Topic
Reinsurance
Where Canada’s resilience to economic shock ranks globally
September 10, 2019 by Jason ContantThe global economy now has less capacity to absorb a shock than it did in 2007 (pre-global recession), but Canada is faring well – it is the second-most economic resilient country in world, according to the Swiss Re Institute. In…
Sign of the times: Why this bank bailed out of P&C reinsurance
August 28, 2019 by David GambrillBuffeted by severe weather claims, the Bank of Montreal has decided to exit the property and casualty reinsurance side of the business, BMO announced during a conference call Tuesday. “In Q4 of last year, we said we were reviewing ways…
Why Swiss Re says insurance profitability will remain ‘under pressure’
July 5, 2019 by Greg MeckbachExpect the low-interest-rate environment to continue for at least two more years, Swiss Re warned Thursday. “Insurers will continue to operate in a low-interest-rate environment for the next two years at least, meaning that industry profitability will remain under pressure,”…
How to make earthquake insurance sexy
June 28, 2019 by Jason ContantQuebec’s financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), is working with the property and casualty insurance industry to make the earthquake insurance product more attractive to insurers, brokers and consumers. In its 2017-2020 Strategic Plan released Thursday, AMF said…
Munich Re Canada appoints new president and CEO
May 14, 2019 by Jason ContantMunich Reinsurance Company of Canada and Temple Insurance Company (a part of Munich Re) has appointed Claus-Ulrich Kroll as president and CEO of both companies. In his new role, Kroll will be responsible for the operation of all of Munich…
Wildfire catastrophe models need improvement: Reinsurer
March 8, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe world’s second-largest reinsurer is looking for partners in the artificial intelligence space to help the reinsurer get a better idea of how much insured damage future wildfires could cause. Swiss Re is working with the Massachusetts Institute of technology…
One solution for non-damage business interruption
February 21, 2019 by Jason ContantParametric insurance can help fill a gap in some policies by covering non-damage business interruption, a speaker said Tuesday at AXA XL’s Fast Forward LIVE event in downtown Toronto. Caused by a variety of factors, including severe weather conditions, non-damage…
The two main benefits of parametric insurance
February 20, 2019 by Jason ContantSpeed is one of the main benefits of parametric insurance compared to traditional forms of insurance, with the underwriting process taking just several days to two weeks, speakers from AXA Global Parametrics in France said Tuesday. Parametrics is index-based insurance,…
Executive challenges brokers regarding earthquake take-up rates in Quebec
February 8, 2019 by Jason ContantSparks flew during a recent conference discussion about mortgage impairment and earthquake loss, when a senior reinsurance company executive drew a link between the practices of Quebec brokers and the low take-up rates of earthquake insurance in the province. Philipp…
Hard market? Not so fast.
January 16, 2019 by Jason ContantThe Canadian insurance industry is not at the beginning of a hard market, says Phil Cook, a P&C industry consultant and CEO of Omega Insurance Holdings. “There are some commentators out there that will say we are at the beginning…
What could drive reinsurers away from some markets
December 10, 2018 by Greg MeckbachReinsurance is extremely important but could get too expensive in certain areas, industry leaders said at a recent event. Some insurance companies today are “dialing up their reinsurance protection – property and cat risk in particular in the United States,”…
Why A.M. Best gave the global reinsurance segment a ‘stable’ outlook
December 6, 2018 by David GambrillCORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that A.M. Best had changed its outlook for the global reinsurance sector from ‘Stable’ to ‘Negative.’ In fact, the outlook changed to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative.’ Canadian Underwriter apologizes for the error.…