Topic
Climate Change
Are your clients adding water endorsements to home policies?
February 14, 2024 by Jason ContantAn increasing number of your clients are expressing interest in water endorsements on home insurance policies, according to data from rate aggregator Rates.ca’s home insurance quoter. The rate comparison website found 36% of all home insurance quotes on the tool…
Warm weather forces city in Quebec to cancel ice-fishing villages for first time
February 13, 2024 The Canadian PressSAGUENAY, QUE. – There will be no colourful ice-fishing huts dotting the frozen water near Saguenay, Que., this year after mild winter weather forced authorities to cancel the popular tradition for the first time. The municipality about 200 kilometres north…
Alberta to add firefighters for expected busy wildfire season: minister
February 9, 2024 Bob Weber – The Canadian PressAlberta will field more firefighters, more volunteers and more high-tech gear as it braces for what it expects will be another busy wildfire season, the province’s forestry minister said Thursday. And as the province faces a summer of possibly severe…
Insurers bring Cat claims in-house: How independent adjusters adapt
February 7, 2024 Jason ContantSome major Canadian P&C insurers are bringing claims processes in-house, arguing it results in a better customer experience, cost efficiencies and consistent claims-handling. But that doesn’t mean the end is near for independent adjusters (IAs). They see a bright future…
Do we need a Category 6 for hurricanes?
February 6, 2024 by Jason ContantTwo climate scientists are questioning whether the open-endedness of Category 5 hurricanes is sufficient to communicate the risk of hurricane property damage in a warming climate. Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and James Kossin of First…
B.C. ski resorts shut as warm, wet weather strips mountains of snow
February 2, 2024 The Canadian PressVANCOUVER – All three of Metro Vancouver’s local ski hills are closed for a second day at what should be the peak of the season, as a spate of warm, wet weather strips mountains bare. Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour…
Alberta fire chiefs want provincial wildfire plan released before season begins
February 1, 2024 The Canadian PressEDMONTON – Alberta’s fire chiefs are “urgently” asking the provincial government to explain how it’s getting ready for the upcoming wildfire season and to release its preparedness strategy. “There is a growing concern among fire chiefs across the province of…
Flood, avalanche risks remain elevated throughout B.C.’s South Coast
January 30, 2024 The Canadian PressThe flood and avalanche risks remain elevated throughout British Columbia’s South Coast, where atmospheric rivers continue to bring heavy rains along with unseasonably warm temperatures. B.C.’s River Forecast Centre is maintaining a flood warning for the Squamish River, saying flows…
‘Atmospheric river’ could bring 300 millimetres of rain to parts of southern B.C.
January 26, 2024 The Canadian PressOfficials in B.C. are warning of heavy rainstorms for the South Coast region starting on Saturday. Environment and Climate Change Canada says West Vancouver Island and the Coast Mountains could receive up to 300 millimetres of rain over five days,…
How reconstruction companies are improving repair timelines
January 22, 2024 Alyssa Di SabatinoA shortage of tradespeople isn’t making it easy for the restoration industry to recover from extended repair cycle times during the pandemic. While cycle times are starting to improve, frequent NatCats and a lack of qualified talent are stretching capacity…
Decade after fatal fire, some Quebec seniors’ residences unable to install sprinklers
January 22, 2024 Pierre Saint-Arnaud – The Canadian PressMONTREAL – Ten years after 32 people died in a fire that ripped through a residential complex for seniors in rural Quebec, around a quarter of all private seniors’ residences in the province are still struggling to comply with a…
Ten per cent of country’s insured losses in Alberta alone
January 12, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoFor all the smoke, fire and flood that happened across Canada this year, damage to property in Alberta alone exceeded $330 million, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). That’s nearly 10% of all insured losses across…