Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made. By Tomas McFie The cost of care provided to parents by their adult children is now estimated to be well over $375 billion a year, twice as much as what is actually being spent on home health care or nursing home services combined), according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare. It is crucial that these adult children should be able to recoup at least some of the costs they absorb. In the U.S., 65 million people – nearly three out of every 10 people – provide care for chronically ill, disabled or aged members of their family. On average, they spend 20 hours per week doing so, but 13% of these family caregivers provide 40 or more hours of care per week. This issue has become so endemic that it has hindered the ability of many Americans to save properly for their own retirement. As a result, these family caregivers have a median of only $68,000 saved in their retirement accounts, a Transamerica study found. In addition, nearly $3 billion is lost annually to theft and financial fraud, which is directly linked to hired caregivers. This lost capital, had it not...

Colm Holmes assuming new role as Chief Executive Officer of General Insurance Toronto, ON (June 7, 2019) – Aviva Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Jason Storah as Chief Executive Officer. Storah has more than 15 years of experience with Aviva Canada, serving most recently as Chief Distribution Officer, overseeing Broker Distribution, Partnerships, RBC Insurance, Aviva’s Direct Insurance business and Marketing. Storah will assume the role of CEO effective July 1, 2019. Colm Holmes, who took the helm as Aviva Canada CEO in March of 2018, will return to London, assuming a new role as Chief Executive Officer of General Insurance. Holmes will also continue to sit on the Aviva Canada board, with continued oversight into the Canadian operations – providing continuity to the leadership team and current strategy. “Jason is the natural choice to lead Aviva Canada and I’m delighted that we are appointing an internal candidate who truly knows our business, our partners and our customers,” said Colm Holmes, outgoing CEO of Aviva Canada. “Jason, along with the rest of the executive team, have sown the seeds for a successful turnaround at Aviva and I know that, under his leadership, this team will go from strength...

Toronto, ON (June 6, 2019) — Custom Software Solutions (CSSI) and ClearPay have announced an integration that will streamline payments and reporting for users of The Broker’s Workstation (TBW) and The Underwriter’s Workstation (TUW). By automating and standardizing the payment and reporting process, brokers can do business more efficiently, accurately and securely. The integration will enable TBW and TUW users to automate payment authorization, notification, reporting delivery and the movement of funds. Automating these processes will eliminate inefficiencies such as lost cheques, erroneously cancelled policies and chasing down signatures. With the process fully digitized, brokers will also benefit from enhanced security and accuracy of payments and the associated reporting. “This new payment integration will provide real efficiencies for our brokers, MGAs and carrier partners,” said Scott Andrew, CEO of CSSI. “In addition to the streamlined workflow, our clients can look forward to increased data security and privacy.” “We are excited to announce the direct integration of ClearPay with TBW and TUW,” said John Knotek, CEO of ClearPay. “Not only is the integration seamless, it anticipates future ClearPay capabilities for collections and auto reconciliation.” “TBW is particularly powerful when brokerages are handling time-sensitive funds for policy holders, for NSFs or down...

Lima News (OH) Testimony in the murder trial of Waynesfield resident Brent Williams ran the gamut Wednesday, ranging from a Tiffin man who had a one-night stand with the alleged victim just days before her death to a Cridersville woman who testified the defendant sent her photos of his penis a mere three weeks after his estranged wife’s was found deceased. Also taking the witness stand, among others, were Auglaize County Coroner Dr. Thomas Freytag, who ruled the 2017 death of Erin Mulcahy to be a homicide by strangulation, and a Lima man who called himself a “good friend” of the victim and testified to paying for an abortion after getting Mulcahy pregnant some four or five years earlier. Mulcahy’s body was found inside a running shower in a Waynesfield apartment on July 8, 2017. Her husband, who had moved out of the residence shortly before her death, is charged with her murder. The online dating app Plenty of Fish figured prominently in testimony Wednesday in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court. Tiffin resident Chris Sexton testified that he met Erin Mulcahy on the online dating site on July 3, 2017, and later that day drove to Waynesfield to meet the...

PR Newswire Kirt Walker has been named Chief Executive Officer-elect of Nationwide. He will assume the top leadership role at the Columbus, Ohio-based insurance and financial services provider on Oct. 1, 2019, succeeding CEO Steve Rasmussen, who earlier this spring announced his decision to retire in the fall. Walker, with the Nationwide family of companies for 33 years, has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide’s financial services business lines since 2009. He served 23 years in the property and casualty business, including roles as President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Insurance and President of Allied Insurance, Nationwide’s former independent agency subsidiary. Nationwide’s Board of Directors selected Walker following an extensive search process. “Nationwide has enjoyed tremendous growth and momentum over the past 10 years with Steve at the helm. Kirt Walker has the unique experience and vision to build upon that momentum and lead our company to new heights and a bright future,” said Tim Corcoran, chairman of the Board. “The company is well-positioned to grow its core businesses and continue to meet the future needs of our members and partners with new and innovative products and solutions.” Walker has been with Nationwide since 1986,...

The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) announced on June 5 that it has found that Brian Arthur Kitts and Vesta Capcorp Inc. breached Alberta securities laws The respondents raised approximately $4.3 million and US$850,000 from approximately 38 investors between February 2014 and June 2015, says the regulator. Misappropriation of funds for personal use An ASC panel determined that the respondents engaged in prohibited acts, including: falsely misrepresenting to prospective Vesta investors that invested funds would be used to provide short-term financing to real estate industry participants; diverting invested funds to business ventures that were not identified or otherwise within the reasonable expectation of Vesta investors; misappropriating investor funds to the personal use of Kitts and his spouse; and using investors’ capital to repay principal and to pay imaginary profits to investors. The panel stated, “Kitts (and through him, Vesta) operated an unsophisticated Ponzi scheme, while diverting investors’ capital for personal and other unauthorized uses.” The ASC says the proceeding will now move into a second phase to determine if any orders for sanctions and costs ought to be made against Kitts and Vesta. Read the original article at insurance-journal.ca

Aon Plc, a leading global professional services firm, aims to leverage CyberCube’s advanced cyber aggregation risk modeling capabilities and build (re)insurance demand in the fast-evolving cyber risk landscape San Francisco, CA (June 5, 2019) – CyberCube, a leading provider of cyber risk analytics for the (re)insurance industry, today announced that Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has selected its cyber insurance analytics platform to deliver innovative cyber (re)insurance solutions to its insurance carrier clients and prospects. An extreme cyber event has the potential to deeply impact individual corporations and thousands of organizations at once, and the accumulation of liabilities across multiple insured portfolios could result in substantial losses. Insurance carriers are increasingly looking for guidance on risk transfer for the growing peril created by internet-connected technologies. CyberCube’s cyber risk-modeling platform enables Aon to guide its clients on accumulation risk management and exposure measurement. With an enhanced grasp on potential exposures, this in turn gives insurance carriers the confidence to price cover more accurately and offer more relevant products to their customers. CyberCube is now integrated on Aon’s CyberMetrica platform for aggregation management which offers insurers a broad suite...

High River, AB (June 4, 2019) – Western Financial Group has furthered its strategic expansion in Ontario with its third brokerage acquisition in the province. Effective May 31, 2019, the EGM Insurance Group, based in the Ottawa Valley, is part of the Western family. Diligently serving customers since 1942, EGM and its subsidiaries, MC Carroll Insurance Brokers and Johnston & Mackie Ltd., will join Western’s network — one of the largest and strongest in the country. With this announcement, EGM Insurance Group will bring its four branches, knowledge of the Ontario market and steadfast dedication to customer service and insurance excellence to Western. “We’re thrilled to welcome EGM CEO Lisa Edmonds and her team,” Kenny Nicholls, Western’s CEO and president, said. “Our two companies are aligned in that we put our customers and people first.” “This acquisition offers us further abilities to grow our customer broker model in Ontario,” he said. Edmonds said joining Western is a great opportunity for the EGM Insurance Group and its customers. “I am excited to know the strength of Western’s people — their experience, resources and stability — will take us to the next level while allowing us to serve our customers in our...

Birmingham, Ala. (June 3, 2019): Protective Life Corporation (Protective), a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750), announced today that its principal subsidiary, Protective Life Insurance Company (Protective Life), and Protective Life & Annuity Insurance Company, completed the transaction with Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (GWL&A) to acquire via reinsurance substantially all of its individual life and annuity business. The transaction was announced on January 24, 2019. The transaction is expected to represent a capital investment by Protective of approximately $1.2 billion and is the company’s largest acquisition to date. The business being transferred, which has been marketed under the Great-West Financial brand, includes bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance, single premium life insurance, individual annuities, and a portion of Great-West’s closed block life insurance and annuities. GWL&A is retaining a block of participating policies, which will now be administered by Protective. “We are proud to announce the closing of our 57th acquisition,” said Richard J. Bielen, Protective’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This is an exciting time in Protective’s history. The addition of this seasoned, stable block of business diversifies our product mix, while providing strategic opportunities in the bank distribution channel and competitive positioning in...

Canada Protection Plan believes it is dragging life insurance into the “next century” with its Express Elite Term product. A leader in the no-medical, hard-to-insure market, the company is now moving into the healthy market, enabling Canadians and newcomers with a work permit who are in excellent health and between the ages of 18-60 years to apply either by phone or online. Within a few days, they can receive coverage for up to $500,000 with no medical exams required. Michael Aziz, chief distribution officer at Canada Protection Plan, told LHP this is a natural transition for the company. He said: “If somebody is diagnosed with cancer, has a heart attack or suffers from diabetes, they are going to have a lot of trouble being covered by a leading carrier. We are the leader in that space. “Now we’ve launched a product that continues to be simplified, no-medical but for the healthy market. It takes us into a new space with the same methodology: no medical, simplified issue, issued quickly. It appeals to anybody who does not have any health concerns or lifestyle concerns.” He added: “For example, a healthy young couple, who need a mortgage, want a product issued quickly,...