Features
Primary Insurer Strategies 2004: Towing The Bottom-Line
December 1, 2003 Sean van Zyl, Editor“Cautious optimism” – would seem to generally sum up the points of view of primary insurer CEOs in looking ahead to 2004. While this year saw the first signs of a profit recovery within the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry – with the premium pool rising by almost a third to reach a staggering $30 billion – the past 12 months also dealt insurers several blows in the form of higher catastrophe losses, rising prior-year adverse reserve developments, a spilling of red ink from the Facility Association, and provincial political intervention on loss-making mandatory covers. The latter, which applies to mostly personal lines auto, remains the greatest concern of insurers as governments have been slow to react with necessary product loss reduction reforms whilst introducing politically-motivated rate freezes. With much riding on the future viability of the auto product, insurer CEOs partaking in CU’s annual “strategic outlook” are hesitant to declare the industry “out of the woods” in terms of achieving a healthy and stable marketplace.
On The Move (December 01, 2003)
December 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Bureau of Canada operations at 240 Duncan Mills Rd. are moving to 2235 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto. Enterprise Rent-a-Car has named Jim Thompson as vice president and general manager of its Alberta group. He has been with the…
Views (December 01, 2003)
December 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Toronto Insurance Conference (TIC) hosted its annual “Black Tie Dinner” at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel recently. In attendance were company and vendor representatives, along with TIC member commercial brokers. Guest speaker for the event was Carla Collins, comedian and…
Western Financial Boosts Earnings For 3-Q
December 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterAlberta-based Western Financial Group (TSX: WES) increased net income for the third quarter of this year by 45% to $516,810 compared with the $356,677 reported for the same period a year ago. This equates to diluted earnings of 2 a…
Organized Crime Bites Auto Insurers
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe alarming rise in insured cost of auto theft and fraud over recent years has much to do with the involvement and growth of organized crime in Canada, according to two Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) claim investigators who spoke…
Reserve Boosting Undermines Kingsway’s 3-Q Earnings
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterSpecialty risk insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX: KFS) saw net income for the third quarter of this year drop by 28% to $15.6 million compared with the $21.7 million reported for the same period in 2002. This equates to…
Views (November 01, 2003)
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Canadian Insurance Adjusters’ Association celebrated its 50th anniversary at its annual convention in St. John’s, Newfoundland recently. Along with East Coast traditions, including the “screech in” ceremony, the event included a seminar on privacy legislation and a trade show.…
After-Market Auto Parts Take Heat
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterAuto repair shop attendees at the recently held Canadian Collision Industry Congress (CCIC) took aim at a panel of representatives from insurance companies in questioning the use of after-market parts in insured vehicle repairs. The attendees questioned the quality of…
Nova Scotia Auto Reforms Spark Insurer Withdrawals
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterIn the wake of passage of Nova Scotia’s Bill-1 – which reforms the province’s auto insurance legislation – insurers are announcing they will cease writing new business in the province. Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Co. of Canada and the Dominion…
A New Approach?
November 1, 2003 Lawrie Savage of Lawrie Savage & Associates Inc.At the recent Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) “Regulatory Affairs Symposium”, which was held in Toronto, the speakers were asked to provide their perspective on recommendations put forward by former regulators and industry members on a new system of market conduct regulation in Canada. A move in this direction would significantly reduce the current “red tape” overload on insurers.
Volatile Markets and the Reinsurance Intermediary
November 1, 2003 Donald Callahan, president of Guy Carpenter & Co. Ltd.Is Your Reinsurance Transaction Secure?
Letters to the Editor (November 01, 2003)
November 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterDear Editor, I have just finished reading/scanning another edition of CU received at our office and left for those of us brokers interested enough to pick it up and read. (I could go on at length about how uninterested and…