Dear Subscriber,
Summer is screaming by and we are only a week away from the first third being complete. We are enjoying some much deserved down time, with some sailing, and relaxing in the yard, trying to recover from the past 16 months.
Even if we are slowing down, this industry isn't. In yesterdays news I saw that ClaimSecure is being acquired by Canada Life, so again things change. For the better or worse? Time will tell, but there will be lots of concerned advisors and employers watching to see how they handle this acquisition.
We are also seeing continued activity by regulators. Whether it is the provincial bodies like FSRAO looking to change the Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices (UDAP) Rule or FINTRAC making changes and enforcing the Anti Money Laundering rules on all licensed agents (that's us). They are staying busy and we need to stay on top of this and share our responses to ensure that our industry really takes care of our clients (and us too!).
I am scheduling our fall events and they will open up for booking on September 1st. Mark the dates and watch for more details as we get closer. As always, if you have questions, just reach out.
Dave |
|
OUR EVENTS
CGIB COFFEE CHATS
Coffee chats are like a virtual breakfast. Log in and talk about what's on your mind. Best done from a computer, with a camera and a microphone. No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
Tuesday July 27th @ 2pm (EST) Thursday August 12th @ 2pm (EST)
____________________________________________________________
July 15th at 1PM EST - Sarah Becker Barill & Company is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Practice Management Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 899 6215 3681 Passcode: 501006
Sarah will post the details again, closer to the date. Furthermore, added in a repeat feature for every 3rd Thursday of the month, scheduled for 1 PM EST. ____________________________________________________________
CGIB WEBINARS
CGIB SLACK and Website tour - Thursday July 15th, 2021 - 2:00 to 3:30pm (EDT)
- Are you looking to find out how to use the CGIB Slack?
- Do you know how to subscribe to the 50+ channels?
- Did you know you can text message and video call?
- Do you know how to post messages and share files?
- Do you want to see how to navigate the new CGIB site?
- Looking for the documents, templates and videos on the new site?
- Booking for events (starting this fall) etc.
Learn how to use the CGIB benefits better and more easily.
We will not record this, but WILL create a video to refer to at a later date.
____________________________________________________________ Upcoming CGIB Events: Due to the reduction in COVID-19 restrictions, we will be launching our Toronto fall events in September. Please note the following dates.
Toronto - Wednesday October 6th
Toronto - Wednesday November 3rd
Calgary - Tuesday March 29th
Vancouver - Thursday March 31st
Watch for more more details. |
|
GET ON SLACK
The CGIB SLACK channel is a great place to pose questions, share info and learn a ton from your fellow members. The info and discussions that are posted there are unlike anywhere in the industry. Sadly, about 25% of CGIB members are still missing out on all the info being shared. Others have not taken a look at all the documents, videos and information available in MEMBERS ONLY to make their life easier.
NOTE TO ALL SLACK USERS: We now have 40+ channels in Slack to handle different topics. Please take a moment to add these channels to your menu. To do so, just click on the + next to Channels on the top left. Browse the channels and then click JOIN to add each of them. By doing so you won’t be missing some really great info. |
|
SUGGESTED READING
We think the information contained below is of great value and encourage you to read the articles and check out the events that interest you. In most cases, these articles and events are not run by CGIB, so please contact the organizers for more information. We take no responsibility for the websites, events, organizations or their content. |
|
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE PROMPTS MOST MEDICATION USE Among Canadian adults, medications to treat high blood pressure (16 per cent); high blood cholesterol (12 per cent); and mood disorders (10 per cent) such as depression, bipolar disorder, mania, or dysthymia were the most commonly used, says Statistics Canada. The use of these prescription medications was significantly higher in older age groups. Within the 60-to-79 age group, the use of prescription medications to treat high blood pressure (42 per cent), high blood cholesterol (34 per cent), and mood disorders (13 per cent) was more common. Overall, the use of prescription medications to treat high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol was significantly more common in males than females. However, the use of prescription medication to treat mood disorders was twice more common among females (14 per cent) than males (seven per cent). While the majority of adults with high blood pressure diagnosed by a health professional were taking prescription medication to treat it (85 per cent). Direct measure of blood pressure collected during this survey showed medication was effectively treating the blood pressure of 58 per cent of these adults.
DOWNSIZING SPACE CONSIDERED Over a third (37 per cent) of business leaders are considering downsizing their primary office space due to the long-term shift to remote working, says Robert Walters, a global recruiter. With 85 per cent of employees expecting continued flexibility to work from home post-COVID and a 130 per cent increase in home-buyer searches outside of the GTA, many firms are considering downsizing or getting rid of city centre bases in place of smaller satellite offices closer to where employees are based, says its ‘The Future of Work.’ Companies will move to area hub and spoke model refers allowing employees to work from either their city hub or a dedicated, strategic spoke location, including more regional workspaces. The ‘hub’ or headquarters remains in a city centre – albeit smaller – but continues to act as the ‘face’ of the brand where client and larger team meetings can be held. ‘Spokes’ are much smaller and versatile offices based closer to where employees live and often designed in a co-working format to accommodate a variety of different teams. “It’s inevitable that COVID has forced companies to rethink their space and logistical needs and the hub and spoke model is evolving from what it was even a year ago – now concentrating on pairing employee preference for remote work with flexible physical workplaces that allow them to connect with their colleagues,” says Martin Fox, managing director of Robert Walters Canada. However, its research highlights how important it is to maintain workplace culture in order to bring the best out of a workforce. Spokes or regional offices will work in that they aim to address all of the employees concerns around flexibility, commute time, cost of travel, and work-life balance, while still allowing companies to train, motivate. and monitor employee productivity on-site.”
HOW TO ALIGN BENEFITS PACKAGES WITH COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE VALUES With 61 per cent of Canadians reporting that benefits are a major factor in pursuing their career path, standard, one-size-fits-all benefits packages don’t cut it anymore, says Nicole Boduel, an employee benefits consultant for HUB International Canada. In the article ‘How To Align Benefits Packages With Company And Employee Values,’ she says employees are looking for unique benefits that respond to their personal needs. The means the key for the employer is to identify gaps in their current coverage and creating benefits package that can meet their needs.
RIGHT BALANCE STRUCK ON DRUG COSTS Proposed changes by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) as part of the consultation on the guideline monitoring and evaluation plan strike the right balance between reducing the high cost of prescription drugs in Canada, while also continuing to ensure Canadians have access to affordable and necessary medications, says the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). The reduction in prescription drug prices resulting from the PMPRB changes is expected to save Canadian employers hundreds of millions of dollars per year. However, it says it’s critical that the implementation of these changes not be extended again. As part of developing benchmarks, consideration of a clear and transparent definition of what constitutes success will be important. For example, what improved access looks like and how will it be measured need to be identified, it says.
DECEMBER CLAIMS AMONGST HIGHEST Based on data collected from the Canadian life insurance industry, individual life insurance claims due to COVID-19 in December 2020 were the second-highest monthly claims for the year, says the third report of Canadian Insurance Industry Monthly Aggregate Data Analysis from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. To the end of December 2020, based on results from a sample of Canadian life insurance companies, December 2020 COVID-19 claims accounted for about 10 per cent of the total individual insurance claims that month, down slightly from the peak in April and May but up significantly from the low of less than one per cent in August. The level of individual life insurance claims in almost every month of 2020 was increased when compared to same month in 2019. The sample of Canadian life insurance companies recorded a total of 3,179 reported individual claims that identified COVID-19 as cause of death in 2020. Since the second wave of COVID-19 in Canada continued into January and February 2021, the next quarterly report will show its further impact. |
|
The play before time ran out. The last speech of the campaign. The typo on your resume or the spot on your tie. The final decision before the company declared bankruptcy.
We focus on the thing that happened just before the end. And that’s almost always an unimportant moment.
Things went wrong (or things went right) because of a long series of decisions and implementations. A misguided strategy, a bad hire, a brilliant insight about network effects–these are the acts with leverage, not the obvious thing that all the pundits would like to talk about.
When you get to the thing before the last thing, don’t sweat it. It’s almost certainly too late to make the outcome change. On the other hand, when you’re quietly discussing the thing before that before that before that before that, it might pay to bring more attention to it than the circumstances seem to demand. Because that’s the key moment.
My Take on Seths Post
This reminds me of speaking with advisors about cases they have lost. There is almost always a focus on the last thing, when it was likely a process that started the day they acquired the client and has building since.
I just lost a client of 5 years. I blamed it on a new management team with a different focus, but there is always more to it than that. The new team has been in place for a couple years and not been open to meetings or taking the time to understand the plan. That's at least partly my fault. Could I have helped raise their connection? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm sure it was a series of things that got me there and I have to remind myself of that. |
|
EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
ONLINE CE CREDITS
Looking for benefits dedicated online CE courses? Want to provide your admin and support staff with basic knowledge? Want to dig into something more detailed for your benefits/insurance business? Business Career College (BCC) has an extensive catalogue of online CE courses with a number of group benefits specific courses covering topics ranging from contractual concerns, plan designs, and underwriting requirements, to product specifics and integration with government benefits. Courses consist of narrated videos with short, online quizzes. The full catalogue includes over 60 courses, podcasts, and videos covering topics from the world of insurance, investments, financial planning, taxation, and ethics with a focus on technical content and real-world application. Courses are accredited for the maximum categories of credits and can include provincial Life and A&S credits, FP Canada, Advocis, and more! Use code CGIB on registration for your first three months free! |
|
CONFERENCE EXAMINES FRAUD The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ ‘Fraud Prevention Institute for Employee Benefit Plans’ virtual conference will provide strategies for preventing and detecting fraud in benefit plans and how to keep plan assets protected, deter data breaches, and implement strong internal controls and risk prevention measures. It takes place July 19 to 21. Information is at ____________________________________________________________
LTD VISION OFFERED William Lindsay, a plan sponsor services advisor, and Ron Cashin, an account executive, at Desjardins Financial Security will provide a ‘Futuristic Vision’ of long-term disability (LTD) benefits at the CPBI Atlantic virtual conference. As well, Frances Donald, global chief economist and global head of macroeconomic strategy for the multi-asset solutions team, at John Hancock Investment Management and Manulife Investment, will offer ‘An Economist’s view in the Age of COVID 19, how the global pandemic will continue to impact the economy. Theme of the event is The Path Ahead: Rock On. It takes place October 7. Information is at https://www.cpbi-icra.ca/Events/Details/Atlantic/2021/10-07-2021-CPBI-Atlantic-Virtual-Conference ____________________________________________________________ |
|
Need help? Have questions? Looking for something?
Reach out to CGIB - Dave Patriarche - dave@cgib.ca - 905-886-9203 |
|
|
