Adjusters in Manitoba should remember that they need
to obtain their CE credits by June 30. Contact ILS Learning
Corporation to find out how you can do this quickly and
easily!
Also, brokers in British Columbia should remember that
their education requirements are changing from a 2-year
cycle to a 1-year cycle.
*New*
Book Exchange Forum
You
can now post your CAIB and Fundamentals text books for
sale on our site! Taking one of these courses? Why not
purchase a used text and save money?
Canada’s
P&C industry stable, says Standard & Poors
A new report by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
says that the property and casualty insurance industry
remains stable.
The report says that the industry’s performance
has been quite good and capital has been strengthened
in the recent years. However, the report also suggests
that Canada's property and casualty industry has likely
reached the peak of the cycle that normally spans about
five years.
--
Lloyd’s cautions underwriters of climate
changes
According to Lloyd’s, the world's leading specialist
insurance market, the insurance industry must face the
growing threat of climate change or risk their business
being swept away.
Climate change is bringing with it a number of risks
and emerging threats such as greenhouse gases and rising
sea levels. Insurers, says Lloyd’s, need to understand
these risks and prepare for the management of them.
Recent scientific evidence suggests climate change
is happening faster than previously thought, the report
says, and investment in research and a change in industry
behavior is long overdue.
Historical records and catastrophe models may not be
accurate anymore, says the firm. Instead, the industry
must take a new approach to underwriting, looking ahead
and factoring in climate change scenarios, especially
with extreme windstorm seasons set to continue this
summer.
--
Alberta delays auto insurance review
Two years ago, the government of Alberta agreed to
review auto insurance reforms that capped pain-and-suffering
awards at $4,000 on soft-tissue injuries. The review,
which was to happen this fall, has just been put on
hold.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has agreed to the government's
call for a one-year delay despite insurers' concerns
that the reforms subsidize bad drivers, Jim Rivait,
IBC Alberta vice-president, said in late May.
When the review does occur, it will look at whether
to change details of the reforms, which cap compensation
on injuries such as whiplash and limit the premiums
of high-risk drivers.
-- Two elderly women charged with life insurance
fraud
An American federal grand jury indicted two elderly
women accused of befriending homeless men and then collecting
on life insurance policies worth $2.3 million after
the men died in hit-and-run accidents.
Helen Golay, 75, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 73, were convicted
on nine counts each of mail fraud and related charges
for making false insurance claims.
--
Preparation
for your CAIB designation is now complete with the launch
of ILS online video CAIB 4 Exam Preparation course
Click Play to Start
Students wishing to complete their CAIB designation can now
enjoy innovative preparation courses for all levels through
ILS Learning Corporation’s online materials.
With the launch of the ILS online video CAIB 4 Exam Preparation
course, the CAIB preparation series is complete. The combination
of audio, visual and written teaching styles continues to
be popular and effective, with a high success rate.
The ILS online video CAIB 4 Exam Preparation course, like
all ILS Learning Corporation courses, is complete and comprehensive.
The course is also economical and convenient, making it a
great option for any student who wishes to challenge the exam.
With an innovative pricing structure, brokerages can train
their entire staff on any of the ILS online video Exam Preparation
courses for as little as $500 for unlimited access for 1 year!
The cost to train 25 employees with ILS is less than the cost
of sending one employee away from the office for an immersion
course. We guarantee you will not find these ILS exam preparation
courses at a better price anywhere else!
To sign up or to get more information, contact ILS Learning
Corporation at: 1-800-404-2211 or visit www.ilscorp.com
After they’ve made their way into numerous songs, you’d
think that you’d know quite a bit about the Bahamas.
But did you know that the independent nation is an archipelago,
comprised of over 700 islands and cays?
When you join ILS Learning Corporation on the Advantage Performance
Series (at Sea) Caribbean Cruise, you will be stopping at
the tiny island of Eleuthera, home to Princess Cays. This
location is home to the private beach party hosted exclusively
for Princess guests.
Eleuthera is roughly 80 kilometers east of the Bahaman capital
of Nassau. The island itself is very long and thin –
about 180 km long and in places little more than a mile wide.
Once you get to Princess Cays, relaxation is likely to take
over though there is a lot to do. The island is a great snorkeling
and dive spot, with a coral reef surrounds the island. White
sand beaches spread out in front of you while mangrove trees
surround the area. Shaded areas are filled with lounge chairs,
beach umbrellas, tiki huts and hammocks so you can just relax.
Weather-wise, it’s guaranteed to be nicer in January
than it is in Canada. The water never gets below about 23
degrees Celsius while the temperature tends to be between
25 and 30 degrees.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? By signing up to the Advantage
Performance Series (at Sea) Caribbean Cruise presented by
ILS Learning Corporation, you can be there!
For more information on the cruise, contact ILS Learning
Corporation at 1-800-404-2211 or check out http://www.ilscorp.com/cruise/
Don’t delay – spaces are filling up quickly!
And
the winner is...
Last December, one lucky ILS Learning Corporation student
won a trip for two to Mexico, just for taking online CE courses.
There were over 15,000 entries but it was Shawna Cymbalisty
of Olds, Alberta whose name was drawn.
Cymbalisty works at Shackleton Agencies, a division of Western
Financial Group, and was enjoying her day off when ILS Learning
Corporation called the office to let her know that she had
won.
“Everyone was trying to calling me from work and I
couldn't figure out why,” she says. “I finally
called Shackleton's back & they said for me to come down
but wouldn’t tell me why.”
Finally, Cymbalisty’s manager, Doug Lyall, gave her
the good news.
“I started shaking,” she says. “I was extremely
excited as I have never been anywhere tropical before with
my husband. ILS and Transat accommodated Chris and me to ensure
we had a good vacation.”
Cymbalisty has been taking ILS Learning Corporation courses
for about four years.
“The benefits of the ILS courses are you can work at
them at your own speed, there is a variety of courses at your
finger tips, you can re-take the courses/tests and you could
be the lucky one to win a trip!”
“We had such a good time we are going back next year
with our kids,” she says.
Where
have all the vacation days gone?
It’s summer. The sun is shining brightly, the days
are getting longer, the kids are out of school and a vacation
is calling your name.
Summer vacations bring back nostalgic feelings of school
days, where fun and relaxation were the only things on the
agenda.
While most Canadians look forward to a work break, few are
actually taking the vacation time to which they’re entitled.
In 2005, Canadian workers took an average of 21 vacation
days. This year, the average is about 19 days, according to
a survey done by Expedia.ca and Ipsos Reid.
This year, about one-quarter of Canadians will not use all
of the vacation days that have been allotted to them. Canadians,
on average, will each forfeit two vacation days this year,
totaling 32 million untaken days and $5.1 billion in wages
handed back to employers.
Most people polled do want to get away but in the end, work
commitments keep them at home – and at work. Twenty-two
per cent of people said that they have cancelled or postponed
vacation plans because of work.
Whether you go on vacation apparently has a lot to do with
where you live and how much money you make, as well. According
to the survey:
Just four per cent of Quebecers will forfeit any vacation
days this year, compared to 11 per cent of people outside
of Quebec.
Quebecers are more likely to call in sick to take or
extend a vacation (47 per cent versus 23 per cent).
Over 20 per cent of employed British Columbians don't
use all their vacation days every year and 10 per cent usually
take no vacation time.
Employees with a household income under $30,000 are more
likely to take no vacation days than those who make more.
How does Canada stack up with other countries in terms of
vacation times? France comes out on top again this year, with
the average adult taking 39 vacation days per year. Americans
aren’t getting away very often, with the average person
receiving just 14 vacation days.
The
evolution of the lunch break
When you signed your
employment contract, there were undoubtedly details about
periodic breaks and lunch hours included. Most provincial
and territorial employment standards state that “an
employee is entitled to a meal break of at least one-half
hour after each period of five consecutive hours of work.”
Some employers abide by this half-hour guideline while others
are more generous and give their employees an hour.
However, recent studies show that while employees may get
60 minutes of break time for meals, less than one percent
of that time is actually spent eating.
A survey by London-based Dial-A-Phone polled 2,000 people
to find that just a 3.5 minute chunk of their lunch “hour”
is spent eating. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of workers
try to use this time to get other things done, including internet
banking and shopping. The 56.5 minutes not spent eating was
taken up by a mix of business work and personal errands.
In a separate American study, 60 per cent of respondents
reported that a 60-minute lunch break was “the biggest
myth in office life.”
About 50 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed in the U.S.
poll said they had 30 minutes or less for a lunch break. Nearly
60 per cent said they ate at their desk and continued to work
while they ate.
While the lunch break might be the optimal time to get things
done, it surely cannot be good for a person’s mind or
body. What do you think? Send us an email at newsletter@ilscorp.com
and let us know!
A
Touch of Humour
We’ve all seen those funny signs posted on storefronts
and have wondered if they were intentionally funny or if the
humour slipped past the sign maker. Take a look at the following
signs. Do you think the humour was intentional?
On a plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed."
Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment necessary. We
hear you coming."
In a veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in 5 minutes.
Sit! Stay!"
Door of a plastic surgeon's office: "We can help you
pick your nose!"
On an electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts."
On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push."
At an optometrist's office: "If you don't see what you're
looking for, you've come to the right place."
In the front yard of a funeral home: "Drive carefully.
We'll wait."
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