Canadian Underwriter

Topic
Catastrophes


Man in suit using rope to close gap in a bridge. Represents insurance protection gap.
News CatastrophesClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Why commercial insurers’ biggest risk is relevancy

March 6, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

To ensure commercial P&C’s market relevance, insurers will need to find a way to address the “structurally changing nature of risk,” by closing protection gaps, said a recent McKinsey report.   There’s been a change in commercial insurance penetration in

People stranded by high water due to flooding in B.C.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsurance

Federal disaster aid program being overhauled to include climate adaptation

February 27, 2023 Mia Rabson - THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Canada’s overworked disaster assistance program is being overhauled so that future projects would only be eligible for aid if they take into account the need to adapt to climate change. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, who was in

Motorist driving on closes Trans-Canada highway in Abbotsford, BC
News CatastrophesClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Window for action on national flood insurance program is now, IBC says

February 24, 2023 by Jason Contant

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is applauding the federal government’s latest disaster assistance for flood recovery costs associated with British Columbia’s costliest severe weather event, but is stressing the urgent need for action on a national flood insurance program. The

Flooded road in New Brunswick
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceRisk

Government caps disaster assistance, lowers threshold for property buyouts

February 23, 2023 by Jason Contant

Another provincial government is changing the way it provides disaster financial assistance by capping assistance for claims related to the same type of disaster at $200,000. New Brunswick is increasing the maximum payout for structural damage to $200,000, setting a

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

The Lytton wildfire in B.C.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

B.C. adds $180 million to help communities prepare for natural disasters

February 22, 2023 Dirk Meissner - THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA – Premier David Eby says he’s introducing more supports to better prepare British Columbia communities for natural disasters related to climate change before they happen. “The last few years have taught us a hard lesson about the impacts of

corn field destroyed by the drought
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsuranceRisk

What the forecast says for Cats in 2023

February 16, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

After a severe NatCat year in Canada in 2022, all signs point toward warmer, drier conditions in 2023 and a quiet hurricane season. With that, however, meteorologists predict this year will make Top 5 list for warmest years on record

A crushed vehicle from a fallen tree following a tornado in Tweed, Ont. on July 25, 2022.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsurance

Is Canada seeing more tornadoes every year?

February 14, 2023 by Jason Contant

Canada saw 117 recorded tornadoes across the country during the 2022 season, tying 2021 for the highest-ever single season on record, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP). As with 2021, 29 of the tornadoes reached up to EF2 on

Five small wooden toy block houses are surrounded by murky brown water in a flood plain, up to their windows.
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeCommercial LinesInsuranceRisk

Is there a better coverage solution for flood plain residents?

February 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

When insurers recommend consumers pack up and move from their flood-prone homes, it’s easier said than done. That’s why the industry needs to come up with better resilience solutions and more efficient claims response to protect the customers most impacted

Young woman in a yellow shirt onlooking ruins of a house after fire disaster.
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeEngineeringInsurance

It’s time to address Canadian adjuster mobility, claims experts say

February 10, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Developing and effectively using the pool of Canadian claims adjusters for catastrophe response is a problem that continues to keep adjusting firms up at night, experts told a CatIQ Connect panel on Wednesday.  “Most people don’t realize that seven of

Nova Scotia vineyard
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

Recent extreme cold snap causes ‘devastating’ damage to Nova Scotia vineyards

February 10, 2023 The Canadian Press

The president of the Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia says it will take years for vineyards to recover from the recent extreme cold snap. Steve Ells says between 95 and 100 per cent of Nova Scotia-grown vinifera variety grapes

The atmospheric river in B.C. in November 2021
News CatastrophesClaimsInsurance

Why atmospheric rivers, derechos and bomb cyclones are on insurers’ radar

February 9, 2023 by Jason Contant

Wild and wacky weather events like atmospheric rivers, derechos and bomb cyclones may seem new because of recent media coverage, but they’ve been known and named phenomena for quite some time in the history of meteorology and atmospheric science, speakers