News
A.M. Best maintains stable outlook for personal, reinsurance market segments; negative for commercial
January 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterA.M. Best is maintaining stable outlooks for both the U.S. personal lines and reinsurance markets, but the outlook for the commercial market is negative amid catastrophes and competition. U.S. personal lines continue to benefit from solid performance in auto insurance,…
Frank Cowan Company launches Cambridge office focused on specialty lines
January 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterFrank Cowan Company will open a new branch in Cambridge, Ontario that will focus on dedicated specialty lines and program business. Steve Halfpenny, vice president of specialty lines, will lead the team. He will be working with Michael Lough, vice…
Monarch Intermediaries brings ‘second opinion services’ to Canadian P&C market
January 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterMonarch Intermediaries Inc. has launched a property and casualty brokerage-based program that provides employees of businesses and customers of insurers access to second opinions from WorldCare Consortium.WorldCare Consortium is composed of academic healthcare institutions, with a network of more than…
RIBO cites increasing number of fraudulent pink slips
January 6, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario’s broker regulator, the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO), is reporting an increasing number of fraudulent pink slips.RIBO says brokerage names are being ‘stolen’ and used on bogus auto insurance slips. In its winter bulletin, RIBO said the frauds…
Women arrested for driving while intoxicated in the United States increased between 1998 and 2007: study
January 6, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe number of women arrested in the United States for driving while intoxicated (DWI) increased nearly 30% in the decade between 1998 and 2007, according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF).In TIRF’s report, State of Knowledge: Female Drunk Drivers,…
FSCO releases Cost of Goods guideline in response to Anti-fraud Task Force
January 6, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario’s insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), has released a Cost of Goods Guideline in response to a recommendation by the Auto Insurance Anti-fraud Task Force.The Anti-fraud Task force released an interim report in early December, reflecting…
Impact Auto opens second Calgary-area location
January 6, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterImpact Auto Auctions, a Canadian automotive salvage management company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of KAR Auction Services Inc. (NYSE: KAR), has opened a second Calgary-area location in Airdrie, Alberta.The new location, known as Calgary North, doubles Impact’s capacity in the…
Belfour enters Quebec market with acquisition of Laurier Restoration
January 6, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterBelfor (Canada) Inc. has acquired Laurier Restoration Inc. Laurier is a Montreal-based restoration contracting firm owned and operated by Ian Thomas. Thomas will remain with the company as branch manager of the Montreal location. He said he is committed to…
Network outage poses huge risk to retailers relying on online shoppers: Lloyd’s
January 5, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe increasing popularity of online shopping presents heightened and expanding risks for retailers, including a network outage or downtime during a busy trading period, warns Lloyd’s.In a report, Online Shopping Delivers Greater Retailer Risk, published on its website, Lloyd’s said…
OSFI adds unpaid claims and loss ratio analysis to electronic filing returns
January 5, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has added ‘Unpaid Claims and Loss Ratio Analysis Exhibit’ to the list of returns to be uploaded via the automated data transfer (ADT) site. The addition of the unpaid claims and…
Use of telematics to surge in personal lines: Celent
January 5, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe use of telematics, particularly in auto lines, will become commonplace, leaving insurers unwilling to make the investment in a position of adverse selection, reported Celent.In its report, Telematics-Based Insurance: Has its Time Finally Arrived? Celent notes that several big…
2010-11 cat losses have not yet driven up demand for reinsurance capacity: Aon Benfield
January 5, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe unusual combination of catastrophic losses occurring in 2010-11 has not yet driven affected insurers to seek more capital, purchase higher reinsurance limits or raise prices/decrease exposures materially for the insurance products they sell, a report from Aon Benfield says.“However,…