Topic
Catastrophes
Four homes in Northwest Territories lost in wildfire, road closed
July 28, 2023 The Canadian PressYELLOWKNIFE — An out-of-control wildfire in the Northwest Territories has destroyed four homes in a community about 100 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. Wildfire information officer Mike Westwick says the fire has reached the community of Behchoko in Rae. The territory’s…
Aging infrastructure struggling to keep up with storms, wildfires, changing climate
July 27, 2023 Hina Alam - THE CANADIAN PRESSFREDERICTON – The torrential rain that washed out roads, bridges and a key rail link in Nova Scotia on the weekend is being described as another sign that engineers cannot rely on past weather patterns to design infrastructure able to…
Canada’s P&C insurers react to federal cabinet shuffle
July 27, 2023 by Jason ContantCanadian property and casualty insurers will be working with new cabinet ministers in the areas of emergency preparedness, public safety (including cybersecurity and auto theft), and housing, infrastructure and communities (including climate resilience), following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s major cabinet…
Claims pouring in for record Nova Scotia rainstorm
July 24, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoAdjusters are beginning to see claims pour in after thunderstorms dumped record amounts of rain on Nova Scotia Friday. Torrential downpours dropped over two months’ worth of rain (between 200 and 250 millimetres) in about 24 hours on Halifax, Nova…
What the math says about P&C return rates
July 24, 2023 Alyssa Di SabatinoWhat’s a reasonable rate of return for Canada’s property and casualty insurers? According to Craig Pinnock, chief financial officer at Northbridge Financial Corporation, for the insurance industry, it could sit anywhere between 5% on the low end, 10% on average,…
Can insurers and reinsurers survive looming NatCat trends?
July 21, 2023 Glenn McGillivrayOne of the hallmarks of a warming world is that you never know what may come next. The reasonably stable climate of the last 100,000 years is being thrown into disarray as Earth’s systems are forced out of kilter. For…
Canada’s wildfires: Is industry concerned about lack of firefighters?
July 21, 2023 by Jason ContantWith Canada’s record-breaking fire season continuing to burn hot, firefighter availability and the country’s system of sharing resources is stretched thin. For Canada’s P&C insurance industry, the overall lack of firefighters is a concern, given the sheer number of fires…
Wildfires: Where there’s smoke, there’s damage
July 18, 2023 by David GambrillAs smoke from almost 900 of Canada’s wildfires descends upon the United States, resurrecting media reports about air quality, Canadian property and casualty insurers have an eye on a different type of exposure — property damage claims due to wildfire…
Montreal-Barrhaven storm declared a Cat
July 18, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoThe storm that hit Montreal on Thursday, downing trees and power lines and causing localized flooding, has been declared a catastrophe, Laura Twidle, president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) told Canadian Underwriter. A ‘catastrophe’ is an…
Will markets soften after 2022’s strong performance?
July 14, 2023 Glenn McGillivrayFor 2021, a year-in-review for the P&C industry began with the sunny news that it “was the most generally favourable for Canadian insurers in a long while.” But that same review ended with the suggestion that those rosy numbers may…
How much Intact paid in second quarter Cat losses
July 13, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoIntact Financial Corporation saw an estimated $335 million in catastrophe losses in Canada for the second quarter of 2023, the insurer revealed in a release. Comparatively, the company handled over a million claims and paid out over $10 billion globally in…
Record-breaking wildfire season will continue to burn hot for months: officials
July 6, 2023 The Canadian PressOTTAWA – Natural Resources Canada says the country’s record-breaking wildfire season will continue to be abnormally intense throughout July and into August. The projections are based on anticipated high temperatures, dry conditions and historical comparisons. The risk is expected to…