Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Staff | August 19, 2019 Digital benefits platform League Inc. is partnering with the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence to improve the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in health care. Through the partnership, League will work with the Vector Institute on using AI, machine learning and other predictive techniques to create personalized health recommendations and plans tailored for each plan member through its digital benefits platform, said Mike Serbinis, founder and chief executive officer of League, in a press release. Read: League launches new digital benefits platform “We share the same vision that AI will change how we interact with machines and data — our goal is to apply this vision to our understanding of health and wellness throughout every stage of our lives.” Garth Gibson, president and CEO of the Vector Institute, said the partnership will give the company access to the talent and knowledge necessary to help it “scale and commercialize game-changing AI solutions.” Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com

The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) is moving ahead with its second phase of research into financial disclosure, exploring the possibility of improving investor understanding of fee and performance information through online and interactive tools. Step 2 falls under the umbrella of its research on effective financial disclosure that will be run by Jeremy Burke from the University of Southern California and Oded Nov from New York University. The pair has conducted similar research for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the United States. “IFIC felt it was important to build on the insights gained from our first phase of behavioural economics research and explore more deeply other methods to improve investor comprehension,” said Paul Bourque, IFIC’s president and CEO. “It is our hope that the results can be used by firms to evaluate their own disclosure reports and practices.” The first phase of research released in March identified behavioural barriers to understanding CRM2 disclosure statements and included specific tactics for addressing them. It noted a universal desire for fee performance disclosure to help retail investors understand their statements and make informed financial decisions. Researchers in the new study will conduct a randomized controlled trial with 1,000 Canadian investors...

A new exchange traded fund is set to launch this fall in the U.S. that aims to offer an investment option for animal advocates and environmentalists. The US Vegan Climate Exchange Traded ETF (VEGN) by Beyond Investing will begin trading Sept. 10 on the New York Stock Exchange, announced the company this week. The company says that the ETF is the first of its kind in the world. “Until now, vegans and environmentalists have had little choice but to profit from animal cruelty and environmental devastation through their investment options. While interest in socially responsible investing (SRI) continues to grow, the availability of financial products that explicitly reject animal exploitation has been limited, if not completely absent in most markets,” says Beyond Investing, a team of vegan finance professionals in the US, Switzerland and the UK. The ETF will track the US Vegan Climate Index (ticker VEGAN) launched by Beyond Investing in June, 2018. This Index takes the Solactive US Large Cap index (a proxy for the S&P 500 Index) and “excludes any stocks whose activities are incompatible with a vegan and climate-conscious approach to investing, replacing damaging stocks with midcap alternatives that meet its ethical criteria,” explains the company....

Invesco announced on Aug. 13 that it has launched Invesco Portfolios, a new suite of investment solutions. Invesco describes the Portfolios as “a convenient, and relatively low-cost single-ticket multi-asset-allocation solution designed to appeal to different investor risk profiles.” The suite consists of five Portfolios. They are: Invesco Conservative Portfolio; Invesco Moderate Portfolio; Invesco Balanced Portfolio; Invesco Growth Portfolio and Invesco High Growth Portfolio. The Portfolios invest in a mix of both actively-managed mutual funds and passive, factor-based exchange traded funds (ETFs) across varying asset classes. Invesco says that by incorporating ETFs, the Portfolios will have access to lower management fees. The performance of the underlying investments is expected to correspond to Canadian, U.S. and international fixed income and equity markets. The equity portion of the Portfolios will include both developed and emerging markets, while bond exposure will be in developed markets only, says Invesco. Read the original article at insurance-journal.ca

Coverage helps businesses prepare for unexpected costs resulting from data breaches, hackers, ransomware, and online banking fraud Rochester, NY (Aug. 12, 2019) – To help safeguard businesses against the unforeseen costs associated with cyberattacks, Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, benefits, and insurance administration services, is now making cyber liability protection available to U.S. clients through Paychex Insurance Agency and AXIS Insurance Company, a leading cybersecurity insurance carrier.* The policy helps business owners mitigate the potential financial impact of data breaches, hackers, ransomware, and online banking fraud by assisting with costs involved in the response and recovery after an attack, up to specified policy limits. With access to 24/7 crisis management and a top cybersecurity law firm, subscribers get coverage for: Privacy regulation liability – to help offset potential fines or penalties from state and federal agencies if it’s determined that a business failed to adequately protect personally identifiable information (PII) Forensic investigation – to identify the source of a cyberattack and where existing security systems may have failed Litigation – to help pay for legal defense, even if allegations are groundless, false, or fraudulent Ransomware and social engineering attacks – to...

A suite of tools designed to revolutionize an insurance company’s ability to respond to hurricane events, offering: Highly detailed damage predictions starting four days prior to an expected hurricane. Aerial views available immediately after the hurricane–even before claims adjusters can enter the affected area. Damage assessment from machine learning algorithm, so insurers know where and how severe property losses are, often before the policyholder is aware. Princeton, NJ (Aug. 13, 2019) – Munich Re has announced a new suite of hurricane response tools to help insurance companies assess widespread property damage after a hurricane and improve their customers’ claims experience. Developed by Munich Re’s Remote Industries team, the Hurricane Response Suite empowers insurance companies with the fastest and most location-specific detection of property damage within days after a hurricane has occurred. Additional tools provide insurance companies with highly detailed predictions of damage days prior to the hurricane making landfall. “The hurricane events from 2016 to 2018 resulted in a high volume of claims, a shortage of adjusters and higher loss adjustment expenses for insurance companies, with claims resolution delayed for many of those who were impacted,” said Roman Buegler, head of THE LAB, Munich Re. “Our new suite of tools...

Toronto, ON (Aug. 15, 2019) – Chubb has launched its Overland Water Coverage offering to Canadian homeowner insurance clients. This newly enhanced and expanded water risk management solution is designed to offer an add-on coverage for Chubb Masterpiece® home insurance policyholders. This coverage complements the existing water damage coverages, such as sewer back up, found in the base policy. “We feel it’s important to provide Chubb clients with the option to purchase enhanced water damage coverage to further protect their homes,” said Paul Johnstone, Senior Vice President for Chubb Personal Risk Services, Canada. “As always, we want to help protect them from water damage in the first place to the extent possible, but if a loss happens, our priority is doing what it takes to help Chubb clients restore their lives and homes as quickly as possible.” Chubb’s Overland Water Coverage provides the following benefits: Expanded coverage: Chubb clients who are eligible for this coverage will now have added protection from losses that result from freshwater occurrences such as overflow of natural or artificial inland waters, mudflow and collapse of land along a body of water. Enhanced protection: Not only does the Overland Water solution cover the replacement costs of...

CyberSecure Canada program to protect small and medium-sized businesses from cyber threats and increase consumer confidence Fredericton, NB (Aug. 12, 2019) – As Canadians embrace digital technologies for their tremendous benefits, they need to be able to rely on the integrity, authenticity and security of the services they use so that they can feel safe online. Taking the proper steps to enhance cyber security can help prevent monetary losses, keep valuable intellectual property safe, and protect the privacy of consumers and businesses. Today, the Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, launched the CyberSecure Canada certification program. The Minister made the announcement at the University of New Brunswick’s Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Minister Morneau also announced funding for TechImpact, to help the organization with a talent development pilot for the cybersecurity sector. CyberSecure Canada is a voluntary cyber security certification program that will help small and medium-sized organizations achieve a baseline level of cyber security, giving their customers greater confidence and providing these organizations with a competitive advantage. The CyberSecure Canada program, an initiative under the National Cyber Security Strategy, also supports Canada’s Digital Charter, specifically the...

Across the country, all year round, Canadians will be hosting visitors from near and far, with hopes of a gratifying and memorable experience. A vacation is truly an investment and life can be uncertain. While you can plan your flights, accommodations, and itinerary to a tee, the unexpected can still present itself. If you are welcoming visitors from abroad this summer, encourage them to purchase visitors to Canada health insurance before their arrival. Travel insurance can save you from unexpected expenses due to illnesses or accidents while providing you peace of mind when travelling. Without travel insurance, you could be on the hook for medical costs and more. Health Care for Visitors to Canada Canadian citizens are fortunate to have a provincial health care system that covers them when an unexpected accident, sickness or injury occurs. However, if you’re visiting the country, Canada’s health care system does not provide free medical coverage for non-citizens. Are your parents or grandparents planning to apply for the super visa for an extended stay? Then super visa insurance policies are designed for them! A super visa policy is a type of visitor to Canada policy and provides the coverage required under super visa rules....

Jennifer Paterson | August 16, 2019 In the wise words of George Bernard Shaw, “the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” When it comes to employer-provided benefits and pension plans, this phrase rings as true as it does in any other part of life. I believe that communication is the single most important and foundational part of our industry, and is vital to the plan sponsor-plan member relationship. Employers can offer their staff a variety of total rewards, but they have to talk about these offerings to make them tangible. It isn’t good enough to just introduce a new benefit and leave it at that. It must be rolled out with great fanfare and ongoing communication. Read: Samuel, Son & Co. rides benefits communication harmony to award win Many leading plan sponsors know this to be true. This year’s Workplace Benefits Awards, which will be held in Toronto on Oct. 17, received a record number of entries in both the benefits plan and pension plan communications categories. Since this issue will be published before we announce the 2019 finalists, I’ll leave it at that. But I was thrilled to see the level of innovation and sophistication...