Topic
Insurance
Motorcycle accident victims are getting older: medical study
April 12, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterA study by the University of Rochester Medical Centre shows the average age of the typical injured motorcyclist in the United States has increased from 34 years to 39 years between 1996 and 2005.The study reviewed the hospital records of…
Insurance and trucking industry launch joint cargo theft study
April 12, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterMembers of the insurance industry have teamed with the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) to launch a study examining cargo crime activity in Canada.Markel Insurance Company of Canada, Marsh Canada Limited and Zurich Canada are working alongside CTA, provincial trucking associations…
Post-recession era ripe for economic crime: PwC
April 12, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterCost-cutting and downsizing during a recession can increase the risk of financial fraud in a post-recession landscape era, reports PricewaterhouseCoopers.A PwC Economic Crime Survey shows 56% of Canadian companies reported being victims of crime in 2009.“In a global economic downturn,…
Injury threshold in Ontario does not establish a “barrier” to jury award recovery: Ontario judge
April 12, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterThe threshold in Ontario for determining whether injuries are “serious” enough to warrant jury awards are not supposed to be treated as barriers by insurance defence counsel, an Ontario Superior Court Justice remarked in the threshold case, Nicolas v. Bowers.“I…
Insurer ordered to defend negligence claim, after insured sold and vacated property
April 9, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterA recent Ontario Superior Court decision suggests that, depending on the wording of a policy and what is alleged, an insurer may be obliged to defend insureds who have made misrepresentations with respect to the sale of an item —…
ORBiT canvassing Canadian P&C insurance industry’s use of real-time technology
April 9, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterA non-profit organization called ORBiT (Organization of Real-Time Brokers Implementing Technology) is currently assessing the degree to which carriers and brokers have taken up the use of real-time technology in their organizations.“Real time” is defined as the ability to click…
CGI extends IT infrastructure contract with Portage Mutual, but not with Desjardins
April 9, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterCGI Group Inc. (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB), an information technology and business process services provider, says it has extended its current contract with Portage La Prairie Mutual Insurance Company, a 100% Canadian-owned mutual insurance company, until 2014. The enterprise solution…
Global reinsurance market struggling to maintain top line: A.M. Best
April 9, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterCapital in the global reinsurance market increased 24% in 2009 from 2008, but market conditions for most lines of business are compressing underwriting margins, reports A.M. Best.In its report, Reinsurers Battled Headwinds of Softening Market in 2009, A.M. Best says…
RSA teams up with Nova Scotia government for expansion
April 8, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Nova Scotia government has inked a deal with RSA Canada that will provide the insurer with up to a $2.7-million payroll rebate.The company and the province, through Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI), have signed a six-year payroll rebate of…
Facility Association volumes across Canada stabilize at relatively low levels.
April 8, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterFacility Association (FA) volumes have not gone up as expected, raising a few eyebrows among FA executive members.FA numbers increased significantly in 2003-04, when auto insurers in Canada faced rising claims costs in a hardening market. Similar auto insurance market…
U.S. merger and acquisition values lowest since 2002: Conning
April 8, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterLast year the United States saw the lowest value of insurance transactions since 2002, according to research by Conning Research & Consulting.The study, Global Insurance Mergers & Acquisitions in 2009, tracks and analyzes both U.S. and non-U.S. insurance industry merger…
Facility Association (FA) pleased that New Brunswick allows cost of capital provisions in FA rates
April 8, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterThe New Brunswick Insurance Board has allowed the inclusion of a cost of capital provision in Facility Association (FA) rates, the second province in Canada to do so, following the lead of Prince Edward Island.Buoyed by the decision of the…