Topic
Catastrophes
Manitoba to join Ontario, Quebec in introducing cap-and-trade system for large carbon emitters
December 7, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterManitoba Premier Greg Selinger announced late last week that the province will join Ontario and Quebec in introducing a cap-and-trade system for large carbon emitters. Ontario’s Office of the Premier added in a statement that the three provinces signed a…
“Smart” cities will use 1.6 billion connected things in 2016: Gartner
December 7, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThere will be an estimated 1.6 billion connected things in use by “smart” cities in 2016, an increase of 39% from 2015, according to a new report from Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory company based in Stamford,…
Canada to invest $50 million in G7 climate risk insurance initiative in developing countries
December 7, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterCanada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced on Saturday that the country would contribute $50 million to the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance to help people in developing countries protect themselves against the economic consequences of…
Winter storm knocks out power in New Brunswick, P.E.I. and closes schools
December 4, 2015 The Canadian PressFREDERICTON – A winter storm moving through Atlantic Canada has closed some schools in Newfoundland and knocked out power in New Brunswick and P.E.I. NB Power says 24,000 customers were affected by the outage, with the bulk being in the…
Milder than normal winters in western, northwestern and central Canada expected due to El Nio: Environment Canada
December 3, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe current El Niño phenomenon is expected to reach its maximum during the winter of 2015-16, which has historically manifested itself through milder than normal winters in western, northwestern and central Canada, Environment Canada said. The current El Niño could…
Toronto politicians may increase 2016 basement flooding protection spending
December 2, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterAs Toronto city staff recommend $67.754 million in capital funding for basement flooding protection projects in 2016, City Council, which meets next week, is being urged to advance 2017 cashflow for those projects into 2016 if a “greater than planned”…
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction makes two submissions to the Ontario Building Code review process
December 1, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) met Monday’s deadline to make submissions for the next iteration of the Ontario Building Code. The Institute opted to submit two proposed code changes: to make backwater valves and hurricane straps mandatory in…
B.C. government freezes carbon tax until 2018 to allow other Canadian jurisdictions to “catch up”
December 1, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe government of British Columbia announced on Friday that it has frozen its current $30 per tonne carbon tax until 2018 to allow other jurisdictions in Canada to catch up to the province. The response is related to the province’s…
Vision that mega-cities nervous systems based on Internet; reality that locations will face nat-cat risk: Allianz SE
December 1, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe mega-city is coming – with two-thirds of the world’s population expected to be city dwellers by 2030 – but this development poses challenges regarding how best to strike a balance between growth, quality of life and climate protection, cautions…
AU$75 million in insured losses so far for South Australia bushfires: council
December 1, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterWith the number of claims from the South Australian bushfires reaching 525 Monday morning, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) reported total insured losses had hit AU$75 million. Declared a disaster by ICA Nov. 26, there are multiple bushfires burning…
Mega Prepared?
December 1, 2015 Eric Robinson, Senior Scientist, AIR WorldwideWhat would happen if Canada experienced an atmospheric perils mega-disaster in a single year? Is Canada prepared to deal with the uncertainty of numerous events in different regions?
Intact Financial Corporation announces new climate adaptation centre
November 30, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterIntact Financial Corporation (IFC), Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance, and Ontario’s University of Waterloo announced on Monday the creation of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (ICCA). The centre, based in the Faculty of Environment at the…