The LIMRA and LOMA Canada Virtual Annual Conference is a key event that draws senior executives and leaders across diverse sectors of the financial services industry and other related business segments seeking to be informed on what’s happening and what’s next, and be engaged in important conversations with their industry peers and other experts.
Highlights
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the pandemic has been a great catalyst for innovation in insurance. It has instigated radical changes in business models and practices, provided a massive digital wake-up call, and unlocked unprecedented levels of customer experience and personalization. Today, the industry is looking fundamentally different: much more agile, secure, connected and digitally-enabled.
This conference will explore what we have learned as an industry, and how we can stay the course and sustain the pace of transformation in order to remain on the right side of change.
11:45 am - 12:30 pm: DRIVING A BALANCE FOR CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES THAT CAN OUTLAST COVID
Mark Hardy
Vice-President, Direct Life and Health, TD Insurance
Hardy is an insurance professional with nearly 20 years of industry experience in a wide range of roles including Technology, Data, Strategy and Product Management. He is responsible for the growth of the Direct Life and Health business over the past four years, driving TD Insurance's pure direct-to-consumer strategy. Having successfully built a leading customer experience both digitally and through phone-based licensed advisors, his Direct Life and Health team strives to drive continuous innovation in service to their customers, while also being recognized by the industry for distinctions in digital capabilities and customer satisfaction. Hardy holds an MBA from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and was previously named one of LIMRA’s 25 Rising Stars in Innovation.
11:00 am - 11:45 am: INSURANCE BANANA SKINS 2021 REPORT: KEY RISKS AND POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS
Dave Harris
Partner, Actuarial Services Practice, PwC Canada
A 19-year industry veteran, Harris leads the Actuarial Services practice that spans Life, P&C and Pension. He has oversight for Appointed Actuary work, peer reviews, audit, consulting, IFRS17 advisory, catastrophic modeling, risk modeling, pricing and analytics, deals support and regulatory filing services. Prior to joining PwC, he worked at Manulife/John Hancock, and during 2018–2021, was Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy for Retirement Services globally at Manulife where he had accountability for over $400 billion in assets under management and administration. Harris is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
As a partner as well as the Life and Health Insurance sector lead, Lawrence focuses on strategy through transformation in the insurance sector. He has over 17 years of experience working with financial institutions across Canada, the US and Asia. He has led numerous engagements spanning corporate strategy, client experience, digital strategy, behavioral science, channel development, product innovation, compensation strategy, and operational due diligence.
11:45 am - 12:30 pm: STRONGER TODAY: WHAT THE PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT US
Jennifer McGarrity
Vice President, Strategy and Enablement, RBC Insurance
With over 28 years’ financial services experience, McGarrity is responsible for enabling the future of Insurance through vision and strategy, transformational initiative delivery and change management leadership building a resilient, change and future ready business and workforce. Previously, she was Vice President, Digital and Transformational Initiatives, defining her company’s Insurance digital strategy. She also co-led the successful divestiture of the Home and Auto business to Aviva Canada, resulting in strong financial contributions and a unique business model and partnership that will provide enduring client value. She joined RBC Insurance in 2009 after several years in RBC’s Business Financial Services and Operations areas. McGarrity is an MBA candidate at Dalhousie University. She is passionate about community service and volunteers for a local hockey association, supporting the advancement of women in sport.
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm: THE FUTURE OF WORK IN INSURANCE
Duncan Meadows
Senior Manager, Insurance People Advisory Services , Ernst & Young LLP
Meadows has been with EY for nearly 10 years, helping financial services clients in Canada, the UK and globally to reimagine their workforce and operating models. He has led numerous organization design, change management and culture projects, both in terms of strategy definition and implementation. Prior to EY, Duncan worked for AXA Insurance and held roles across strategy, claims, distribution and proposition. He earned a Management Sciences degree from Loughborough University in England.
Nia joined Manulife in 2008, and as Co-Chief Investment Strategist, he has a range of responsibilities, from market and economic analysis to investor education. He analyzes and interprets the economy and markets on behalf of Manulife Investment Management, and works with the portfolio management teams to provide clients and investment intermediaries with guidance and commentary on strategies and asset allocation weightings. He is an Honors Business Administration graduate from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.
10:15 am - 11:00 am: ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT
Scott Plummer
Vice President, Product Management, Vitech Systems Group
Plummer is accountable for driving solutions from ideation through development, as well as digital transformation strategy and execution. In addition to roles at Marsh & McLennan and Origami Risk, Plummer served 14-plus years at Guidewire, the leading provider of P&C insurance software solutions, spearheading product efforts for the company’s claims management and digital policy lifecycle products.
10:15 am - 11:00 am: ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT
Barry Redfern
Director, Product Management, Vitech Systems Group
Redfern is responsible for steering V3locity platform solutions, strategy and execution. Prior to joining Vitech, he worked at Guidewire for seven years, leading the product efforts for the firm's persona-centric digital products servicing the full insurance lifecycle. He holds a Science degree from the University of Limerick.
10:15 am - 11:00 am: THE COVID CATALYST: ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Kartik Sakthivel, PhD, MS-IT/MS-CS, MBA, PGC-IQ
Vice President & Chief Information Officer and Regional CEO – Asia West , LIMRA and LOMA
As chief information officer for LIMRA and LOMA, Kartik Sakthivel is responsible for developing the information technology strategic direction for the enterprise. In this capacity, he directs and manages computing and information technology policies, programs and schedules for business and enterprise systems, and manages information services to meet LIMRA and LOMA’s corporate goals and objectives.
An industry thought leader, he champions the use of technology to improve the revenue, profitability, and efficiency of the organization. Joining LIMRA and LOMA in 2017, Sakthivel has broad industry experience, most recently as director of technology at Liberty Mutual Insurance.
He holds a doctorate in Computer and Information Sciences with a focus on AI and Information Quality from University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems/Information Technology, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
Partner, Financial Services People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP
As a strategic change management and HR leader in EY’s People and Workforce advisory practice, Wolfson leads its Canadian Financial Services PAS practice. She advises clients on driving transformational change across their organizations, establishing people strategies, and evolving their workforce for the future. She has worked with clients across multiple industries including financial services, retail, technology, health care, Canadian crown corporations, oil and gas, and telecommunications. Her specialties span operating model and organization design, change management, talent management and HR service delivery. She holds an MBA from McGill University.
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm: THE FUTURE OF WORK IN INSURANCE
Darryl Wright
Associate Partner, Workforce Advisory Practice, Ernst & Young LLP
Wright is EY’s National Lead for Talent and Future of Work. He led its people response to COVID-19 for clients and repurposed all existing assets and services to build clients’ enterprise resilience. He has extensive cross industry and international experience in human capital strategy, organization effectiveness and leadership development for global firms in banking, corporate education, consumer goods, retail, food and beverage. Prior to joining EY, he held senior executive roles, including as Chief Talent Officer for Scotiabank, Head of Organization Development and Change for a large international brewer, Global Organization Effectiveness Head for Africa’s largest bank, CHRO for a prominent private equity firm, and Managing Director of a corporate executive development and consulting practice.
Vice President & Chief Information Officer and Regional CEO – Asia West , LIMRA and LOMA
COVID served to accelerate an already breakneck pace of change. As an industry, we have learned a lot from the pandemic – about our customers, about ourselves, and about how we can continue delivering an exemplary experience in providing a sound financial future for millions around the world. Sakthivel will explore what our industry looked like heading into the pandemic, what we have learned through these two years, and what our world will look like in the next five-to-ten years.
The pandemic, supply-chain issues, inflation and other disruptions have impacted Canada’s economy, but what lies ahead in the investment markets? Nia will discuss the 2022 Capital Market Strategy outlook, where his organization is in the business cycle, and what that means for equity and fixed income markets this year. He will also share how you can apply this knowledge to your client conversations using tools that focus on behavioral economics.
Vice-President, Direct Life and Health, TD Insurance
Being a direct player with sharp digital focus has helped TD Insurance ride the wave of COVID, while providing both opportunities and challenges for its customers as well as its workforce. Hardy will reveal how this model will work moving forward, the challenges to-date, and the talent required to achieve success.
Associate Partner, Workforce Advisory Practice, Ernst & Young LLP
Duncan Meadows
Senior Manager, Insurance People Advisory Services , Ernst & Young LLP
The pandemic has caused us to challenge and re-think where, when and how work can best get done. Insurers are striving to balance a focus on the here and now to attract and retain the people they need in a fierce talent market, while creating and transitioning to a compelling vision for work in the future. At this point, we can begin to fully reset and reimagine a more sustainable and human-centered workforce strategy. The EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey results show that the pace of accelerated change in the world of work continues. Wright and Meadows will discuss how organizations are forging ahead with new approaches to health and safety, a mix of onsite and virtual work with effective hybrid working policies, and an emphasis on flexibility, productivity, career development and pay.
Many insurers have wisely used the pandemic as an opportunity to modernize their digital user experiences by investing in advanced core systems to support tailored customer journeys. Coupled with important organizational strategy and decisive leadership, they have been able to build the infrastructure for the powerful digital engagement that today’s discerning customers have come to expect. Plummer and Redfern will describe the best practices for engaging employees throughout the benefit lifecycle from pre-enrollment to claim. They will also discuss utilizing advanced data and analytics to drive personalization, streamline workflows, and achieve successful digital customer interaction.
Scott Plummer
Vice President, Product Management, Vitech Systems Group
Barry Redfern
Director, Product Management, Vitech Systems Group
Insurance Banana Skins is a unique biannual survey that examines the most urgent risks ("banana skins") facing the global insurance sector, including COVID-19, cybercrime, technology threats, and more. Sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and conducted by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, the survey also assesses the industry’s preparedness to handle those risks. Harris and Lawrence will present the results from the latest survey and highlight the key risks globally and within Canada in the next two-to-three years, as well as the potential implications for insurers.
Over the past two years, we have all been tested like never before. The pandemic has been a masterclass on change and responsiveness. As we re-emerge and look towards a prosperous future for our clients, employees and communities, there are a few key learnings that stand out. McGarrity will reveal her insight on how these lessons are influencing her organization’s re-emergence and will enable sustainable success for RBC Insurance in the future.
Jennifer McGarrity
Vice President, Strategy and Enablement, RBC Insurance
Assistant Vice President and Executive Director, LIMRA and LOMA Canada
Registration
Early Registration Fees (through May 9): Member: CD$325 + HST Non-Member: CD$495 + HST
Standard Registration Fees (after May 9): Member: CD$435 + HST Non-Member: CD$655 + HST
Cancellation Policy All cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations received by May 10, 2022, will be refunded, less a CD$100 processing fee. No refunds will be issued after May 10, 2022.
In the event that this conference is canceled by LOMA for any reason, LOMA shall refund any conference registration fees that have been paid by the registrant. Under no circumstances, however, shall LOMA be liable to the registrant for any other expenses.