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Autonomous car sensor system concept for safety of driverless mode car control
News ClaimsInsurance

Safety tech in cars isn’t reducing insurers’ claims costs

February 27, 2024 by David Gambrill

Much has been made of the new electronic safety tech in cars, but it doesn’t seem to be making a dent in auto insurers’ claims costs, according to a new report by Rates.ca. “You might expect that with more safety

Saving coins to represent high cost insurance coverage for cyber attacks
News BrokersClaimsInsurance

Pricing still affects brokers’ ability to sell cyber

February 27, 2024 David Gambrill

To the surprise of no one in the broker channel, the ongoing hard market in cyber still plays a significant role in why clients decline to buy coverage. About 40% of brokers responding to a recent CU survey selected ‘Price

Taxi car with Uber logo on the snowy street.
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalMarkets / Coverages

Why this Uber driver was not injured in an auto accident

February 26, 2024 by David Gambrill

An Uber driver who slipped on ice when helping a passenger load the trunk was not involved in an auto ‘accident,’ the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal has ruled. The ruling is consistent with a trend in Ontario case law over

Snow fall covering a car in Nova Scotia
News ClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

As planet warms, ferocious snowfalls like the one that hit Nova Scotia could increase

February 26, 2024 Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

ATLANTIC CANADA – Forecasters say a warming global climate could actually cause some parts of Canada to see colder conditions, including heavy snowfalls like the one that hit parts of the Maritimes this week. There’s a direct relationship between the

Are SUVs getting too big to avoid serious accidents?
News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

Will bigger vehicles lead to bigger claims?

February 23, 2024 Philip Porado

With accident rates climbing, one growing area of concern is that vehicles are becoming much larger. For example, rapid changes in vehicle specs mean full-size SUVs from 1999 would today meet the gearhead moniker of ‘Cute Ute.’ With sport utility

Sports Photographer in an empty stadium
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalRisk

Sports insurers urged to consider video review

February 22, 2024 by David Gambrill

A legal firm urges sports insurers to require their sports association clients to install cameras to record the action, following the B.C. Court of Appeal’s January 2024 decision in Cox v. Miller. In Cox v Miller, the court found Karl

Car thief attempting to break into a vehicle
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

Federal government announces $15 million to combat car thefts across Canada

February 22, 2024 The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – The federal government is committing an additional $15 million over three years to fight the rise in vehicle thefts across the country. Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc made the announcement yesterday in Montreal. LeBlanc said $9 million

Electrical outlet on fire.
News ClaimsInsurance

Managing insurer concerns about knob-and-tube wiring

February 21, 2024 Brian Cook, PowerCheck

Most insurers see homes with knob-and-tube wiring, aluminum wiring, and 60-amp service as high-risk, which prevents clients with those systems from easily obtaining home insurance. But are wiring types and service levels really the culprits causing fires? I’ve examined electrical

Toy auto mobile on top of a stack of note books and beside a spilled jar of coins
News ClaimsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

How Intact plans to approach auto pricing in 2024

February 21, 2024 by David Gambrill

Intact delivered a combined ratio of 94.7% in its auto insurance business in 2023, and the company expects to post a similar auto result in 2024 as well, Intact Financial Corporation CEO Charles Brindamour said today in a virtual fireside

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

Portrait of an agent consulting a mature couple at office
News BrokersClaimsLegalLegislation / Regulation

Brokers needn’t advise new Canadians to obtain a provincial driver’s licence

February 20, 2024 by David Gambrill

Insurance brokers in B.C. aren’t required to advise clients new to Canada that they must apply for a provincial driver’s licence within 90 days of residency in the province, B.C.’s Civil Rules Tribunal has ruled. “I find that the duty

Fraser River in British Columbia
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceRisk

How insurers can help manage flood risk in Indigenous communities

February 20, 2024 by Jason Contant

Insurers need to play a greater role in helping to manage high-risk flood areas in Indigenous communities, a tribal chief said during the CatIQ Connect conference earlier this month. “At some point, you as insurers are going to have to