Canadian Underwriter

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Earnings / Ratings


Cycles
News ClaimsEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Why Intact Financial’s CEO says insurance market cycles aren’t ‘dead’

November 11, 2022 by David Gambrill

Property and casualty insurance market cycles are by no means ‘dead’ — not because of insurers’ competitive behaviour, but because claims cost shocks often trigger the need to shore up pricing, according to Intact Financial Corporation CEO Charles Brindamour. Brindamour

Toy cars crashing next to a pile of coins
News ClaimsEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

How inflation will affect Intact’s auto rates going forward

November 10, 2022 by David Gambrill

Intact is predicting a firming of its auto insurance rates in Canada, where brokers and consumers can expect the company to increase auto rates by percentages in the upper single digits by the end of 2022. In its personal lines

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem holding a press conference
News Earnings / RatingsInsurance

Bank of Canada raises interest rate by half percentage point, says more hikes to come

October 26, 2022 The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by half of a percentage point Wednesday and said rates will need to rise further to clamp down on decades-high inflation. Since March, the central bank has raised its

Businessman doing the books at a small business
News Commercial LinesEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Small businesses bullish on future growth despite recession concerns: KPMG survey

October 17, 2022 by Jason Contant

TORONTO – A new KPMG survey has found Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses are banking on strong growth in the next three years, even as a possible economic downturn remains top of mind in the near term. The survey of

Buyout and related words like transaction, debt, ownership and investment
News BrokersCommercial LinesEarnings / RatingsEmploymentInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesMergers and Aqcuisitions

Why benefits, retirement and wealth planning are now P&C profit centres

October 14, 2022 Philip Porado

Recent merger deals announced by Canadian commercial P&C brokerages increasingly feature acquisitions of wealth management and employee benefits firms, and this is no accident, brokers tell Canadian Underwriter. This subset of M&A is about P&C brokerages becoming a type of

Interest rate hike represented by arrow being shot skyward
News ClaimsEarnings / RatingsInsurance

How changing bond yields can help insurers fill their coffers

September 30, 2022 Canadian Underwriter Staff

Bond investments make up a large percentage of insurance companies’ investment portfolios. And bond investors have faced challenges throughout 2022, with rising yields causing returns to lag at historic levels, Michael Cook, vice president, client relations & LDI client portfolio

Young stressed businessman working at desk in home office shouting at laptop screen and being angry about financial situation
News Earnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesRisk

How to message the hard market going forward

September 21, 2022 by David Gambrill

Profitable insurance companies mean stable and reliable protection for insureds during a time of uncertainty, and the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada should not be shy about reinforcing this message, industry execs told the NICC Conference in Halifax

The word 'inflation' written on a keyboard with a Canadian flag
News Earnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Inflation is cooling, but the Bank of Canada isn’t done its fight: economists

September 20, 2022 Nojoud Al Mallees - THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Inflation in Canada is cooling faster than expected, but economists don’t expect the Bank of Canada to back down from its fight just yet. The annual inflation rate slowed to 7.0 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said

Every cloud has a silver lining
News Commercial LinesEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesReinsurance

How inflation can become a ‘silver lining’ for the insurance industry

September 15, 2022 Philip Porado

Interest rates will keep going up. But that won’t be entirely negative for the insurance industry, or the longer-term fundamentals of the broader economy, suggested a new Sigma report from Swiss Re. Its authors called for two fundamental changes on

Arrows pointing up symbolizing business growth
News Commercial LinesEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesMergers and Aqcuisitions

Post-demutualization: Definity’s plans for the future

September 13, 2022 by Jason Contant

Definity Financial Corporation is maintaining its goal of becoming a Top 5 insurance company through a combination of organic growth and M&A activity, Definity president and CEO Rowan Saunders suggested during a recent financial services conference. “One of the drivers

Bigger fish eating smaller fish; M&A concept
News AssociationsEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Canada’s largest P&C insurers growing larger: AM Best

September 12, 2022 by Jason Contant

Canada’s Top 10 property and casualty insurers control almost three-quarters of the marketplace, with the remaining participants competing for the balance of available premium, ratings agency AM Best said during an industry event Friday. The Top 10 P&C carriers control

Aerial view of a container ship passing beneath a suspension bridge. Semi truck with pink cargo container crosses above.
News Commercial LinesConstructionEarnings / RatingsInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesReinsuranceRisk

How de-globalization will generate $33 billion in commercial premiums

September 9, 2022 by David Gambrill

Countries are starting to restructure their supply chains, a ‘de-globalizing’ phenomenon that could generate $33 billion in new global commercial P&C insurance premiums over the next four years, Swiss Re predicted. In one example, ‘re-shoring’ supply chains means moving commercial