Insurance Immersion — Canada

Industry Overview

• Financial institutions and types of insurers
• Perceptions of the insurance industry
• Product definitions
• Canadian insurance industry size and trends

Life Insurance Products

• Types and features of life insurance products: term, whole life, and universal life
• Needs met by life insurance products
• Supplemental benefits
• Life insurance trends
• Product distribution
• Pricing life insurance and product profitability

Insurance Wealth Products

• Types and features of wealth products: annuities and segregated funds
• Needs met by wealth products
• Annuity payout options
• Segregated funds versus mutual funds
• Insurance wealth trends
• Product distribution

Sales and Service

• What’s in it for the consumer
• Traditional sales process
• Capital needs analysis

Regulation, Compliance, and Market Conduct

• Legislation
• Regulatory bodies
• Compliance
• Market conduct

Insurance Company Operations

• Essential operational functions
• New business
• Underwriting
• Customer service
• Claims
• Operational performance and measures

Finance and Risk Management

• Solvency and profitability
• Reinsurance
• Cash flow
• Financial statements
• Capital requirements
• Accounting standards
• Risk management
• Regulatory and compliance requirements, guidelines, and monitoring

The Changing Insurance Landscape

• Traditional versus modern business approaches
• Distribution channels and preferences
• Artificial intelligence
• Fraud
• InsurTech

• Public in-person or virtual sessions: Instructor-led training for participants who attend at a common location or virtual platform
• Company-hosted in-person or virtual sessions: Instructor-led training at your location or through a virtual platform for your company staff

Starting January 2022, Insurance Immersion participants will receive credit for LOMA’s FLMI Level 1 Certificate in Insurance Fundamentals courses (LOMA 281 — Meeting Customer Needs With Insurance and Annuities) and (LOMA  291 — Improving the Bottom Line: Insurance Company Operations). This new benefit now provides participants with the FLMI Level 1 Certificate in Insurance Fundamentals and a jump-start to earning a prestigious industry designation. Participants must attend all modules of the Insurance Immersion program to receive course credit.

• Newly recruited professionals who need to learn about the industry
• Emerging leaders who need a broader perspective of the business
• Skilled professionals with roles expanding beyond a single business unit

Date:  April 3 - 5, 2024 

Meeting Times (subject to change):
Wednesday, April 3:  8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, April 4:  8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET
Friday, April 5:  8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET

Venue:
Canada Life
High C. Baker Room
330 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario

REGISTER

Registration Fees:

Early-Bird Rates (Register by March 3, 2024)
LOMA Members: CD$2,500 + HST
Non-members: CD$3,000 + HST

Regular Rates (Register after March 3, 2024)
LOMA Members: CD$3,000 + HST
Non-members: CD$3,500 + HST

Program fee includes three days of live instruction, group activities and discussions, plus program materials. Fee also includes breakfast and lunch each day.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
All cancellation requests must be received in writing. These requests carry a CD$125 administrative charge. Full refunds minus the administrative fee will be granted only on written requests received by March 15, 2024. No refunds will be granted if the request is received after this date. If for any reason, a meeting is canceled, LOMA will refund the total registration fee. However, LOMA will not be responsible for any travel, hotel accommodations, or other costs incurred. Cancellatio​n requests should be submitted to customer.service@limra.com.

In his current role as Assistant Vice President, Insurance Product Management, Sun Life Financial, Mark is responsible for the company’s life product shelf (including design and pricing) and how those products help Canadians achieve lifetime financial security. He is passionate about the work he does and the advisors he serves, and is appreciative of the different product designs in the marketplace.

With over 15 years in the insurance field, Mark rounded out his experience through technical positions in investments and valuation, as well as pricing and product development. He spent three years as the leader of Sun Life’s large case pricing team, where he tailored solutions for advisors and their affluent clients. While serving on the third-party distribution team, he enjoyed the competitive atmosphere and how each case was unique and brought new challenges.

Mark is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Canadian Institute of Actuaries, as well as a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst with the Society of Actuaries. It was in pursuit of the actuarial designations that he developed an excitement for the practical applications of risk management through insurance. As an actuary, he is able to look “behind the curtain” of many insurance designs and strategies and use his expertise to really understand what is going on.

Sharon serves on the boards of directors of three insurance enterprises in different lines of business: mortgage insurance, group annuities and health benefits. She also serves on the board of directors of the Society of Actuaries, where she chairs the Governance and Policy Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee. Sharon is a past president of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Additionally, she sits on the Investment Management Committee of FaithLife Financial, and on the board of directors of Opera Atelier. Previously, she was also a member of the board of directors of RSA Canada.

Sharon’s 35-year working career was primarily in life insurance marketing and product development. In the last 15 years, working with a multi-national fraternal benefit society, she progressed from product management to Chief Actuary, then Chief Financial Officer, then President of the Canadian business unit and finally Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Throughout this tenure, she actively supported the fraternal purpose of the organization — speaking and volunteering for good works in communities.

Sharon was also active in the Examination Committee for the Society of Actuaries for many years, is past president of the Actuaries Club of Toronto, and of the Actuaries Section of the National Fraternal Congress of America (now the American Fraternal Alliance). She also served as chair of the Smaller Insurance Companies Section of the Society of Actuaries.

Brent is Assistant Vice President and Executive Director for LIMRA and LOMA Canada and is an experienced insurance executive. He has primary accountability for liaising with Canadian LIMRA and LOMA member companies. His responsibilities include managing relationships with executives in member companies, conducting workshops and planning sessions, and applying benchmarking information in problem-solving sessions with clients. He also speaks on industry issues and trends and shares information about LIMRA’s and LOMA’s wide range of products, services and solutions available to Canadian companies.

Prior to joining LIMRA/LOMA, Brent served in the Agency department of Manulife Financial. In his 20 years there, he worked on expanding distribution through innovations to the traditional distribution system, as well as supplemental channels; strategic planning; designing and administering field compensation systems; and new product development and implementation. He began his career as an agent and became an agency manager for The Dominion Life Assurance Company of Canada.

During his decades in field and head office management, Brent relied on LIMRA and LOMA research, products and services, and chaired LIMRA’s Field Diversity Marketing Committee. He now applies his diverse industry experience to help member companies meet and exceed their performance goals.

Frank began his career in financial services in October 1987, helping families and business owners develop financial plans. After completing the CLU designation in 1993, for which he received the Leslie W. Dunstall medal for the highest academic results in Ontario, Frank shifted the focus of his practice to the affluent and business owner-markets.

Frank later took on the role of Branch Marketing Consultant in Sun Life Financial’s largest Canadian branch office, working with the top 40 advisors to help them learn the function and application of new insurance and investment products. Since that time, Frank has worked in director and management consulting roles with several large financial services organizations, including CCH Canadian Inc., the Canadian Securities Institute and Sun Life Financial.

Frank joined Page and Associates Ltd. in 2004. In his current role as Vice-President, Operations and Account Executive, his focus is on managing the systems and processes that support the firm’s advisors. Frank also consults with advisors on cases involving their affluent and business-owner clients to deliver sound financial planning, tax and estate planning advice and portfolio management services.

Cassandra is a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Financial Services practice, working in the Assurance Group based in Toronto. She joined the firm in 2009 and has over 10 years of experience.

Her responsibilities include providing audit and advisory services to Canadian public companies and other regulated financial institutions, including life insurers, property and casualty insurers, as well as banks and asset management companies. She leads a range of insurance audits and IFRS 17 implementation assurance engagements with teams across Canada, and occasionally speaks about IFRS accounting developments at industry events. In addition, she has expertise in Canadian insurance regulatory filings, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and requirements, and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Standards.