INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Canadian Insurance Market Remains Challenging: Aon Quarterly Global Market Insights Report
Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, has released its quarterly Global Market Insights Report, which provides data-driven insights and analytics on risk and insurance market trends around the world to enable better decision-making. Aon's report for the fourth quarter of 2021 emphasizes how new forms of volatility are impacting insurance market trends and the risk agenda for organizations, driving the growing need to innovate and develop solutions to assess, quantify and treat emerging risks profiles. Read more.

U.S. Independent Agents, Brokers See Record Growth In 2021
Organic growth rates among American independent insurance agents and brokers doubled from 2020 to 2021 – just one of several zeniths uncovered in the latest Reagan Consulting Growth & Profitability Survey, which measured fourth-quarter 2021 results, completing the full-year look at the U.S. industry sector. Read more.

Equitable Life Signs Cloud DX To Deliver New Remote Monitoring Benefits
Cloud DX and Equitable Life of Canada® are pleased to announce an agreement to leverage Cloud DX's Connected Health Kit to deliver a remote patient monitoring benefit to eligible Equitable Life critical illness insurance claimants through the insurer's EquiLiving® product, making Equitable Life the first insurer in Canada to offer health and medical monitoring through Cloud DX to all of its individual life critical illness clients. Read more.

Canadian Life Insurance Activity Continues Decline In January
Canadian life insurance application activity showed a decline Year-over-Year (YOY) in January 2022 compared to January 2021, reflecting a continuing pattern of YOY declines that began in July. On a Month-Over-Month (MOM) basis, January 2022 activity remained flat compared to December 2021. Read more.

Optimity Launches Digital Wellness Platform For Underinsured Canadians
Optimity Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of its Optimity Premium online wellness tool in partnership with online insurance innovator Walnut. The product is designed to help people without insurance (more than 30% of Canadians) achieve their health goals through discounted insurance coverage and access to leading wellness platforms. Read more.

Digital Technology Adoption Brokerage Survey Results
Applied Systems has announced the findings of its annual Applied Digital Brokerage Survey, providing an industry-wide benchmark for brokerages to measure their digital technology adoption and progression towards digital transformation. The 2021 Applied Digital Brokerage survey results indicate that brokerages creating and following digital strategies are increasing, along with adoption of customer service technologies and cloud as the industry pivots to new operating and servicing tactics following the pandemic. Read more.

FloodFlash Raises Funding From Buoyant, Munich Re Ventures
FloodFlash, the parametric insurance technology company that pays catastrophic flood claims within 48 hours, has announced a Series A raise of CAD 15M. The round was led by Chicago-based Buoyant Ventures with San Francisco-based fund Munich Re Ventures also featuring as an investor. Sony Financial Ventures/Global Brain (Tokyo), MS&AD Ventures (San Francisco) and PropTech1 (Berlin) all participated in the round alongside existing investors Pentech, Local Globe and Insurtech Gateway. Read more.

CSIO’s INNOTECH Advisory Committee Finalizes 2022 API Development Roadmap
CSIO is pleased to announce that its Innovation and Emerging Technology (INNOTECH) Advisory Committee has finalized its 2022 API development roadmap. It contains use cases that were prioritized based on input from Committee members, including the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) broker representatives. The roadmap has the full support of both CSIO's and IBAC's Board of Directors. Read more.

Canadian Broker Network Marks Anniversary
Canadian Broker Network (CBN) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, marking a milestone for the independent broker channel in Canada. Read more.

Live Webinar:
Digital Transformation in Life Insurance

Thursday, February 24, at 11:30am ET

Join this live webinar to hear from Accenture and SAS experts about key trends and challenges relating to digital transformation in the insurance industry. Register Now.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Curv Health
Curv Health's mission is to provide a more accessible, effective, and cost-savings option for individuals seeking virtual healthcare. Our digital platform allows health providers to earn more revenue, employer groups to offer high-quality health plans to its members with high visibility, and members to access cost-efficient, accessible care from the comfort of their homes. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Program & Services Director
Canadian Broker Network
Toronto, ON

Financial Security Advisor
RBC
Remote positions available across Quebec

From Doug Embedded insurance (cont’d) Two businesses decide to partner. The product of one is offered for sale and the product of the other is included in the sales process as a standard component or an option. Either of the two parties could be an insurance business. Both could be part of a single larger conglomerate, but as insurance is highly regulated, they are probably separate legal entities. Alternatively, the two may be unrelated, e.g., travel insurance offerings sold by travel agents based on a partnership with an unrelated insurance business. General Motors sells vehicles and owns OnStar Insurance; likewise Tesla and Tesla Insurance. Modern communications infrastructure enables the sale to be processed by both parties in a single transaction. The purchaser obtains the product and insurance simultaneously. Obviously such processing requires continuous service, a high level of security, speed, and more. Native cloud operations make this more easily implemented. Is the emergence of embedded insurance forcing a more rapid migration to the cloud, or is the cloud migration fuelling the interest in embedded insurance? Insurance in such transition – what challenges! Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca