Topic
Risk
Insurer introduces new auto rating variable for oft-stolen cars
July 20, 2023 by David GambrillWith Canada’s property and casualty industry facing a record number of auto theft claims, insurers have introduced a variety of incentives and disincentives to encourage drivers to take theft-prevention measures — and now it’s showing up in a new ‘High…
Fire and drought: What does 2024 hold for British Columbia?
July 20, 2023 Brieanna Charlebois - THE CANADIAN PRESSVANCOUVER – British Columbia hasn’t yet hit the “peak” of its wildfire season, but it has already broken the record for the total area burned in a year, the province’s minister of emergency management said. Officials are now eyeing the…
Montreal-Barrhaven storm declared a Cat
July 18, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoThe storm that hit Montreal on Thursday, downing trees and power lines and causing localized flooding, has been declared a catastrophe, Laura Twidle, president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) told Canadian Underwriter. A ‘catastrophe’ is an…
Has COVID-19 changed restaurant insurance forever?
July 13, 2023 Jason ContantCanada’s hospitality sector was particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with government-mandated shutdowns and restrictions grinding the industry to a halt. Now, as restaurants return to pre-pandemic foot traffic and revenue levels, the need for insurance solutions and capacity is…
Is the mutual insurance company model under threat?
July 11, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoMutuals were some of the first insurance companies to settle in Canada. But despite their longstanding history, there are existential threats that could “end the ability for mutual companies to participate in the market,” a mutual insurer executive said during…
Don’t believe the hype: Why the hard market is softening
July 11, 2023 by David GambrillCanada’s P&C insurance industry is showing signs of market softening despite the many reasons for a hard market to persist, according to a June 2023 Marketplace Insights report from Lloyd Sadd, a Navacord brokerage. The report cites many reasons industry…
How the pandemic changed adjusting for the long haul
July 10, 2023 Philip PoradoCOVID-19 restrictions led adjusters to shift claims work to desktop teams. The change was driven by client reluctance to meet in-person and employees’ desire to reduce site work until the risks were better understood. But those changes can make some…
How insurers can reduce cyber claims without slashing coverages
July 6, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoCyber insurers are finding that acting as incident response services for their small- to mid-sized business clients is helping to reduce overall claims, experts shared during an industry conference. Insurers should be the first ones to open the lines of…
Brokers, insurers differ on the value of numerous flood products for home owners
July 4, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoCanada’s property and casualty insurance brokers have long maintained the need for a unified flood map, but insurers want to compete on their proprietary flood maps, and the ongoing differences between brokers and their insurance partners on this point became…
Can we predict where cyber claims might emerge?
July 4, 2023 Philip PoradoData culled from external scanning systems and other tech tools can help insurers improve underwriting by showing where cyber claims might emerge. But only if the companies develop methods for making proper use of that data, said a recent Gallagher…
What Canadian insurers can learn from a New Zealand earthquake
June 30, 2023 Philip PoradoPrivate property and casualty (P&C) insurers can’t be the sole providers of coverage for peak peril because they cannot efficiently assume extreme tail risk. That’s a key takeaway for Canada’s P&C insurers from a catastrophic 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New…
B.C. must urgently change forest strategies or face more wildfire disasters: report
June 30, 2023 Dirk Meissner - THE CANADIAN PRESSVICTORIA – British Columbia’s independent forests watchdog is calling for the provincial government to make critical changes to how it manages forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. The report, released Thursday by the B.C. Forest Practices Board, says…