News
IBAC Data Exchange Project moves closer to round-trip data transactions between brokers and insurers
January 3, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is moving onto the third phase of its Data Exchange Project.The intention of IBAC’s Data Exchange Project is to develop concurrent communication between broker and insurer systems within guidelines articulated by IBAC. These…
Economic turmoil more likely than natural catastrophes to spur market hardening: Willis Re
January 3, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterA sustained market hardening in the global reinsurance market is more likely to be caused by economic turmoil than catastrophe losses, according to Willis Re’s ‘1st View’ report.Last year was the second-worst year for catastrophe losses (insured losses in excess…
Psychological and physical impairments can be combined to determine catastrophic impairment: Ontario Appeal Court
January 3, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterPsychological impairments can be combined with physical impairments for the purpose of determining whether an injured person meets the 55% threshold for a catastrophic impairment of the whole person, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled in Kusnierz v. Economical…
Deborah M. Luthi begins term as RIMS president
January 3, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterDeborah M. Luthi, enterprise risk manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, is the president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) for the 2012 term.Luthi has been a member of RIMS for almost 32 years and on…
Western Financial acquires Manitoba brokerage
January 3, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterWestern Financial Group has acquired Roblin Insurance Travel and Realty Agencies Ltd. in Roblin, Manitoba. Founded in 1976, the Roblin brokerage will now operate as a Western Financial Group office. Terry Hawryluk will oversee the branch.“We will be bringing a…
Prairies flooding tops Environment Canada’s list of severe weather stories in 2011
December 22, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterFlooding in Western Canada topped Environment Canada’s list of ‘Top 10 Weather Stories for 2011,’ one step above the devastating wildfire in Slave Lake, Alberta.Overall, severe weather accounted for almost $1.5 billion worth of insurance claims payouts and adjustment expenses,…
November 2011 windstorms in Alberta cause $200-million worth of insured damage
December 22, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterEstimated insured damage caused by windstorms that hit southern Alberta in November amounts to at least $200 million, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports, citing a preliminary estimate reported by Property Claim Services Canada (PCS-Canada).Data collected by PCS-Canada, a service…
U.S. P&C industry sees underwriting losses swell to $30.5 billion: A.M. Best
December 22, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe U.S. property and casualty industry’s net income plunged to $12.8 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011, down from the net income of $33.0 billion for the same period of 2010, according to A.M. Best’s ‘Best’s Special…
“Two-speed” global insurance market amidst cat losses and plentiful capacity: Marsh
December 22, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterCapacity in the global insurance market remains plentiful and across the board rate rises are not being seen, despite record insured catastrophe losses of more than $100 billion in 2011, Marsh reported. In its ‘Global Insurance Market Quarterly Briefing: Q4…
Supply chain risk coverage and availability “inadequate”: FERMA
December 21, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterEuropean risk managers generally believe coverage and capacity for supply chain risks is insufficient, according to a survey by the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA). The majority of the 153 respondents were FERMA members in the manufacturing sector.…
Health care practitioners also a target of health claim fraud: FSCO
December 21, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurers aren’t the only targets in fraudulent health care claims, health care practitioners are also being targeted, warned the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) in a bulletin.FSCO describes a common scenario in which clinic owners/operators and others in the…
Self-incriminating evidence at insured’s civil trial discovery cannot be used at insured’s criminal trial
December 21, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterAn Ontario Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Nedelcu has provided a “strong message” that self-incriminating evidence given during an examination for discovery at an insured’s civil trial cannot be introduced at the insured’s criminal trial concerning the same…