Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

BMO Asset Management has launched three risk-based asset allocation Exchange Traded Funds. The new ETFs provide diversified exposures with quarterly rebalancing, says the company.

While Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is regularly acquiring new companies and expanding its gigantic Fortune 500 footprint, one January takeover generated particular notice. On Jan. 28, Gallagher announced the acquisition of Partners Advantage Insurance Services and AMZ Financial Insurance Services. The move marked the first substantial entry by Gallagher into the independent marketing organization channel of insurance distribution. An insurance giant based outside Chicago, Gallagher continues to expand. The third-largest insurance broker in the world, Gallagher entered the Fortune 500 list in 2016, coming in at 471. Since then, the company rose to 464 in 2017 and 454 in 2018. Gallagher is predominantly a property & casualty broker, with a growing benefits division. The company is sending signals that it plans to be more active with indexed life insurance and possibly annuities. “Part of our attraction is for the opportunity for product development that could be specific to our client base and we could deliver through our life business,” said Jeff Leonard, head of Gallagher’s North America Financial & Retirement Services division. “So it seemed like a pretty nice, unique skill set that we could add on and really help us leverage our business.” The company’s Financial & Retirement Services...

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (Feb. 18, 2019) — A new study, commissioned by MDRT and conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 2,000 U.S. adults, examines what consumers think of technology in financial services, clients’ perspectives on robo advisors and the technology they expect their advisor to incorporate. Whether they currently use a financial advisor or not, about the same percentage of Americans in each group agree it is important that advisors are both technologically savvy (95 percent each) and use updated technology-based tools in their practice (96 percent who have an advisor and 95 percent who don’t have an advisor). The majority of Americans (88 percent) say technology should complement, not replace, the services of a human financial advisor, with 85 percent of Americans stating they prefer working with a human financial advisor rather than a robo advisor. Only five percent of Americans believe financial planning should be managed entirely by technology-based tools and 36 percent strongly disagree that robo advisors could completely replace the role of human financial advisors in financial planning. The study found that, while 83 percent would trust a human financial advisor to effectively manage their financial plan, only 36 percent would trust the job...

Feb. 16–An accountant from Baton Rouge stole roughly $2 million that the historically troubled New Orleans Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund gave to him to invest in life insurance policies — and then used the money to gamble, finance home improvements and pay off debts, federal prosecutors allege. Wayne Triche faces charges of wire fraud and falsely reporting his income on several tax returns in a 38-count indictment handed up by a federal grand jury Thursday. Triche didn’t immediately respond to a message left for him at his office Friday. According to the indictment, the New Orleans Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund loaned $5 million to a company that Triche co-founded so the firm could buy life insurance policies as investments that officials hoped would generate profits. Life insurance holders will sometimes sell their policies to investors who hope that the benefits paid out by the policy will be more than it cost to purchase and maintain it. Triche’s company received more than $6 million in benefits from life insurance policies purchased as investments on behalf of the Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund, the feds said. But less than $3 million of that made its way back to the fund....

Real estate news is typically quiet in January, but there’s been quite a few developments as of late. To quickly recap, Canadian real estate in 2018 ended with four consecutive months of sales declines. Overall, there was a drop of 11 per cent nationwide, with the 2.5 per cent drop from November to December being the biggest month-to-month change in eight months. To no one’s surprise, Toronto and Vancouver led that decline. The slowdown in 2018 wasn’t a total shock. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) introduced a new stress test last year that made getting a mortgage more difficult for some people, while the Bank of Canada continued to raise interest rates. These two factors combined with record debt levels cooled the housing market, but we’re definitely not in correction territory. No sales data yet for 2019, but the industry is still buzzing At the time this post was written, sales data for January has still not been released, but a few interesting things have already occurred. At its first announcement of the year, the Bank of Canada decided to hold the overnight rate at 1.75 per cent in January. This is significant as the Canadian...

Meridian holds the position as the biggest credit union in Ontario, and the third biggest country-wide. The company recently created a new subsidiary named Motusbank, a full-service digital bank that’s set to change the way Canadians handle their finances. What’s Different About Motusbank Motusbank, much like its parent credit union, has a member-centric approach to banking. Members enjoy access to the full retail product line and receive favourable pricing since shareholders are not a part of the credit union banking model. The competitive rates and fees provide plenty of incentive to take a look at this digital bank. Online and mobile banking are included, which provides access to all of the bank’s services. One area that stands out is the digital mortgage platform. Savings and checking accounts do not have any fees, and Motusbank includes access to the no-fee ATM network The Exchange. David Baldarelli, Motusbank’s COO says “We’ve responded to what Canadians want by developing a simple and intuitive digital platform that makes banking feel good, and an experience that makes people feel valued and secure.” Motusbank welcomes member feedback and uses this information to make decisions about the types of products and features it will offer in the...

Do Canadians favour the glitz and glam of a wedding or would they prefer to invest their money somewhere else? When you’re ready to spend the rest of your life with someone, you may not be thinking price tags. But as the current average price of a wedding in Canada hangs around $50,000, you may want to think again. According to a recent study from RateSupermarket.ca, 84 per cent of Canadians say they would spend their savings on other financial priorities, rather than on their nuptials. This year’s annual Cost of Love study sheds light on the financial concerns of both married and unmarried Canadians, showing how married folk would’ve rather spent their money in retrospect, and how unmarried Canadians prioritize future financial goals. The survey found that 32 per cent of married Canadians would rather have travelled with the money they spent on their wedding, and 20 per cent would rather have invested the money. In comparison, 43 per cent of unmarried Canadians would rather travel with the money they would potentially spend on a wedding, and one-third would rather invest it. Canadians would rather invest in a door bell than wedding bells Whereas in the past, a wedding...

In a surprising move, British-owned online estate agent Purplebricks launched in Canada at the top of the year – contrary to previous statements made by the company. Purplebricks acquired Canadian online real estate broker DuProprio (also trading as ComFree) in July of last year. This instantly fuelled rumors that they were looking to set up business north of the U.S. border. Selling a home without paying commission Like Purplebricks, DuProprio offers a similar flat-fee service – enabling owners to sell their homes without paying commission to a real estate agent. DuProprio CEO Lukas Lhotsky appeared recently on local television wearing a Purplebricks shirt and was presented as their new Canadian CEO. During the interview, he claimed that vendors would save “tens of thousands” of dollars by using their $800 “fixed-fee” service and avoiding agent commissions. The DuProprio service includes a listing on realtor.ca, taking photos of the property and assisting homeowners with market valuation. However, the fixed-fee service is not without additional upsells; they charge an extra $400 for viewings and $1,900 for their own negotiation services. Homeowners can compare this to a traditional sale via a real estate agent that typically carries a commission of around five per cent....

Eight risk areas underscore how the shift to digital is bringing great opportunity and more risk London, UK (Feb. 13, 2019) – Aon plc, the leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, is pleased to announce the release of its 2019 Cyber Security Risk Report. The report,… Read more » The post Aon 2019 Cyber Security Risk Report: “What’s Now and What’s Next” appeared first on Insurance-Canada.ca.

London, ON (Feb. 13, 2019) – Rod Stiller, President of National Truck League (NTL), is pleased to announce that NTL has introduced a disability insurance coverage for truckers who are over the age of 70. This new insurance coverage is available for Owner/Operators and drivers within the industry between the ages of 70 and 75…. Read more » The post National Truck League Introduces Disability Insurance For Truckers Over 70 appeared first on Insurance-Canada.ca.