Canadian Underwriter

Topic
Claims


The McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, BC.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

More than 100 wildfires still burning after B.C.’s record wildfire season

January 17, 2024 Ashley Joannou - The Canadian Press

More 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

A city worker shovels snow in Vancouver
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

Snowstorm inbound for Metro Vancouver as winter weather rages across Canada

January 16, 2024 The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER – Environment Canada says a snowstorm is expected to hit Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and beyond, bringing up to 20 centimetres of accumulation and possible freezing rain to southern British Columbia. The weather agency has issued a snowfall warning

Icicle hangs from edge of building
News ClaimsConstructionEngineeringLegal

Roof collapses feared if freezing rain follows heavy snowfall

January 16, 2024 by David Gambrill

Fearing a wave of roof collapses could occur in the short term, Toitures Hogue, a large Quebec roofer, is urging owners of commercial, industrial and/or institutional buildings to be cautious and proactive in advance of a freezing rain forecast over

The Red Sea conflict is delaying ships in the Port of Halifax.
News ClaimsClaims CanadaCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Tremors from Red Sea conflict start to shake Canada, with dozens of ships delayed

January 15, 2024 The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – Canadian shippers are starting to feel the strain of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, as container rates rise and boats are late to arrive.  Port data shows that two-thirds of the 43 ships slated to

Burnt out trucks from a wildfire in Drayton Valley, Alta. in May 2023
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeCommercial LinesInsuranceRisk

Ten per cent of country’s insured losses in Alberta alone

January 12, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatino

For 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

Removing damaged drywall
News ClaimsInsurance

Can higher lodging costs cut restoration losses?

January 12, 2024 Philip Porado

Insurers looking to reduce home restoration claims costs should find ways to avoid tearing out walls, flooring, rugs, trim and other major construction components. One insurer’s launched a program to do just that. The approach will lead to a “1%

Soccer player trying to slide tackle his opponent
News ClaimsLegal

Is sports liability case headed to Canada’s top court?

January 11, 2024 by David Gambrill

A “dangerous” sporting play causing injury to another player — even if the move was permitted within the rules of play — can give rise to sports negligence liability, the B.C. Court of Appeal has affirmed. The decision points to

Firefighters battle a wildfire blaze
News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

What the industry learned from a 20-year-old wildfire

January 11, 2024 Jason Contant

The 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

Flood on a street in Nova Scotia
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesRisk

What’s at risk if the national flood insurance program stalls

January 10, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Insurers 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

We have moved. Moving office sign. Clipart image isolated on blue background. Vector stock illustration.
News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

How a client’s address change came back to bite his auto insurer

January 9, 2024 by David Gambrill

If an auto insurer wants to prove an insured “intentionally” failed to inform it of a move, the insurer should be prepared to provide detailed logs, transcripts or recordings of the conversations the claimant had with the broker, Ontario’s Licence

The wreckage of a collapsed building after an earthquake NatCat
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

NatCats taking their toll on Canadian property lines

January 8, 2024 by David Gambrill

Another 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

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

Wildfires in Alberta burned 10 times more area in 2023 than the five-year average

January 5, 2024 Colette Derworiz - THE CANADIAN PRESS

Alberta 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