to a benefit that was previously negotiated,” said...