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Robot sorting documents to represent AI helping insurance adjusters manage claims
News AdjustersBrokersCatastrophesClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceRestoration

How automation’s shifting on-site claims work to bigger losses

February 23, 2023 Philip Porado

COVID-19 accelerated development of process efficiencies for insurance adjusters. Pre-pandemic, data-gathering and communications systems began shifting many claims to desk teams, creating efficiencies for adjusters by reserving site visits for complex cases. “What COVID did was expedite some of that

Happy woman client receiving a text message from her insurance broker.
News BrokersCommercial LinesEmploymentInsuranceLegislation / RegulationProfessional DevelopmentTechnology

Sales Column: Clients ignoring your emails? Try texting

February 22, 2023 Adam Mitchell

People love their smartphones. And even those who claim they don’t still spend hours using them every day. A study last year by cybersecurity company NordVPN found 66% of Canadians even use their phones while in the washroom. I’ve always

Driver sleeping in self-driving car
News ClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegalProductsRiskTechnology

When will self-driving tech consistently prevent crashes?

February 17, 2023 Harrison Griffiths and Hannah Van Staveren

One aim of autonomous driving technology is to take the human element out of the driving ecosystem with an eye toward preventing collisions. But right now, autonomous driving technology can’t guarantee it will detect and react to road hazards earlier

Condo owner calls her insurance company as the kitchen ceiling leaks
News BrokersClaimsInsurance

How an insurer’s report on a condo ceiling leak won the day

February 8, 2023 Philip Porado

Repairs outlined in an insurance company’s assessment of damages at a British Columbia condo must be made by the strata, said a decision from the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT). Applicants in Rolfe v. The Owners, Strata Plan EPS3064 claimed the

Beach chair and umbrella in the sun.
News BrokersClaimsInsurance

Do younger Canadians planning vacations value travel insurance?

February 2, 2023 Canadian Underwriter Staff

Making up for the inability to travel during the pandemic is top of mind for 70% of Canadian millennials, who told an Allianz Global Assistance survey conducted by Ipsos they’ll be taking a vacation this year. Of those saying they’ll

Customers buying a car and having a conversation with a sales assistant
News InsuranceMarkets / Coverages

January auto sales up 7.5% from previous year

February 2, 2023 The Canadian Press

TORONTO – DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (DAC) says light vehicle sales in Canada in January were up 7.5 per cent compared with the first month of 2022.   The automotive industry research firm estimates 98,259 new light vehicles were sold by

Two groups of wooden blocks being consolidated into one group
News BrokersInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesMergers and Aqcuisitions

Which insurers can expect to be consolidated

January 23, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Middle market and non-specialty insurers will be the central targets of consolidators into 2024, and some may even withdraw entirely from the P&C insurance market, suggested Phil Cook, P&C consultant and chairman of Omega Insurance Holdings Inc. at the Insurance

Fire alarm mounted on wall. In case of fire, pull
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalRestorationRisk

$500,000+ payment ordered for uninsured B.C. tenants

January 20, 2023 Philip Porado

A 2017 apartment fire that a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled was ‘foreseeable’ led to an order to pay more than $500,000 to the building-owner plaintiff. In his decision in Langara Gardens Holdings Ltd. v. Chen (2023 BCSC 58), B.C.

Driver focused on the road
News InsuranceLegislation / RegulationMarkets / CoveragesRisk

Should race be used as a rating factor for auto insurance?

January 20, 2023 by Jason Contant

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is trying to determine how auto insurance rating factors affect vulnerable groups given the general lack of data, a senior executive at the regulator said during an industry event Thursday. Brian Sullivan,

Businessman places wooden block on top of a tower of blocks which have 2023 through to 2020 written on them. hard market stabilized
News BrokersInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Will the P&C hard market stabilize or soften in 2023?

January 20, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

The P&C hard market isn’t going to soften anytime soon, but it will stabilize, suggested Phil Cook, P&C consultant and chairman of Omega Insurance Holdings Inc. at the Insurance Institute of Canada’s Industry Trends & Predictions: 2023 webinar.  Why? The industry’s

Fallen tree damage to the roof of a house
News AdjustersClaimsCommercial LinesConstructionInsuranceRestoration

How adjusters can benefit from putting consumers in control of their claims

January 19, 2023 Jason Contant

When severe weather events take place, not everything can be fixed overnight. There are only so many contractors and thousands of homes will likely need repairs ranging from major to minor. “It comes down to triaging and putting the insured

Houses along the shores of Lake Erie following December's 'bomb cyclone'
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsuranceRisk

Why Ontario should worry about worsening weather

January 19, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Final numbers for 2022 show another year of NatCats reaching over $3 billion in insured damages (and, at $3.1 billion, the third highest total NatCat losses in Canadian history).  Those figures don’t just point to more insured damages losses for