Features

B.C. Forest Fires Cost Insurers $200 Million

Insured losses from forest fires that swept through British Columbia in August are expected to total at least $200 million, says the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). But this figure should not increase significantly, says IBC Pacific Region government relations…

Views (October 01, 2003)

Get Rid of Weak Insurers, Study Suggests

A new U.S. study suggests regulators should cut financially unstable insurers off at the pass, rather than trying to “rehabilitate” them. Commissioned by the U.S. Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) and prepared by Stewart Economics Inc., the study…

Optimum General Bounces Back Into the Black

Montreal-based Optimum General Inc. (TSX: OGI.A) was back in the black for the first half of this year, posting net income of $492,000 equal to 4 a share. The company’s net earnings show a vast improvement over the loss of…

IBAC 2003 AGM: Rocky Times

In the current environment – where provincial auto insurance systems are being changed on a near-daily basis in response to political whim and consumer ire, commercial and personal lines coverage remains scarce while rates continue to climb – brokers could…

Coachman and SGI Subs Put on Financial Alert

Rating agency A.M. Best has downgraded the status of Ontario-based Coachman Insurance Co. to “B (fair)” from “B+”, and placed a negative outlook on other subsidiaries of Saskatchewan General Insurance (SGI). Overall, the rating agency has affirmed the “A- (excellent)”…

Atlantic Canada: A Political Roller-Coaster

While the sharp rate increases introduced by insurers across nearly all lines of business in Atlantic Canada – with personal auto insurance having attracted the brunt of price hikes – are beginning to show positive signs of returned underwriting profitability for the region, the “public relations” cost incurred in the process may well prove that too much was done by the industry over too short a time. The political attention ignited by auto insurance pricing has presented a very real threat of government-run insurance systems being introduced in the region – the impact of which could be dire for insurers and brokers alike.

Weighing Up Depreciation in a Business Interruption Claim

Can depreciation be deducted from a business interruption claim as a saving? Depreciation is often a fat juicy figure that would gladden the heart of any adjuster or forensic accountant to deduct from a claim…but, should they?

On The Move (October 01, 2003)

Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO) announces Kim A. Carpenter-Gunn, partner with Waxman, Carpenter-Gunn, has been appointed chairman of the board. She has been a board member since 1995. Cunningham Lindsey Canada Ltd. has named Michael Lowthian as executive general adjuster…

Hurricanes Devastate Canadian and U.S. East Coast

The east coasts of Canada and the U.S. both felt the lash of Mother Nature with hurricanes in the form of Isabel and Juan causing widespread damage over a short period of time. In Canada, Hurricane Juan slammed into Nova…

Odyssey’s 2-Q Earnings Rise on Realized Gains

The Fairfax group’s reinsurance arm, Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. (TSX: ORH), increased net earnings for the second quarter of this year by more than three-fold to US$112.7 million compared with the US$32.8 million reported for the same period last year.…

Kingsway Reveals $30 Million Reserve Shortfall

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX: KFS) has disclosed an adverse reserve development totaling $30 million for prior year claims leading up to the end of 2002. The adverse reserve development resulted from the insurer’s Alberta non-standard auto insurance business, as…