Features
Peripatetic Rep: Taxing Times…
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterWith the soft “thump, thump” sound of my wiper blades as background, I drove slowly down the town’s snow-clogged main street, peering through a half-frozen windshield at the blizzard outside. Finally, I spotted the welcoming light of the small restaurant…
Loyalist in the Black in Third Quarter
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterLoyalist Insurance Group Ltd. (TSX: LOY) has turned its ship around for the third quarter ending September 30, 2003, posting profit of $593,000 versus a loss of $473,000 for the same period a year earlier. These figures do not include…
Legal Judgement Hits Anthony Clark Balance-Sheet
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterA recent legal judgement against Anthony Clark International Insurance Brokers Ltd. (TSX: ACL) has hit the company’s balancesheet hard for the half-year ending September 30, 2003. The company suffered a pre-tax loss of $218,724 for the six-month period, versus a…
Views (January 01, 2004)
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterThe 2003 recipient of the CIP Society’s Fellow of Distinction Award for the GTA is Carolyn Walsh, a partner at CCV Insurance and Financial Services Inc. She has served the Insurance Institutes for over 10 years, is a past president…
2003 A “Modest” Year for Cat Losses
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterOn a global scale, 2003 will go down as a modest year for insured catastrophe losses, but the human toll of yearend disasters – specifically the earthquake in Iran – were significant. In its annual report on global catastrophes, Munich…
U.S. Insurers’ Profits Soar for First 3-Qs 2003
January 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. property and casualty insurers saw their net income jump an impressive320.6% to US$21.1 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2003,versus the US$5 billion posted for the same period a year earlier. Equallywelcome was a return on equity…
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…
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…
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…
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.
Market Force
December 1, 2003 Vikki SpencerWhen David Simpson took over leadership of the Facility Association (FA) in 2001, the auto insurance industry was on the cusp of difficult times – facing mounting losses and rate inadequacy. Over the past two years, that situation has come to a head, and its impact has been seen in rising volumes and mounting losses for FA, the industry’s pool for high-risk drivers.
The Facility Association – A Market Competitor?
December 1, 2003 Bob Tisdale, President and COO of Pembridge InsuranceWhen the market of “last resort” – the property and casualty insurance industry’s Facility Association (FA) – begins to show exponential growth, something in the market is wrong…terribly wrong! The FA is presently growing at an alarming rate, with total business of about $1 billion, while losses for just this year have topped $500 million. Ultimately, insurers have to ask just where does the “buck stop”.