Insurance professionals set for above-average pay rises in 2016
Insurance professionals are among those in line for above-average pay rises in 2016 according to a new survey by
Aon Hewitt. Its predictions for the US workforce as a whole is for an average increase in base pay of 3 per cent next year, up from 2.9 per cent in 2015. Those working in the insurance sector can expect an average increase of 3.2 per cent, just behind telecoms and mining on 3.4 per cent.
A separate survey by the Hays Group in Canada also expects insurance professionals to beat the average increase with a 2.9 per cent average pay rise in 2016 compared to the average across all sectors of 2.4 per cent.
Healthcare sector heavily targeted by cyber criminals
A report from KPMG reveals that 81 per cent of healthcare organizations have been targeted by a cyber-attack in the past two years. The survey of healthcare executives found that only half felt their organizations were prepared to prevent attacks. With 13 per cent reporting daily attacks and 12 per cent experiencing at least two attacks a week it is worrying that 16 per cent have no real-time detection of attacks.
Greg Bell, who leads KPMG’s Cyber Practice, feels also that many organizations not seeing frequent cyber-attacks may underestimate the threat. “Healthcare organizations that can effectively track the number of attempts have less cause for worry than those who may not detect all of the threats against their systems. The experienced hackers that penetrate a vulnerable health care organization like to remain undetected as long as they can before extracting a great deal of content, similar to a blood-sucking insect.”
Calgary hailstorm caused around C$100 of insured damage
The hailstorm which hit Calgary earlier this month caused around C$100 million of insured damage according to preliminary estimates from the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The total is set to rise as more people get round to filing claims with property damage including roofs and vehicle damage among the most prevalent. Spokesperson Heather Mac commented that extreme weather events are becoming more common and that three catastrophic events in one summer used to be unusual; in addition to Calgary there was a storm in Alberta and Saskatchewan in July causing $230 million of damage; and $45 million in losses from a storm in June.
