Marketplace

REGULATION

SGI seeks feedback on auto injury program

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has issued a request for the public’s views on proposed changes, based on earlier input from key stakeholders, to the province’s auto injury program.

SGI began a review of auto injury coverage earlier this year, asking for feedback from current and former auto injury customers, as well as key stakeholders, including medical, legal and insurance industry representatives.

That input, combined with feedback from SGI employees who work with the program, produced a number of options for possible changes.

The consultation seeks public opinions on no-fault injury, including related to coverage, benefit levels and limits, changes regarding the ability to sue an at-fault driver, and options for injury coverage for motorcyclists. For tort injury, input on benefit levels is being sought.

The feedback, which was gathered until the end of November, will be used to make recommendations to government early next year.

Agricultural economic hardship in Alberta

The Government of Alberta recently declared “the agricultural economic hardship resulting from extreme weather conditions with early snowfall and frost damaging crops throughout the province to be a disaster.”

Cabinet approved an Order in Council recently presented by Verlyn Olson, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and rural development.

Media reports indicate Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation could need to pay out approximately $589 million – although the final tally will depend on claims and indemnities – in crop and hail coverage to farmers in the province this year. This is up substantially from the earlier expected payout for damage claims of $467 million.

Restrictions on rebranding irreparable vehicles proposed

The Ontario government is targeting fraudsters who illegally rebuild and sell vehicles written off after collisions as part of omnibus legislation.

In late November, Steven Del Duca, Ontario’s transportation minister, tabled Bill 31 for second reading. If passed into law with no amendments, the bill would “improve the Mandatory Vehicle Branding Program to prevent vehicle fraud and protect consumers who buy used vehicles,” Del Duca said in the Ontario legislature.

Under the program, vehicles that have been written off because of a collision or a flood are branded by the ministry as either salvageable or irreparable, he said.

By stipulating that only the person who owned a vehicle at the time it was damaged and reported it to the ministry could appeal its brand, “this would prevent appeals by those looking to make a profit by illegally rebuilding vehicles or selling damaged vehicles to the unsuspecting public.”

CANADIAN MARKET

Risking failure part of moving forward: CEO

The force of product sophistication and segmentation in the insurance industry may cause some companies to choose one of two paths to be more competitive: go the niche market route or “opt out” and sell to a company that does have scale in terms of technology and talent, Brigid Murphy, president and chief executive officer of Travelers Canada, said at a recent event in Toronto.

Murphy argued that despite insurance companies being generally risk-averse, those that embrace change will ultimately benefit most. “I think, first of all, corporations have to get better at risking failure,” she told attendees.

Citing examples such as Kodak and BlackBerry, Murphy suggested business models and strategies that were once considered disruptive, ultimately, do become traditional, highlighting the need to embrace change.

ACE adds news data breach fund sidecar endorsement in Canada

ACE Group has announced a new option for its ACE Privacy Protection policyholders in Canada.

The Data Breach Fund Sidecar Endorsement provides a single data breach fund limit, one that falls outside the policy’s liability limits for all data breach expenses, notes a statement from ACE Group.

Policyholders in Canada can now obtain both the ACE Data Breach Team and a single data breach expense limit, separate from the policy’s liability limit.

New privacy/network security product for Canadian market

Allied World North America has launched privacy and network security insurance specifically designed for small to mid-size companies in the Canadian market.

The product is intended for small and medium-sized enterprises – such as law firms, healthcare facilities and other organizations – that experience a data breach involving lost or stolen private information, whether paper or electronic, notes Allied World.

The insurance offers coverage for costs associated with a data breach, as well as provides coverage for third-party financial claims.

CLAIMS

Alberta, B.C. residents overlooking indoor water damage risks: poll

A new poll released by Canadian Direct Insurance in November notes only a small percentage of homeowners and tenants in Alberta and British Columbia cite water damage as a top concern.

Results are based on an online survey of homeowners and renters. Just 23% of Alberta homeowners and tenants, and only 17% of those in B.C., considered water damage to be a major concern.

Comparing results from Alberta and B.C. respondents, 66% reported they engage in gutter cleaning to protect from water damage compared to 75%; 63% said they do a roof inspection compared to 69%; and 70% arrange to have someone check their homes for water leaks when travelling longer than a weekend compared to 52%.

Only half of respondents using winter tires: poll

The belief that all-season tires are “good enough” may be why only 51% of surveyed Canadian drivers use winter tires, outside of Quebec, notes a new poll from the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC).

The poll asked about 1,000 Canadians whether or not drivers had used the specialized tires this past winter. Outside of Quebec, usage was highest in Atlantic Canada at 73%, followed by 56% in Ontario, 45% in Alberta, 39% apiece in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 38% in British Columbia.

Among those not using winter tires, 63% said they thought all-season tires were good enough for winter driving. “Despite all the evidence pointing to the fact that winter tires decrease collisions and reduce personal injury accidents, resistance to adopting winter tires remains strong,” says Glenn Maidment, president of TRAC, which represents tire makers.

In Quebec, where winter tires have been mandatory since 2008, a 2011 government survey noted road accidents have dropped by 5% and serious injuries and fatalities from winter road accidents by 3% since the law was introduced.

TECHNOLOGY

Quoting, analytics technology top priorities for industry

Technology, particularly to enhance underwriting, was ranked as the highest priority for 2015 by almost half of surveyed Canadian insurance industry respondents.

The online survey by technology provider Xchanging plc found 49% of respondents said technology was their biggest priority from a resource perspective, followed by underwriting at 23%.

Underwriting was also a priority for the technology itself, with 31% naming quoting/underwriting portals as the top priority, followed by big data/analytics technology and mobile apps.

In addition, predictive modelling and analytics was considered the most valued claims-related technology by 54% of respondents.

RISK

Location of suppliers, risks they face key to calculating CBI: Cutbush

Commercial policyholders looking to meet the challenge of calculating contingent business interruption (CBI) losses from catastrophes need to know where their suppliers and customers are located and what r
isks they face, Paul Cutbush, senior vice president at Aon Benfield Analytics, suggested during a speech in Toronto.

Over the last 20 years, there has been an “exponential increase” in losses from catastrophes, while at the same time, companies are becoming more dependent on just-in-time production and offshore suppliers, Cutbush told event attendees.

“Contingent business interruption policies normally require that first-tier suppliers and end-customers are listed in the policy,” Cutbush said. If a business is in certain areas, “there’s a good possibility that (sub-tier suppliers) are not listed.”

PwC: Detection of some security breaches drops

Globally, the number of reported information security incidents rose 48% to 42.8 million, states a worldwide survey released by PwC.

The survey report was based on responses from 9,700 C-suite executives and IT security heads from more than 154 countries.

As many as 71% of security compromises go undetected, PwC notes, based on an estimate from the 2014 Trustwave Global Security Report, released in May.

Detection rates in small Canadian organizations rose by 311% over 2013, the report notes. For medium-sized companies, there was a 21% decrease in detected incidents, while for large Canadian organizations, the rate of detected incidents fell 22% since 2013.

REINSURANCE

Windstorm declared a catastrophe: CatIQ

Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) has declared the windstorm that hit parts of Ontario and Quebec in November to be a catastrophe.

The storm downed hydro lines, delayed a GO train in Toronto when the track was blocked by live wires, and uprooted trees, which caused extensive damage to houses and automobiles, CatIQ reports. Roof shingles and siding were also damaged by blowing debris.

“In Montreal, the roof of a four-storey building was lifted, causing damage to other buildings and automobiles on the street below,” the company statement adds.

There was also damage to homes and cars and private planes at the Burlington Air Park (west of Toronto) when the wind blew the roof off of a row of airplane hangars, CatIQ reports.