Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Sixth consecutive quarter of price increases: Marsh Global Insurance Market Index New York, NY (May 16, 2019) – Marsh has released its Global Insurance Market Index for the first quarter of 2019. Key findings include: Average commercial insurance prices increased 3% in Q1 2019, the largest increase since the survey began in 2012. Q1 2019 represents the sixth consecutive quarter of average commercial insurance pricing increases. Composite pricing in Q1 increased in all global regions for the second consecutive quarter, driven by rate change in property and directors and officers (D&O) coverages. Regionally, Pacific had the largest price increases in the index (>10%), a trend that has continued for eight quarters. The UK and Continental Europe both reported average price increases of 2% or higher. Globally, pricing for property risks increased by almost 5% on average, slightly above the rates recorded in the previous four quarters. Casualty prices declined nearly 1% on average, continuing a trend started in 2013. Average pricing in financial and professional lines increased by almost 6%. All global regions experienced a rise, primarily driven by increases in D&O insurance. Commenting on the findings, Dean Klisura, President, Global Placement at Marsh, said: “While 3% is the largest...

Group Benefits shows Q1 weakness: Reagan Consulting Atlanta, GA (May 17, 2019) – The new year is underway and organic growth remains solid among agents and brokers in the independent insurance channel. However, “some interesting subplots” are emerging that could mitigate the optimism, especially in the employee benefits sector, according to Reagan Consulting’s Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) survey for the first quarter (Q1) of 2019. Overall, Q1 organic agency growth totaled 5.3%, down just slightly from the 5.6% organic growth in Q1 2018, Reagan reports. This quarter’s 5.3% organic growth result is the lowest quarterly result in the past five quarters. Survey participants are projecting 6.0% organic growth for 2019, down slightly from the 7.0% growth prediction noted in the year-end 2018 OGP survey. Commercial P&C commission and fee income (excluding contingent income) led the organic growth charge in the first quarter, “delivering an impressive 6.9% growth result, up nicely from last year’s 6.0% first quarter tally,” says Tom Doran, senior vice president and partner of Reagan. Even more notable: The Q1 result is the highest commercial lines quarterly growth posted by the industry for the last 17 quarters (Q4 2014 was 7.0%). Commercial Lines Very Strong Higher premiums...

Act-On enlists Goose Digital to lead implementations & consulting for insurance providers as part of its end-to-end marketing automation solution which combines technology, implementation, strategy development, and technical support Toronto, ON (May 16, 2019) – Goose Digital, Canada’s leading marketing automation agency, announces an enhanced partnership with Adaptive Marketing provider Act-On Software for an increased focus on best-in-class solutions for insurance providers across the United States and Canada. Today, insurance providers are challenged with delivering meaningful digital experiences in a rapidly evolving market. As both personal and commercial insurance products are being disrupted, the modern insurance customer is also asking to be sold to and serviced in traditional and digital ways. This challenge is compounded by the fact that many insurance agencies, brokers, and carriers are falling behind in the adoption of holistic digital strategies that include best-in-class marketing technologies. Adding to the complexity is the reality that legacy insurance technologies simply cannot provide the speed, insight, and outreach required to succeed in an increasingly digital world. In March 2019, Act-On announced Accelerate, the most cost-effective bundled offering of marketing automation technology, implementation and strategy services, and hands-on premium support for organizations interested in ensuring that their investments achieve desired...

Toronto, ON (May 16, 2019) – FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada (FIRST Canada), the industry leader in payment solutions, is pleased to announce it has launched FIRST Pay, a suite of APIs which enable brokers to offer a choice of insurance payment solutions directly via their portals, websites, and apps. FIRST Canada’s suite of market-ready APIs allow brokers to easily provide bespoke payment solutions for their clients at the point of sale. Regardless of multiple carriers’ disparate payment plans, brokers can now take control of their own payment process and offer comprehensive payment plans for all their clients. Brokers can choose to leverage any or all of FIRST Canada’s API solutions including premium financing quotes and renewals, credit card payments, eSignatures, and document retrieval to design a customized digital client experience. FIRST Canada’s API Solution Consultants provide expertize, collaboration, and tools such as technical documentation and sample source code to fully support brokers and developers to easily integrate FIRST Pay payment solutions. “Payments are a critical part of the sales process for both brokers and clients.” said Stuart Bruce, Chief Executive Officer, FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada. “Brokers need an efficient way to deliver an exceptional client experience and their...

Toronto, ON (May 16, 2019) – The Canadian Association of Financial Institutions in Insurance (CAFII) warned today that the Ontario government’s decision to end OHIP coverage for emergency services for Ontarians travelling outside Canada could result in many people travelling abroad without adequate insurance coverage if the change is implemented too quickly and without sufficient communication. The Government has set October 1, 2019 as the implementation date to end OHIP’s out-of-country coverage. But in order for consumers to continue to receive a high level of protection when traveling outside Canada, CAFII says more time is needed – at least a one-year transition period. This longer time frame would allow the Government to undertake a robust, multi-year communications campaign to inform Ontarians about the change and resulting implications. It would also give the industry more time to determine what the new premium rates will be, and to ensure its employees are ready to communicate about the changes and properly serve their customers. According to CAFII, even under the current situation before the pending change, many Ontarians travel outside of Canada without adequate travel health insurance and without realizing they are at risk of incurring catastrophic financial costs. For example, according to...

Manulife Investment Management is taking a page from behavioural economics in an initiative aimed at helping advisors keep their clients invested during times of market volatility. Partnering with consulting firm BEworks, Manulife is providing a toolkit to advisors to provide them with information to better understand investor behaviour. At a preview of a Manulife documentary called “Upside of Down” in Toronto, Catherine Milum, Head of Wealth Sales, Wealth and Asset Management, Canada, said advisors know that staying invested during market downturns makes sense. While they tell their clients this, some insist on moving into cash with the result that when the market comes back they have lost out and can never make back their money, said Milum. “What we’ve been doing lately on my side of the business is showing a lot of charts to people and we’re showing the power of staying invested, giving them a lot of math. [But] it’s not working. People don’t understand. We’ve been using a lot of logic and statistics when really we need to be looking at people’s behaviour.” David Lewis, chief client officer at BEworks, said there are a number of tools that advisors can use to help their clients. One is...

Nest Wealth becomes first B2B digital wealth management platform to offer both professional investment solutions and sophisticated financial planning capabilities RazorPlan acquisition builds on Nest Wealth’s position as the largest & most comprehensive B2B digital wealth platform in Canada Nest Wealth adds thousands of advisors, including independent financial planners and investment firms, and now counts three of Canada’s six largest banks as customers Nest Wealth is the only digital wealth management platform combining sophisticated financial planning and professional wealth management allowing advisors and firms to deepen client relationships, offer personalized advice and scale their businesses Toronto, ON (May 15, 2019) – Nest Wealth, the leading B2B digital wealth management platform in Canada, has announced the acquisition of Alberta-based Razor Logic Systems, the makers of RazorPlan, one of Canada’s leading financial planning software solutions. Nest Wealth will now offer the most complete digital wealth platform available on the market – offering sophisticated, personalized and transparent wealth management solutions in combination with the ability to build full robust financial plans that help investors achieve their goals. The acquisition builds on Nest Wealth’s position as the largest & most comprehensive B2B digital wealth platform in Canada. “We’re excited to welcome the RazorPlan team...

Detroit MI (May 15, 2019) – Munich Re, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, and telematics provider The Floow, with U.S. headquarters in Detroit, have reached an agreement for a global partnership. With this deal, The Floow’s portfolio of solutions and capabilities can be provided to insurance clients around the world while also strengthening Munich Re’s telematics consulting offering. Combining The Floow’s data collection, refinery and scoring solutions with Munich Re’s insurance product and actuarial expertise will deliver a superior solution for insurance clients globally. “We see enormous appetite for the development of usage-based insurance propositions by our clients around the world,” said Sabine Fischer, Head of Motor Consulting at Munich Re. “The underpinning capabilities have to be right, and we’ve carefully selected The Floow as our partner because we believe in the quality of their offer. Together we will deliver a best-in-class value proposition to our clients.” According David James, Chief Operating Officer at The Floow, “Munich Re is an excellent partner for us to work with and we’re confident that they will help us to extend our reach and bring the power and benefits of telematics to many more insurers and their customers worldwide. We’re excited by the...

London, UK (May 15, 2019) – The Reinsurance Solutions business of Aon plc, and Guy Carpenter, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, are pleased to announce a joint effort with The Institutes RiskStream™ Collaborative to bring greater efficiency to the reinsurance placement process through distributed ledger technology (DLT). The collaboration leverages advancements in blockchain and DLT technology and existing industry standards to harmonize the approach to digital reinsurance transactions. The organizations are commited to driving better outcomes for clients through industry standard capabilities that will streamline the flow and verification of data and reduce frictional costs across the marketplace. The organizations, along with industry partners including RenaissanceRe and Everest Re, have successfully tested a proof of concept to digitally and securely distribute submissions and receive quotes using distributed ledger technology. The project was built on RiskStream Collaborative’s Canopy framework and made extensive use of ACORD data standards. The project is now moving to the next phase of development through a RiskStream working group with member carriers, brokers and reinsurers invited to contribute. The intent of the next phase is to digitize the reinsurance placement process with the overall goal of streamlining interactions within the reinsurance marketplace by creating secure...

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, May 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® (North American) introduced Classic Term, a top-ranked life insurance product featuring simplicity and highly competitive rates. Classic Term can be an ideal product for those seeking affordable, basic death benefit protection. It is consistently top tier for annual premium, strongest in non-tobacco classes from $500,000 to $2,000,000 of death benefit.   Classic Term is available for 10 and 15 year periods with a minimum face amount of $500,000. Applications must be submitted through the SimpleSubmit® e-app, which enables customers to apply for coverage electronically. Plus, North American’s WriteAway® accelerated underwriting is available with Classic Term. According to the Life Insurance Barometer Study by Life Happens and LIMRA, over half of Americans think the cost of a term life insurance policy is three times or more than its actual cost.* “We’re excited to offer our new Classic Term at ultra-low rates,” said Jerry Blair, chief distribution officer, life division, Sammons® Financial Group, Inc. (parent company of North American). “People don’t like to talk about it, yet life insurance can help mitigate the financial risk of death. It helps families stay in their homes, send children...