Topic
Markets / Coverages
How Intact will decide what becomes of RSA Canada’s brands
November 18, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf Intact Financial Corp. takes over RSA Canada, the combined firm will go to market with the “strongest” brands, meaning it remains to be seen what happens in Canada to brands such as RSA, Unifund, and Johnson, Intact’s CEO suggested…
Intact’s message to politicians wanting more commercial insurance regulation
November 5, 2020 by Greg MeckbachImposing more regulation on commercial carriers is not going to help make coverage available for clients who are having a hard time finding insurance, Intact CEO Charles Brindamour suggests. “I don’t think that scaring insurers is the way to bring…
IBC talking to feds about future pandemic risk transfer
November 2, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe Insurance Bureau of Canada is starting to look for a national approach to transferring pandemic risk, Ontario brokers have learned. “IBC is in the early stages of exploring what a pandemic risk transfer mechanism would look like with the…
Intact’s take on regulating commercial ‘middle players’
October 26, 2020 by Greg MeckbachGovernment and the industry should take a close look at the structure and regulation of “middle players” in the commercial property and casualty insurance market, Ontario brokers heard last week at their annual convention. “We know there are some things…
Industry execs to discuss how to navigate the condo insurance market
October 23, 2020 by David GambrillSelling and underwriting condo insurance these days is a tough gig, but the property and casualty insurance industry is no stranger to tough market cycles. Mainstream media are filled with stories about condo corporations seeing their premiums and deductibles increase,…
How solvency risk has changed since the days of the eight-track tape
October 23, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWhen Bob Tisdale started his career about 40 years ago, insurers were more likely to get into financial trouble. “When I first started in this industry in the early days, I was doing commercial underwriting and there were a lot…
How COVID-19 has changed cyber underwriting
October 19, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWith loss ratios in the Canadian cyber insurance market skyrocketing, purchasing cyber without having to answer a whole bunch of questions may become a thing of the past. In the recent past, if a client was not very large, or…
Watch for governments to transfer financial risk from natural disasters to insurers: Swiss Re
October 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThere is growing awareness that governments can transfer the financial risk of natural disasters to both insurance and capital markets, a Swiss Re expert observes. In Asia, Africa, the United States and Britain, there are examples of national and sub-national…
Why Uber Canada dropped Intact as its insurance provider
September 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachRide sharing firm Uber Canada chose Economical as its insurance provider because Uber would not agree to Intact’s pricing, a senior Intact executive said Tuesday. “We had a very good relationship, we just couldn’t agree on the price,” Intact CFO…
How bad Canada’s auto loss ratios are getting
September 11, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe Canadian industry’s loss ratio in auto liability has deteriorated for the fourth year in a row, A.M. Best Company Inc. has reported. Meanwhile, the loss ratio in “auto personal accident” deteriorated nearly 10 points. It increased from 70.4% in…
Why A.M. Best sees the global reinsurance market as ‘stable’
August 13, 2020 by Jason ContantMonths into the COVID-19 pandemic, reinsurance industry observers are seeing a mixed forecast ahead and it’s too early to tell how the pandemic will affect rating actions, according to a recent A.M. Best webinar. “Obviously, the situation has gotten complicated…
Brokers urged to remind clients: Home policies won’t cover ‘pandemic pods’
August 13, 2020 by David GambrillAs schools across the country prepare for re-opening in September, skittish parents who are not in favour of in-class learning for their children are setting up so-called “pandemic pods” to home-school small groups of children in the home. But brokers…