INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Social Pressures Are Preventing Canadians From Securing Their Financial Futures
As the annual deadline for RRSP contributions approaches, a new eye-opening, national research study by Co-operators has discovered that social pressures to appear financially savvy, and an emerging do-it-yourself investing culture, are presenting new challenges for Canadians' long-term financial planning. Read more.

Climate, Cyber Lead Emerging Risks: Actuaries
Climate risk, cyber concerns, and financial volatility are the top emerging risks according to an annual survey of risk managers. Providing insights on emerging risks over time, the 15th Annual Emerging Risk Survey is sponsored by the Joint Risk Management Section (JRMS) of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA). Read more.

IBAC, CSIO Join Forces On API Development
The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada and the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations are pleased to announce that they have joined forces for industry API development, and the IBAC Data Exchange (DX) initiative will now integrate into CSIO's INNOTECH API roadmap. Read more.

TD Selects AI Fraud Prevention From FRISS
As insurance fraud grows more sophisticated, the accurate identification of suspicious claims to prevent fraud has never been more important. TD Insurance is pleased to announce it is expanding its fraud detection and prevention capabilities with FRISS's AI-powered fraud risk scoring to better detect suspicious and fraudulent claims during the claims adjudication process. Read more.

Stillwater Insurance Group Selects Betterview
Betterview, an InsurTech provider of property intelligence to P&C insurance companies, is pleased to announce that Stillwater Insurance Group will implement Betterview's PropertyPulse to flag modifications to insured properties which may require additional underwriting assessment or risk mitigation steps. Read more.

CHES Special Risk Launches Intellectual Property Insurance
The number of lawsuits related to Intellectual Property rights has increased significantly in recent years. As it has become a more pressing risk for businesses, it is important to be adequately covered. CHES Special Risk is pleased to announce its intellectual property insurance offering to help provide the means to withstand and defend against the event of an intellectual property lawsuit, offering financial peace of mind and expertise in managing complex incidents. Read more.

Interbank Information Sharing: Fraud Detection & Prevention
Bank fraud in Canada is on the rise, and the world of open banking will bring new challenges in fraud detection and prevention. The rate of suspected digital fraud attempts against financial services companies tripled between late 2020 and late 2021, and banks are investing in siloed approaches to solve a shared problem that is best addressed by banding together to catch fraudsters. Read more.

Telus Health Launches Virtual Pharmacy
Telus Health is pleased to announce the launch of its digital Virtual Pharmacy service to help improve medication adherence by offering Canadians the opportunity to set up automatic refill reminders for prescription medications that are shipped directly to their doorstep. Read more.

Global Weather Losses Increased 15% From 2020
Aon plc has published its 2021 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight report, which evaluates the increasing frequency and severity of disruptive natural disasters and how their resulting economic losses are protected globally. This data serves as the foundation for insights that can help business leaders quantify and qualify catastrophe-related risk and assess how their organizations can increase resilience amid an increasingly volatile climate. Read more.

WTW To Launch Cyber Crime Task Force
WTW, the newly rebranded Willis Towers Watson, has announced the formation of its CyberCrime task force within its Financial, Executive and Professional Risks (FINEX) global practice. Read more.

Six Million Electric Cars To Ship This Year
Six million electric cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) will be shipped in 2022, up from 4 million in 2021, according to a new forecast by Gartner, Inc. Read more.

IBAO Releases On-Demand Licensing Course
The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario is pleased to announce it recently released an on-demand version of Broker Launchpad, its RIBO Level 1 Licensing course. This is the latest expansion of its revamped licensing program. Read more.

Industry Association Welcomes AIG
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is proud to announce that AIG Insurance has joined its membership, which represents the vast majority of P&C insurers in Canada. AIG brings a global perspective and strong understanding of the commercial insurance market that will strengthen and build on IBC's work. Read more.

Deloitte Ventures To Invest In Emerging Technology Critical To The Innovation Ecosystem
Deloitte Canada is pleased to announce the launch of its new venture capital initiative, Deloitte Ventures, designed to make minority investments in emerging technology companies. Created with a vision of accelerating Canada's innovative technology sector, the CAD 150M investment represents the largest capital commitment to date amongst Canadian professional services firms. Read more.

New Corporate Identity For Lussier Dale Parizeau
Lussier Dale Parizeau has unveiled a new corporate identity. The century-old firm will now be known as Lussier and will carry a new brand image. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Simply Benefits
Simply Benefits is Canada's newest Third Party Payor (TPP) that works with advisors to deliver employee health benefits 100% digitally to Canadian employers. Our all-in-one digital benefits management platform helps to engage employees anytime, anywhere, simplify the benefits experience and evolve an advisor's benefits business. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Account Manager Personal/Commercial Lines CSR
KMI Brokers Inc.
Toronto, ON

Personal Lines Broker
Central Insurance Group
Calgary, AB

From Doug Embedded Insurance Over the last few months, I have been surprised at how “embedded insurance” has become so prominent in predictions of tomorrow's insurance landscape. What is embedded? Simplistically, when purchasing a product – say, an e-scooter – insurance is included as part of the transaction. Conversely, when purchasing an insurance policy, another product – say, roadside assistance – is offered. In either case, the secondary product or service can be included automatically (hard) or as an option you can select or not (soft). Example: A basic warranty is an automatic “hard” part of many purchases, but a “soft” extended warranty is an option. Example: Travel insurance is frequently offered as a soft choice when purchasing a trip/vacation. Many auto manufacturers are now offering insurance, although several (Tesla, GM) are in rollout mode. Denise Garth, CSO at Majesco, said in an interview with Industrious that “Forty percent of insurance is going to be embedded over the next 10 to 20 years. The customers are in the driver's seat, and that's flipping the entire business model on its head.” That is significant. What does it mean to you in your insurance business? Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca