Canadian Underwriter

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Reinsurance


News Insurance

What’s New: In Brief (December 07, 2006)

December 7, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

The Canadian team at Willis Group Holdings has appointed Joe Beesack as the senior vice-president of its alternative risk solutions practice. Beesack’s focus will be on loss forecasting, deductible optimization, risk modeling, captive assessment and feasibility studies. His area of

News Climate ChangeInsurance

Strong balance sheets for 2007, Swiss Re predicts

December 5, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Year 2007 promises to be profitable for the insurance industry, experts at Swiss Re’s recent economic forum predict. “Balance sheets of most non-life insurers are very strong going into 2007 and we expect this to improve in 2007,” said Thomas

News InsuranceMergers and Aqcuisitions

New Brunswick, insurers agree on 13.5% rate decrease

December 4, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

The government of New Brunswick has come to an agreement with the province’s insurance industry that will see premiums drop an average of 13.5% by Mar. 1, 2007.As promised in Premier Shawn Graham’s Charter for Change, the plan involves eliminating

News Insurance

Marsh opens technical centre of excellence in Halifax

November 30, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Marsh has announced it is opening an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, creating up to 150 new jobs.The risk and insurance company is establishing a technical centre of excellence to provide high-level financial administrative support for its captive solutions business.Nova

News Climate ChangeInsurance

Reinsurers resilient after 2005, IAIS says

November 28, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Even though the reinsurance industry suffered major losses as a result of natural disasters in 2005, it succeeded in posting profits nevertheless, according to a new report published by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). “The reinsurance sector has

News Climate ChangeInsurance

High oil prices provide opportunities for risk underwriting

November 28, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

The high price of oil in recent years has led to rising investment in the energy sector, providing opportunities for risk underwriting, according to a Swiss Re advisory panel.“Those insurers and reinsurers with specialist skills across many disciplines, as well

News Insurance

Moody’s monitoring U.S. financial guarantee insurance investigation

November 24, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Moody’s Ratings Service is carefully monitoring U.S. financial regulators’ subpoenas against parents of several financial guaranty insurance companies in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation of alleged bid-rigging of awards of municipal guaranteed investment contracts.“Inherent wrongdoing is not indicated but

News Insurance

What’s New: In Brief (November 24, 2006)

November 24, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Fairfax Financial Holdings (Fairfax) has announced an underwritten public offering to sell 9 million common shares of Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. Fairfax will grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to 1.4-million additional shares of common stock to cover

News Insurance

What’s New: In brief (November 23, 2006)

November 23, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Independent insurance brokers representing The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company will have the opportunity to meet the flammable-liquid-detecting dog they sponsor through Ottawa Fire Services. The Dominion signed an agreement earlier this year to sponsor the pooch in an

News Climate ChangeInsurance

RMS calls for more U.S. landfall hurricanes over next five years

November 23, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Despite the “docile” hurricane season in 2006, increased hurricane activity and landfall is likely to continue in 2007 and beyond, according to catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions (RMS).RMS is reaffirming its five-year outlook of increased storm risk after presenting a

News Insurance

What’s New: In Brief (November 21, 2006)

November 21, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Fitch Ratings has removed from Ratings Watch negative the ratings of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax), Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. and its insurance subsidiaries (Odyssey Re), and TIG Holdings Inc.The rating outlook for all of these companies is now stable.

News Climate ChangeInsuranceMergers and Aqcuisitions

2006 kind to Bermuda reinsurers, Fitch says

November 21, 2006 by Canadian Underwriter

Bermuda-based reinsurers saw their their 2006 net income soar and their combined operating ratios (COR) plummet and after a relatively mild hurricane season, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings.Fitch noted the Bermuda reinsurers tend to derive most of