Topic
Catastrophes
When will Canada’s insurers reach a tipping point over NatCats?
January 17, 2024 Philip PoradoIf insurers’ recent response to drastic storm and fire losses recorded in many parts of the U.S. are any harbinger, some Canadian regions may soon grapple with a future in which standard market insurers simply walk away. It’s already happening…
More than 100 wildfires still burning after B.C.’s record wildfire season
January 17, 2024 Ashley Joannou - The Canadian PressMore than 100 wildfires are still listed as burning in British Columbia thanks to a combination of a busy wildfire season, extreme drought and generally warmer and drier conditions through December. Forrest Tower of the BC Wildfire Service said that…
Ten per cent of country’s insured losses in Alberta alone
January 12, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoFor all the smoke, fire and flood that happened across Canada this year, damage to property in Alberta alone exceeded $330 million, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). That’s nearly 10% of all insured losses across…
What the industry learned from a 20-year-old wildfire
January 11, 2024 Jason ContantThe devastation of British Columbia’s Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire in 2003 was unlike anything Janna Smart had adjusted before. “It was full of raw emotion, chaos, destruction, and limited experience in handling a wildfire in a densely populated area. It…
What’s at risk if the national flood insurance program stalls
January 10, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoInsurers will need to be informed about their role in the national flood insurance program by Spring 2024 if it’s to be operational before the next federal election, an Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) executive tells Canadian Underwriter. The…
NatCats taking their toll on Canadian property lines
January 8, 2024 by David GambrillAnother year, another $3 billion in NatCat insurance claims payouts. Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry paid out more than $3.1 billion last year in claims related to natural catastrophes, based on the latest numbers from Catastrophe and Indices Quantification…
Wildfires in Alberta burned 10 times more area in 2023 than the five-year average
January 5, 2024 Colette Derworiz - THE CANADIAN PRESSAlberta Wildfire says it saw an average number of wildfires last year, but the area burned across the province set a record. The province saw a total of 1,088 wildfires that burned about 22,000 square kilometres from March 1 to…
Should insurers help customers build back better…or not at all?
January 4, 2024 Philip PoradoIncreased severity and frequency of NatCats has Canada’s P&C insurance ecosystem seeking ways to add resilience to the claims process. This includes build back better initiatives to encourage adding things like hurricane straps or hail-resistant shingling to roof rebuilds to…
Homeowners discuss the high insurance costs of wildfires
January 2, 2024 Michael Tutton - THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – Seven months after a wildfire left a charred, 1,000-hectare scar on the western suburbs of Halifax, less visible damage persists in the lives of those who lost their homes to the flames. Lindsay Law said the financial and…
Introducing our 2024 Executive Outlook series
December 19, 2023 by David GambrillIn the 1942 classic film Casablanca, Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, urges the piano player Sam to play the song “As time goes by.” It’s a favourite tune she shares with the lead man in the film, Rick Blaine,…
How insurers can manage losses as NatCat events ramp up
December 18, 2023 Philip PoradoWhatever’s driving increasingly devastating storms over the past decade, one thing is certain — insurers have watched NatCat losses ramp up over the past decade. “It used to be an unusual year where you’d have more than a billion dollars…
Canada to pilot options for national emergency response agency in 2024
December 15, 2023 Mia Rabson - THE CANADIAN PRESSOTTAWA – A new national emergency response agency may consist of regional response teams that Ottawa can call into action when disaster strikes, Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a recent interview. It is clear some kind of federal…