Reacting to news that the government of Prince Edward Island intends to join other province’s in implementing a $2,500 cap on “pain and suffering” awards for auto accident victims, insurers are holding back on the celebration. While the cap is…
Reporting record results for the second-quarter and first half of 2003, Kingsway Financial Service Inc. (TSE, NYSE: KFS) says its annualized return on equity of 18.2% for the quarter, versus 11.8% for Q2 2002.Net income for the quarter grew 68%…
Hot on the heels of a throne speech demanding insurers reduce auto insurance rates in New Brunswick, the provincial Conservative government is striking a committee to review the potential for a public auto insurance system.MLA Elizabeth Weir has been asked…
Responding to the amendment bill announced this week by the New Brunswick government to the province’s Insurance Act – which primarily presents insurers with an August 15 ultimatum to file for lower auto insurance rates or face immediate across-the board…
A familiar face in unfamiliar times. Brokers face perhaps their most challenging market ever, trying to sell rate increases and find coverage for exposures insurers are leery to touch. Auto insurance has become a political hot potato in almost every province, on the back of consumer outrage at rising rates and lack of availability. The struggle to get the CSIO portal off the ground continues, and the ever-present threat of the big banks loom again. This landscape, however, offers opportunity for brokers, says incoming IBAC president Ken Orr.
The problems facing the North American property and casualty insurance industry are clear – and many of the solutions are just as obvious. As mutual insurers met in Niagara-on-the-Lake recently for the NAMIC P&C Management Conference, familiar messages were heard: the need for underwriting discipline in the face of investment losses and claims growth, the desire for more available and affordable reinsurance, and the need to lessen the government regulatory burden on companies. Interestingly, Ontario’s mutual insurers may provide some of the answers to these problems.
In its first “throne speech” since the recent provincial election, New Brunswick’s Conservative government announced a legislative amendment to its Insurance Act which will require all registered insurers to file for new auto rates by August 15 of this year…
On the eve of Ontario’s launch of new regulations to reform the auto insurance system, leaders of the property and casualty insurance industry met to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the dilemmas facing them. While auto dominated much of the debate, there was a clear understanding that the industry’s woes are manifold. Across all lines of business, from the reinsurance sector to the primary market, companies and indeed their clients are paying the price for too many years of soft pricing and poor industry performance.
Following recent political events surrounding auto insurance in New Brunswick is a bit like getting hooked on one of the more inane soap-operas on television: each line delivered by a character is a clich, and the only reason to keep…
In its first “throne speech” since the recent provincial election, New Brunswick’s Conservative Party (CP) government announced a legislative amendment to its Insurance Act which will require all registered insurers to file for new auto rates by August 15 of…
Responding to a study on auto insurance released by the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC), the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says consumers will be misled by the findings.The study compares auto insurance rates in Nova Scotia to those in…
Ontario auto insurance rates went up an average 8.48% in the second quarter of 2003, based on rate applications approved by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).These changes came into effect prior to the implementation of regulations tied to…