Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Artificial Intelligence helps to create operational efficiencies Chicago, IL (June 19, 2019) – Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has announced a partnership with Hi Marley to improve insurers’ customer engagement through an intelligent SMS texting platform. The evolution of technology has led to growth within the on-demand economy and a fundamental change in the way we work, travel, recruit, buy and sell goods and services. As such, policyholders are demanding faster and easier ways to speak to their insurers from reporting a claim to amending a policy. Aon has teamed up with Hi Marley to offer its seamless conversation platform to shift from antiquated calls to more efficient messaging via text, connecting the various stakeholders in the insurance ecosystem. In a crowded market of chatbots that simulate human conversation, Hi Marley has been created by industry veterans and differentiated by its insurance focus. Before, a lack of insurance specificity limited the conversation but now – using Artificial Intelligence – the conversation can be more predictive and help solve more customer queries. The platform has already helped insurers deliver 20% faster claim resolution and avoid more than four...

Poll also uncovers travel annoyances, most important items to insure, claims barriers Canadians’ biggest pet peeves while travelling by air include bad travel etiquette, followed by flight delays and going through airport security when it comes to the worst things they’ve lost while travelling, the top three items are baggage, their passport, and their travelling companion Over a quarter of Canadians have made an insurance claim as a result of something that happened to them while travelling, with visits to the doctor accounting for 33 per cent of those claims, followed by flight delays When asked the most important item to insure while on vacation, almost three-quarters had said themselves, followed by luggage, rental car and mobile phone Toronto, ON (June 19, 2019) – Tight airport security and flight delays can definitely be a downside to air travel, but the biggest pet peeve for over a quarter (27 per cent) of Canadians is bad travel etiquette, according to a recent RBC Insurance survey. And when it comes to the worst things they’ve lost along the way, the top three items are baggage (20 per cent), followed by their passport (13 per cent) and, interestingly, their travelling companion (6 per cent)....

The majority of Canadians who have credit protection insurance (CPI) on their mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) find it is a convenient way to protect themselves and/or their families against major financial setbacks arising from death, disability, critical illness, or job loss. This type of insurance, also known as creditor’s insurance, is used to pay off or pay down a mortgage or HELOC, or to make debt payments in the event of death, disability, critical illness or job loss. Coverage is typically secured through the financial institution providing the consumer’s mortgage or HELOC financing. CPI an affordable insurance option According to the survey, 83% of Canadians with CPI coverage say it is an effective way to protect themselves and their families from unexpected life occurrences.  In addition, 71% say that without CPI, they don’t know how they and/or their family would be able to cope should an unexpected life occurrence negatively impact them financially.  About 70% said CPI is an affordable insurance option. About one quarter of CPI claimants said they had made a complaint about the claims process, but the majority of those who had made a claim said they were satisfied with how their complaint...

Kansas City Star (MO) Kansas City Life Insurance Company “systematically overcharged” customers for insurance and expenses, depleting cash values for possibly hundreds of policy owners, two law firms claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Miller Schirger, LLC, claimed Kansas City Life made unauthorized charges that drained policy owners’ cash value over time from their permanent life insurance. “Simply put,” the firms said in a statement Wednesday, “money that should go to the policy owner’s savings is going instead to the insurance company.” In the case of the plaintiff, Christopher Meek of Baxter Springs, Kansas, he has paid the insurance company nearly $60,000 in premiums throughout more than 34 years. But his cash value in October 2018 was depleted to less than $500, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Missouri, claimed thousands of customers across the country have likely been affected by the alleged breach of contract. It could leave policy owners without life insurance “when it is needed the most,” the firm alleged in a statement. A spokesperson for Kansas City Life said the company became aware of the lawsuit through media sources and had not “received service”...

Vancouver, BC (June 18, 2019) – AXIS Insurance, a business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, has partnered with Apollo Insurance to offer bind online insurance products through the Apollo Exchange. As with every Exchange product, the entire process, from quoting, binding coverage, and issuing policy documents is immediate, completely online, and paper free. The first AXIS product to be placed on the platform is Cyber Liability. It is currently live and available to the 400 broker users who are registered on Exchange. “Apollo believes in empowering the broker channel,” says Apollo CEO Jeff McCann. “This is a crucial product provided by our partners at AXIS. Our broker users are now able to place this increasingly important coverage for their clients online and in real time.” Although all products on the Exchange are available for immediate quote and bind, this product is by far the fastest time to quote of any currently available, with only three questions on the application: revenue, class, and limit. The product is available for many industry classes, including: Accountants Lawyers Architects & engineers Construction Manufacturing Transportation Real estate AXIS Insurance is one of several carriers that offer their products on the Apollo Exchange. Apollo Exchange...

Boston, MA (June 18, 2019) – Carriers are transforming the traditional back-office loss control function by coupling emerging technologies with modern loss control platforms. IoT devices, wearable technologies, and tools that leverage images (e.g., drones), are creating real-time risk management and insight. Traditional loss control platforms are also beginning to take advantage of third-party data and analytics. In a new report, Loss Control: Overview and Prominent Providers, research and advisory firm Novarica provides an overview of loss control platforms and emerging tech solutions. “Emerging tech solutions powered by data from IoT or imagery solutions have begun to augment the impact loss control organizations can have on real-time loss prevention,” said Deb Zawisza, Vice President of Research and Consulting and author of Novarica’s new report. “While emerging tech solutions do not fully replace the capabilities of more traditional loss control systems, organizations can combine the two to enhance functionality and broaden the reach of traditional systems.” A preview of the brief is available online. This brief provides an overview of loss control platforms and emerging tech solutions. It also profiles traditional providers like AuSuM Systems, EXIGIS, IMTI Systems, InsuraTek, Mindtree, Nexus Insurance Solutions, PremiumWare, Risk Control Technologies, and Utilant as well...

Even with the proper insurance coverage in place, the inability to work can be a waking nightmare for those affected. The inevitable effects – the extended suffering of the ill or injured worker, the ravaged emotions of his or her family, the creeping anxiety as benefits reach their limits – weave themselves into a suffocating membrane that can feel impossible to break through. What, then, if that worker’s disability claim has been denied? Life turns upside down. Rent and mortgages go unpaid. Savings are depleted and credit scores are destroyed. And that’s just the tip of a crushingly large iceberg. “There’s a big financial impact,” says David Share, president of Share Lawyers, “but there’s also an emotional impact. People feel like they paid into their plan for many years and then when they actually needed it, it wasn’t there for them. They’re made to feel like they’re asking for something they’re not entitled to. It’s not shocking to our firm, because we deal with it on a day-to-day basis, but for people who have what they feel is a legitimate medical problem, put in a claim and the insurance company isn’t accepting their word – or their doctor’s word –...

Greenville Herald-Banner (TX) In opening arguments of Chacey Poynter’s capital murder trial Tuesday, prosecutors told jurors that the Royse City woman only married Robert Poynter for his money, then carried on multiple affairs behind his back — and became desperate when he planned to divorce her. “This is why she killed him when she killed him,” Assistant Hunt County District Attorney Jeff Kovach said. “This is a case of sex, lies, money and murder.” Following opening arguments, testimony began as prosecutors seek a capital murder conviction for Chacey Poynter, who pleaded not guilty in connection with the September 2016 shooting death of her husband Robert Louis Poynter III, a University Park Fire Department captain. The trial in the 354th District Court is scheduled to continue this morning and may last up to two weeks. Chacey Poynter was originally indicted on a count of murder until a Hunt County grand jury upped the charge and issued the capital murder indictment April 26, alleging she and Michael Glen Garza killed Robert Poynter for the victim’s money. Chacey Poynter will not receive death by lethal injection if convicted of capital murder, as Hunt County District Attorney Noble D. Walker Jr. has waived the...

Foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $12.8 billion in April, mainly in the form of equities, while Canadian investors marginally reduced their holdings of foreign securities, according to figures released by Statistics Canada. When a Canadian firm is acquired by a foreign firm and the transaction involves the issuance of new shares by the acquiring firm, the geographical composition of investors’ portfolios changes. In terms of the latest numbers, Canadian investors’ holdings of foreign shares increase as they receive new shares and foreign investors’ holdings of Canadian shares decline as they render shares. Canadians bow out of foreign securities Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $194 million in April, following a $1.3 billion investment in March. Canadian holdings of foreign debt securities were down by $337 million in April, after three months of investment. Acquisitions of U.S. corporate bonds were moderated by sales of U.S. treasury instruments. U. S. short- and long-term interest rates edged down in the month. Canadian investment in foreign equities was $143 million in April. The activity reflected significant issuances of new U.S. shares to Canadian investors resulting from cross-border mergers and acquisitions in Canada. Meanwhile, sales of U.S. shares on the secondary market almost completely offset this activity. April marked the sixth...

Online brokerage PolicyAdvisor.com has launched its disability insurance quoting product – the first-of-its-kind in Canada. It enables working professionals, senior executives, and self-employed individuals to obtain a quote and start an application for disability insurance in minutes on their phone, tablet, or computer from the comfort of their home or any location they choose. According to StatsCan, 1 in 5 Canadians above the age of 15 identify as living with a disability, and 33% of Canadians will experience a disability greater than 90 days. PolicyAdvisor’s instant disability insurance quoting tool allows working Canadians to safeguard their most valuable asset – their ability to earn. The site offers easy access to best-in-class disability insurance products from some of the leading insurance companies in the country. By adjusting parameters like the benefit amount and waiting period, customers can find coverage at a price point that’s right for them. The online interface has been developed based on discussions with hundreds of insurance customers, insurance companies, financial advisors, and other market participants. The company supplements its technology-first approach with real-world advice from experienced licensed brokers working behind the scenes, who clients can request to speak to online, on the phone, or through video. “Traditionally,...