Topic
Earnings / Ratings
Why you can expect your reinsurance rates to go up on renewal
April 6, 2021 by David GambrillReinsurers in Canada’s P&C industry had a rough time negotiating through COVID last year, with the sector’s overall combined ratio skyrocketing from a profitable 92.6% in 2019 to an unprofitable 103.7% in 2020. Claims costs were a major force behind…
Why Intact says an upward correction in auto rates could be imminent
April 1, 2021 by Greg MeckbachMotorists could be hit with more premium increases once driving levels return to pre-pandemic levels, Intact Financial Corp. CEO Charles Brindamour suggests. During the early part of 2020, Canada’s auto insurers had a collective combined ratio in auto more than…
Explain how AI leads to underwriting decisions, report urges
March 31, 2021 by Greg MeckbachInsurers who use big data and artificial intelligence to make underwriting decisions must be prepared to explain to clients and regulators exactly how they arrived at those decisions, an Insurance Institute of Canada researcher suggests. “A challenge in the application…
OSFI results: The good, the bad, and the ugly for Canada’s P&C industry
March 25, 2021 by David GambrillCOVID-19 last year might have been the end of the world as we know it, to riff on a song by R.E.M., but Canada’s P&C insurance industry is doing fine — financially, at least. After a full year of the…
2020 results: Did Canada’s insurers “outrun the bear” of claims inflation?
March 23, 2021 by David GambrillCanada’s P&C insurance industry survived the pandemic year of 2020 in good financial health, although some insurers wound up with healthier balance sheets than others, according to financial data published in the forthcoming MSA Research Q4-2020 Outlook Report. “The Canadian…
This mutual aspires to break into Top 10 by the 2030s
March 12, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf multiple Juno-winner Tom Cochrane were to analyze your industry, he might say, “My Gore’s going to play in the big leagues.” Gore Mutual Insurance Company, based in Cambridge, Ont., has big ambitions. Although the mutual currently commands less than…
What the recovery from commercial hard market could look like
January 26, 2021 by Greg MeckbachBrokers could see a “K-shaped” recovery from the hard market in commercial lines because some sectors have been hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than others, panelists observed in a webinar hosted Jan. 25 by Canadian Underwriter. Some commercial lines…
Six reasons why commercial prices will probably continue rising
January 25, 2021 by Greg MeckbachDon’t expect a soft market for your commercial clients any time soon, executives with The Travelers Companies Inc. warn. Rates on renewal for business insurance were up 8.4% while rates in bond and specialty insurance increased by 12%, Travelers said…
Who is funding many of these insurance mergers
December 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe industry continues to consolidate and pension funds are one major source of capital for insurers, a Montreal-based merger and acquisition expert observes. “One or two notable [carrier M&A] transactions per year has slowly transformed the Canadian landscape, including the…
P&C industry’s Q3 results show signs of recovery
November 30, 2020 by David GambrillIf the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry’s second quarter results — a financial temperature check at the height of the pandemic — looked a bit sickly this year, the third quarter results show signs of overall recovery, data from…
Still standing
October 22, 2020 David Gambrill, Editor in ChiefThe P&C industry’s second-quarter earnings reflect the impact of COVID-19. Overall, they tell a story of financial resilience
The good news and bad news about Ontario auto
September 24, 2020 by Greg MeckbachOntario auto insurance rates were 3.7% lower in the second quarter of 2020, than in the same period in 2019, but were still higher than in the three months ending March 30, 2020, data released Tuesday by LowestRates.ca suggests. “COVID…