Topic
Catastrophes
Oil spill fears remain one year after bunker fuel fouled Vancouver beaches
April 8, 2016 Laura Kane - THE CANADIAN PRESSVANCOUVER – When the MV Marathassa leaked at least 2,700 litres of bunker fuel into Vancouver’s harbour one year ago, the effects of the spill reached far beyond the city’s picturesque waters and beaches. Delays in clean-up and notification of…
Fire and wind combine for destructive force in southern Alberta city
April 7, 2016 The Canadian PressLETHBRIDGE, Alta. – A fire whipped along by a strong wind has destroyed three homes and damaged some others in southern Alberta. The blaze got rolling last evening in a west Lethbridge residence and quickly spread to two neighbouring houses.…
RMS launches app to model ‘cat-in-a-box’ deals
April 7, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterRisk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS) announced on Thursday that it has released the “first ever” app to model ‘cat-in-a-box’ deals. The cloud-based app extends the ability to independently assess and underwrite parametric contracts from a small group of cedant, brokers…
Canada in better position than most to close protection gap, collaboration key: Scotti
April 6, 2016 by Angela Stelmakowich“Canada is in a better position than many other countries to actually close its protection gap,” Veronica Scotti, president and CEO of Swiss Re Canada, said Wednesday during Swiss Re’s Canadian Insurance Outlook in downtown Toronto. “Sometimes it takes an…
Canada’s p&c industry sees big jump in underwriting income, big drop in nat-cat losses in 2015: IBC
April 6, 2016 by Angela StelmakowichDespite the challenges and fluctuations of 2015 – including plummeting oil prices – Canada’s property and casualty industry “had a relatively good year,” with underwriting income tripling to about $1.7 billion, David McGown, senior vice president of strategic initiatives for…
Total economic losses from March winter storm in Ontario and Quebec estimated at $130 million: Impact Forecasting
April 6, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterTotal economic losses from a winter storm in Ontario and Quebec in March were estimated to approach $130 million (US$100 million), while insurers anticipated losses well into the tens of millions in U.S. dollars, according to Impact Forecasting’s Global Catastrophe…
Sponsors completed two cat bonds with Canadian coverage in Q1 2016: PCS
April 6, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterSponsors completed two catastrophe bonds with coverage for Canada in the first quarter of 2016 – the same two sponsors that did so in the first quarter of 2015, according to Property Claims Services’ (PCS) Q1 2016 cat bond report.…
Aon Benfield’s Tropical Storm Risk releases forecast for Atlantic Hurricane season
April 5, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterTropical Storm Risk (TSR), part of Aon Benfield Research’s academic and industry collaboration, is forecasting 12 named storms, six hurricanes and two major (Category 3+) hurricanes between the months of June and November. The April forecast for the Atlantic Hurricane…
U.S. judge OKs $20B settlement from 2010 BP oil spill
April 5, 2016 Kevin McGill - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNEW ORLEANS – A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval Monday to an estimated $20 billion settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resolving years of litigation over the worst offshore spill in…
Increased wildfire-related violation tickets come into force in B.C.
April 4, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterIncreased fines for a variety of wildfire-related violation tickets came into force in British Columbia on Friday. The province’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Resource Operations said in a press release on Monday that anyone caught contravening specified open burning…
Reinsurance demand uptick despite price softening, reinsurers may not grant more concessions: Willis Re
April 4, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterEncouraging signs for reinsurers are coming to light despite reinsurance rates falling for the fourth consecutive year at the Apr. 1, renewals, suggests Willis Re suggests in its latest 1st View Reinsurance Renewals report. “Amidst a gloomy picture of sustained…
Prepare for Anything
April 1, 2016 Greg Meckbach, Associate Editor and Jason Contant, Online EditorCanadians are well-aware of events that can produce insured losses, including storms and cold weather. But the possible influence of other less-familiar perils, like earthquakes and cyber cats, should also be on the radar.