Topic
Catastrophes
Earthquake strikes off west coast of Vancouver Island
January 8, 2015 THE CANADIAN PRESSTOFINO, B.C. – Houses shook, dishes broke and some residents of Tofino, B.C., thought an explosion or car accident occurred, but there was no tsunami or major damage reported by a 4.6 magnitude earthquake. Earthquakes Canada, the federal agency that…
U.S. House passes bill to renew terror insurance program by sweeping bipartisan vote
January 7, 2015 Andrew Taylor, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSWASHINGTON – The House has passed long-sought legislation to renew the federal program that props up the private market for insurance against terrorist attacks. The 416-6 vote revives the government’s terrorism risk insurance program. The program provides a backstop in…
CIAA, PCS partnership aims to improve catastrophe information for independent adjusters
January 7, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association and Property Claim Services (PCS), part of Verisk Analytics, have partnered to allow CIAA members access to catastrophe loss information. All CIAA members will have access to PCS Canada’s cat loss information, which is says…
Crude transport by rail expected to grow in 2015
January 6, 2015 Ross Marowits, THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – Volatility in energy prices is expected to be a “wild card” for Canadian railways in the long term, but crude-by-rail volumes should continue to grow, albeit more slowly, in 2015, an industry analyst said Tuesday. Walter Spracklin of…
Ratings outlook for global reinsurance sector remains negative: A.M. Best
January 6, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterSignificant ongoing market challenges that will hinder the potential for positive rating actions over time, and may translate into negative rating pressures, have contributed to A.M. Best maintaining its negative outlook for the global reinsurance sector. Having revised its rating…
Powerful quake jolts New Zealand’s Christchurch; no immediate reports of damage or injuries
January 6, 2015 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSCHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – A powerful magnitude-5.6 earthquake Tuesday jolted awake many residents in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries. The quake struck at 6:48 a.m. local time, according…
Alternative insurance capital capacity reaches $62 billion: Aon Benfield
January 5, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterSevere thunderstorm was the costliest peril in 2014 for the global insurance industry, global reinsurer capital reached US$575 billion during the third quarter and non-traditional capacity is now nearly US$62 billion, Aon Benfield stated in its Reinsurance Market Outlook for…
Thunderstruck
January 1, 2015 Scott Stransky, Manager and Principal Scientist, AIR WorldwideThe risk to insurers posed by severe thunderstorms in Canada is largely the result of an accumulation of losses from multiple events. Historical data on thunderstorm risk is available, but gaining a clear picture of the peril can be advanced through the use of reanalysis data.
Atlantic Perspective
January 1, 2015 Amanda Dean, Vice President, Atlantic, Insurance Bureau of CanadaProperty damage claims are on the rise in Atlantic Canada. Depending on the specific province, habitational property claims have doubled to quadrupled over the last two decades.
Lac Megantic disaster settlement fund tops $200M ahead of filing next month
December 23, 2014 David Sharp, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPORTLAND, Maine – A proposed settlement fund for victims of a fiery train derailment that claimed 47 lives in Canada is nearly halfway to a goal of $500 million in funding commitments ahead of its filing next month, the defunct…
U.S. railroads seek permission to put a single person in charge of miles long freight trains
December 22, 2014 Josh Funk, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOMAHA, Neb. – When American freight trains delivered cargo after World War II, the steam-belching beasts commonly had seven people aboard – an engineer, a conductor, up to four brakemen and a fireman. Trains have since grown much longer, seemingly…
U.S. commercial terrorism insurers will ‘likely be required to maintain higher capital standards’
December 19, 2014 by Canadian UnderwriterWith 12 days to go before the United States Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act (TRIA) expires, a risk modeling vendor predicts that commercial insurers who continue to cover terrorism in the U.S. after Dec. 31 will “likely be required to…