Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Emerging Risks Monitor Report Shows Concern About New Regulations Across Geographic Areas in Q1 2019 Arlington, VA (Apr. 11, 2019) – Concerns about rapidly accelerating privacy regulations and their associated regulatory burdens became the top emerging risk that organizations face globally, according to Gartner, Inc.’s latest Emerging Risks Monitor Report. The quarterly survey of 98… Read more » The post Accelerating Privacy Regulation Returns as the Top Emerging Risk Worrying Organizations: Gartner Survey appeared first on Insurance-Canada.ca.

Valmark Financial Group, an innovator in the life insurance space, has updated its Life Assurance 360 process to help insurance producers comply with the state of New York’s Regulation 187 and the updated standards by the CFP Board, both of which require a best interest standard for life insurance transactions. More importantly, use of the LA 360 tools, notably the Life Insurance Design Questionnaire, will facilitate better and more consistent results from advisors for clients on the policies they place and manage. Regulation 187 is set to go into effect on August 1, 2019, for annuity transactions and February 1, 2020, for life insurance transactions in the state of New York. Industry observers suggest that additional states are quietly preparing to release a similar regulation this year. The CFP Board also significantly revised its Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, noting an application of the fiduciary standard that requires CFP® professionals to “act in the best interest of the client at all times when providing financial advice”. This would apply to any situation where a person with a CFP® designation provides advice or recommends life insurance products. The revised rules, which go into effect October 1, 2019, no longer...

By Michael Babikian Electronic policy delivery saves carriers and agents paper, time and money. It’s also more convenient for the customer because the policy arrives much faster. E-delivery can reduce the cycle time from weeks down to minutes. Within the last decade, the industry has striven to make e-delivery the standard. Protective Life began offering it in 2008. In 2010, the Federation of Regulatory Counsel was discussing what Florida law had to say about electronic policy delivery. By 2013, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America had issued a report on best practices for e-delivery. Many states made room for technology in their legislation as consumers demanded more convenience. Even California passed the Life and Annuity Electronic Transactions Law at the end of 2015, which permitted e-delivery and e-signatures in life insurance (with significant requirements). The e-delivery practice was considered a game-changer, both from an environmental perspective (the insurance industry was purported to be the industry with the second-highest rate of paper consumption) and in terms of customer experience. Even then, consumers insisted on online access to their information, and most preferred to receive documents electronically. But now, in 2019, consumers expect to receive their policies electronically. It’s no longer...

By Stephen Jass If you owned an exotic antique car, with buyers lined up around the corner to make offers, it would not make sense to send that car to the scrapyard. This metaphor paints the picture of how remaining term life insurance has often been handled, and it is an example of how the life insurance industry has seen a decline in partial term conversions. The correct steps are taken by the fiduciary in determining the amount of term insurance the client should convert but, instead of appraising the remaining term insurance, it is scrapped. An emerging trend is the appraisal of remaining term insurance as potential life settlement opportunities. This often provides policy owners with unrealized lump sum cash value for traditionally lapsed remaining term coverage. It also provides financial professionals with the benefit of converting the full face amount of the policy. While not all policies will qualify, standard eligibility includes policies over $100,000 of face amount with an insured over age 65 who has experienced a decline in health since the life insurance policy originally was issued. This trend is being fueled by the recent availability of life settlement submission, tracking and management technology. Financial professionals...

Kemper Corporation announced that Cheryl Kingsfield Neal has joined the company as President of Kemper Life, effective today. Neal will report to Mark Green, President of Kemper’s Life & Health Division, and will be based at Kemper Life’s headquarters in St. Louis. Cheryl Kingsfield Neal (Photo: Business Wire) “Cheryl is a seasoned life insurance industry executive with extensive experience in developing and executing strategic plans to drive profitable growth,” said Green. “Her demonstrated success in transformational leadership and building a results-oriented culture will be of immense value to Kemper in driving enhanced performance in our Life division.” Neal joins Kemper from Foresters Financial where she held various senior leadership roles, including President of the North American Life and Annuity Division, and Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer. Prior to that, she held multiple roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance including Executive Vice President and General Manager of Liberty Mutual Benefits, and President of Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston. Neal also has experience with HSBC Insurance Services, Wells Fargo, and Discover Card. She received a BA in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Neal succeeds Michael Plazony, who has...

From the day Coral Gables nurse Debra Clark was discovered strangled, beaten and shot inside her townhome, police had focused on one chief suspect: Allen Bregman, her older, married lover. But it took 42 years, and the evolution of DNA-matching technology, for a jury to decide that detectives had the right man. Jurors on Friday convicted Bregman, now 77, of murdering Clark during a fit of rage in August 1977. Bregman showed no emotion as the verdict was read, while Clark’s relatives began to weep quietly. “She got her peace. She’s at rest. I thank God for being a righteous God to help the jurors make a wise decision,” said a tearful Brian Pantola, Clark’s brother. He had traveled along with relatives and supporters from upstate New York to watch the trial. Bregman was convicted of second-degree murder with a firearm, and he was immediately taken into custody to await sentencing in the coming weeks. The gun portion of the verdict was important. Had jurors convicted him of plain second-degree murder with no weapon, Bregman would likely have walked free. The reason: Bregman had to be tried under 1977 Florida law, back when the statute of limitations for second-degree murder...

From Staff Reports U.S. life insurance application activity slowed down in March, largely because young people did not buy. Overall activity fell 4.9% year over year, according to the MIB Life Index. The severity of the decline is largely attributable to the March 2018 comparative period being so good — up 6.7%, MIB explained. For the first quarter 2019, the MIB Life Index is off 1% versus Q1 2018. “Once again, the shift has been away from younger age buyers, with the life insurance application activity in age 60+ predominating, despite its percent change decline from January highs,” MIB said. Younger age activity accounts for 53% of the total Life Index, speaking to first quarter declines. March activity for the composite Index was up slightly (0.8%) from that of February. In the age groups, March year-over-year application activity is as follows: ages 0-44, down 9.1%; ages 45-59, down 4.5%; and ages 60+ up 7.6%. At the end of Q1 2019, activity ages 0-44 was down 6.1%; ages 45-59 was up 0.5%; and ages 60+ was up 12.6%. “Application activity ages 60+ are showing their first double-digit quarterly growth in nearly a decade,” MIB reported. Owned by members, MIB Group provides...

When we hear the words “gender gap,” the most publicized and pervasive type usually comes to mind — the difference in male versus female wages earned. This discrepancy continues even today: On average, female workers earn approximately 80 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. A more overlooked gap merits attention, however, when it comes to preparation and planning for retirement. Two key factors can put women at a disadvantage. First, they live longer than men and must sustain their lifestyle for a longer time. LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute research shows the average life expectancy for women is 85.6 years old, versus 83 years old for men. Second, women may not be comfortable with their level of financial acumen. For example, our research shows 40 percent of single-women retirees say they have little or no knowledge of financial products — a higher proportion than single-men retirees (25 percent). This can result in more risk aversion and possibly less diversity in their investment mix, both of which may limit the long-term performance of their portfolio. Given this perspective, there are several ways these unique challenges translate into opportunity in the women’s retirement market: Size. In...

People often avoid conversations associated with mortality, meaning they probably don’t discuss estate plans, and may not be aware of the living benefits they offer. As a result, seniors may lack preparation and plans for their estate, which could make them vulnerable to financial exploitation. To engage your clients in a truly comprehensive financial planning approach early on, emphasize that unpredictable life events could happen at any moment and leave them incapable of performing simple financial tasks such as paying bills. Ease Clients Through Loss Of Control Incapacity associated with aging can be a threat to your client’s financial well-being, and it can be particularly difficult for clients with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease to give up control or recognize that they no longer have the same capacity as in the past. If these clients haven’t established durable power of attorney, an advisor must determine the appropriate next steps to solidify that component of their plan. Joint meetings between clients and their families can be complex, yet effective in these situations. You cannot anticipate the direction of the meeting, but flexibility and strategic thinking can often lead to the client recognizing that a durable power of attorney needs to be established...

For NAIFA past resident Paul Dougherty, the best strategy an advisor can use to help improve his client’s financial wellness is to serve as the client’s financial fitness coach. Like so many deeply personal issues, talking to people about their money elicits a broad array of responses from them, Dougherty said during a recent interview. What may be a meager sum and cause for concern to one client may represent the proud total life savings of another. What is consistent, however, is the client’s feeling of empowerment when they achieve a full and complete understanding of their financial picture. Some basic tools an advisor uses while working with clients may address items such as budgeting, debt management, basic investment strategies, planning for college or retirement, and protecting against risk every step of the way. But other circumstances may require more advanced planning. These include helping an employer create a benefits package for their workers, the purchase or sale of a business, or protecting family members who have special needs or long-term care requirements. Each of these circumstances requires a unique perspective — the client’s perspective — to recognize what may be required, according to Dougherty. But it takes the advisor...