Canadian Underwriter

Topic
Catastrophes


The Fraser Valley in B.C. after flooding on Nov. 21, 2021
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsurance

Federal disaster aid for Fraser Valley floods, landslides taking too long: B.C. MP

March 12, 2024 Mia Rabson - The Canadian Press

The federal government estimates it will need to pay almost $3.4 billion for its share of the disaster recovery bills for flooding and landslides that devastated British Columbia’s Fraser Valley in November 2021. But more than two years after that

Blizzard in city. Winter weather. Deep snow
News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeMarkets / Coverages

What Western Canada’s deep freeze cost insurers

March 11, 2024 by David Gambrill

Canada’s property and casualty insurers rang in 2024 by paying out $180 million to repair damage caused by Western Canada’s deep freeze in mid-January. Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) released the figure Monday, which is based on industry claims totals

News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeCommercial Lines

‘Clean slate’ to reshape B.C. wine industry, after climate-related catastrophes

March 11, 2024 Brenna Owen - The Canadian Press

The heart of British Columbia’s wine industry is reeling after suffering a litany of climate-related hits, resulting in two years of crop losses in the southern Interior. Record-breaking heat. Wildfires and smoke that repeatedly contaminated grapes. A destructive cold snap

Home with truck outside
News CatastrophesClaimsInsuranceRisk

What insurers can expect from FSRA’s review of home insurance claims

March 8, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Ontario’s insurance regulator is conducting a review of home insurance claims handling to help the industry identify the greatest risks for consumer harm.  Initially announced in June 2023, the Home Insurance Thematic Review is on its way to being published,

Aviva Canada's 2023 financial results
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaCommercial LinesEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

How Aviva Canada fared in 2023

March 7, 2024 by Jason Contant

Aviva Canada ended 2023 with an undiscounted combined operating ratio (COR) of 95.3% and double-digit growth in gross written premiums, despite challenging market conditions that included increased weather-related losses and heightened auto theft.  The undiscounted ratio for 2023 was up

Concept of home insurance price increases
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

How home insurance premiums are trending

March 6, 2024 by Jason Contant

Canadian home insurance policyholders should brace for price increases this year following a nearly 8% year-over-year increase since the beginning of the year, according to internal data from rate comparison site My Choice Financial. Canada’s home insurance landscape is poised for

Aerial view of homes flooded by record-breaking rainfall
News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsuranceRisk

How clients can be motivated on climate action

March 5, 2024 by Jason Contant

Measures to help mitigate climate change are a known commodity, it’s just a matter of motivating the public, government and regulators to take action, speakers suggested Monday at an industry event. Climate change is irreversible, but its rate can be

A gas station destroyed by the Bush Creek East wildfire in Squilax, B.C.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceRestoration

Inaccurate data on forest fuels may stoke B.C. wildfires, study finds

March 4, 2024 Brenna Owen - The Canadian Press

Wildfire fighting and forest management decisions are potentially being hampered by inaccurate government data that misrepresents forest fuel loads in British Columbia’s Interior, a new study has found.  The B.C. government says the provincial wildfire service is working with the

A fourplex destroyed by a wildfire at Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

Warm and dry weather prompts Alberta to declare an early start to wildfire season

February 21, 2024 The Canadian Press

EDMONTON – The Alberta government has declared an early start to the 2024 wildfire season in the face of low snowpacks and forecasts of dry weather to come. Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said Tuesday the season is

Cyber graphic of an arrow pointing upward
News CatastrophesClaimsCommercial LinesInsurance

Cats scratch Intact’s bottom line in 2023

February 14, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) has reported elevated catastrophe losses in 2023, raising its combined operating ratio (COR) by 4.3 points since 2022. “The past year has been challenging for society, particularly in the face of numerous natural disasters,” said Charles

Flooded homes following torrential rainfall
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Are your clients adding water endorsements to home policies?

February 14, 2024 by Jason Contant

An increasing number of your clients are expressing interest in water endorsements on home insurance policies, according to data from rate aggregator Rates.ca’s home insurance quoter. The rate comparison website found 36% of all home insurance quotes on the tool

Burnt out trucks from a wildfire in Drayton Valley, Alta. in May 2023
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceRisk

Alberta to add firefighters for expected busy wildfire season: minister

February 9, 2024 Bob Weber – The Canadian Press

Alberta will field more firefighters, more volunteers and more high-tech gear as it braces for what it expects will be another busy wildfire season, the province’s forestry minister said Thursday. And as the province faces a summer of possibly severe