Magna International Inc. is using data to personalize its wellness program, increase employee engagement and reduce costs. In 2012, the Canadian automobile parts manufacturer established its own internal health and wellness team. At first, the program focused solely on disseminating basic educational materials, such as quarterly newsletters, posters and handouts, said Dr. Krista Markew, manager […]
Environmental, social and governance issues are key for many Canadian pension plans, but taking meaningful action is easier said than done, especially at small and mid-sized organizations. With a team of about 30 people, the University of Toronto Asset Management Corp. managed more than $11 billion of the university’s endowment, pension plan and short-term working […]
Toronto-based digital well-being solutions provider Sprout is acquiring Calgary-based predictive health-data analytics company Vivametrica Ltd. Vivametrica analyzes, measures and predicts health risks, potential outcomes and longevity with data from wearable technology and other personal sensors. Sprout previously partnered with Vivametrica on its health risk assessment solution. Read: Taking big data to next level key to […]
Two-thirds (65 per cent) of plans sponsors said they have a specific objective for their health benefits plan for the upcoming year, compared to 56 per cent that said the same in 2018, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Overall, 21 per cent said they strongly agree they have a specific objective, increasing to […]
The long-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 s pandemic is anybody’s best guess, as are its long-term health impacts. Emerging evidence shows that, even after recovering from infection, longer-term symptoms such as exhaustion headaches and muscle aches in some patients can last for weeks. In more severe cases, resulting in hospitalization, longer-term consequences can include lung scarring, […]
With all that’s happening in the world, the ability to use data to make smart decisions is key, says Adam Jones, chief technology officer at U.K.-based consulting firm Redington. While the importance of data has gained new significance amid the coronavirus pandemic, Redington built a financial technology tool before the crisis called ADA Research, which […]
Over the last decade, the group benefits space has been all about digitizing documents and data, embracing a mobile-first mindset and urging plan sponsors and members to ditch paper and go online for a more customized experience. The next decade will build on all of that, pushing group benefits plans into the era of hyper-personalization, […]
Green Shield Canada is launching a benefits plan analytics tool to help plan sponsors take a closer look at their offerings. The tool, DATAleap, looks to provide insight on claims trends, key cost drivers and disease state data. It also provides benchmarking tools for plans and demographics analyses. Read: Harnessing analytics, data to support employee mental health “Users can […]
Research and ratings firm Sustainalytics is launching a set of environmental, social and governance indicators aimed at helping investors with security selection, portfolio construction, risk and scenario analysis, as well as meeting disclosure requirements. The data covers more than 220 ESG indicators across several themes, subdivided into three categories. The ESG management indicators are meant […]
Mental health isn’t fight club — it can be talked about, said Sean Raible, principal consultant at Game Plan Total Rewards, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. “As a total rewards person, we don’t talk about compensation because it’s under lock and key. But mental health is a community where […]