Topic
Catastrophes
Rail, flood disasters prompt Saskatoon to stage large scale evacuation drill
October 8, 2013 THE CANADIAN PRESSSASKATOON – About 180 people were evacuated from four high-rise buildings in Saskatoon as part of a multi-agency drill to test the city’s emergency preparedness. The people taking part in Exercise Domino were transported Monday morning to a reception centre…
Fukushima plant reports another contaminated water leak after overfilling tank with no gauge
October 3, 2013 Mari Yamaguchi, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTOKYO – Another day, another radioactive-water spill. The operator of the meltdown-plagued Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant says at least 430 litres (110 gallons) spilled when workers overfilled a storage tank without a gauge that could have warned them of the…
Maturing Process
October 1, 2013 Sharon Ludlow, President and CEO, Swiss Re CanadaThe staggering insurance losses following Hurricane Andrew not only served as a wake-up call for the industry, but the resulting scarcity of traditional coverage prompted the market to innovate and seek alternative sources of capacity. The response included insurance-linked securities, a market that has matured and witnessed significant growth in recent years.
Pain and Gain
October 1, 2013 Angela Stelmakowich, EditorDamage from severe weather events may be insurable; it may not be insurable. But whether covered or not, someone, somewhere is going to have to pick up the tab. In the case of flooding, that payer may be the insurer…
Knowing the Unknown
October 1, 2013 Desmond Carroll Assistant Vice President, Guy Carpenter CanadaIce storm, wildfire and flood have all produced costly events in Canada. It used to be that accurately modelling perils such as flood and wildfire for a country like Canada was computationally unfeasible, but today that computational power exists.
ICLR workshop to look at lessons Canada can learn from worldwide damaging earthquakes
September 26, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction will be hosting a workshop on earthquakes and what Canada can learn from damaging events across the world. The Oct. 11 event, part of the ICLR’s ongoing Friday Forum series, will host Dr. Garry…
City council in New Zealand given green light to use modified method to conduct revaluation following quakes
September 26, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterChristchurch City Council (CCC) in New Zealand is finally moving forward with a revaluation of more than 160,000 city properties, a long-awaited review that was delayed as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. The city-wide revaluation…
Commercial broker explains how third-party logistics contracts can make underwriting more difficult
September 25, 2013 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorNICC 2013 – Some of the contracts that large retailers are asking their third-party logistics providers to sign make it difficult for insurance carriers to underwrite the risks those logistics firms are taking on, a marine risk expert for a…
Swiss Re among partners committed to building resilience of cities worldwide
September 25, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterSwiss Re is among the organizations to accept the challenge and commit to supporting a network of member cities to build resilience to natural disasters and other risks. The announcement of a global commitment to action to the 100 Resilient…
Earthquake risk model coming for Canada, no flood model yet
September 24, 2013 Harmeet Singh, Online EditorNICC 2013 – Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide will be launching an earthquake risk model for Canada next year, after it conducted a major analysis for a study commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In June 2014, the firm…
P&C industry must start dialogue on major earthquake risk in Canada, IBC says
September 23, 2013 Harmeet Singh, Online EditorNICC 2013- A major earthquake is the most significant threat that the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada faces, and creating a dialogue with governments and consumers is critical for the industry’s continued solvency, the Insurance Bureau of Canada…
UN climate panel stresses solidity of new report on global warming
September 23, 2013 Karl Ritter, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSTOCKHOLM, Sweden – Seeking to dispel any doubts over the credibility of their work, U.N. climate experts called their latest report an unbiased and reliable assessment of global warming as they presented it Monday to officials from 110 governments for…