Features
Coming Events (July 01, 2000)
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterAnnouncements in Coming Events are run free of charge as a service to the industry. Items should be submitted by the first of the month prior to the month in which the announcement is to appear. International Insurance Society, Inc.…
Turning a slow corner: Canadian Insurance Congress 2000
July 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe 2000 Canadian Insurance Congress — which this year celebrated its tenth anniversary as Canada’s premier annual reinsurance/primary company CEO forum — drew together a strong cast of speakers from across the sectors of the North American property and casualty…
Privatization war drums sound
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterSpeaking at the Canadian Insurance Congress luncheon, George Anderson, president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), announced that the IBC will be renewing its lobby campaign this year to overthrow the state-run monopoly position the Insurance Corporation of British…
Sales Inducements: Let’s make a deal
July 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerThe rise of direct insurers has energized discussion about regulating product sales inducements. While many brokers fight to maintain the prohibition on inducements, others are asking the question, “who are we protecting?” And regulators are starting to respond, rewriting the…
Reinsurance market outlook: Margins Wear Thin
July 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe global reinsurance market suffered its worst underwriting year in 1999, largely as a result of natural disaster catastrophe losses estimated to having cost the industry about US$24 billion. European reinsurers finished 1999 with an alarming 131% combined ratio, the…
Alberta brokers change course
July 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerRob Clarke, the newly elected president of the Independent Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IIBAA), says his organization is as prepared as it can be for the pending implementation of changes to that province’s Insurance Act. Foremost on Clarke’s agenda…
WANTED: Partners against natural disasters
July 1, 2000 Linda Matthews, COO of Royal & SunAlliance CanadaFor most Canadians, a natural disaster is something that takes place half a world away, generally in poor, under-developed countries, across the hurricane swept Caribbean, or along the southeast coast of the U.S. But more natural disasters are happening in our own backyard, adding to the burden of risk management, and raising concern that resources for immediate disaster relief will be spread too thin.
General Re group streamlines global corporate identity
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterFollowing a string of global office restructurings among reinsurers, the Berkshire Hathaway owned General Re Corporation and Cologne Re have been amalgamated in name as one operation as GeneralCologne Re. “The essence of our direct reinsurance business model is our…
Reinsurance market innovations: Staying Alive
July 1, 2000 Glenn McGillivray, head of corporate communication at Swiss ReinWhat are some of the world’s reinsurers doing to move forward amid what has been the worst market downturn in recent memory?
CIBC Bank disposes of insurance businesses
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterFollowing several months of rumor that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) was looking for an exit strategy in divesting from its less-than-profitable property and casualty insurance interests, the bank appears to have finally found a taker — for…
Brokers urged “on-line”
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterThere is no reason to believe the Internet will “disintermediate” the insurance industry says Applied Systems president Jeff Purdy. At a recent series of symposiums across Canada, Purdy urged brokers to see the Internet as an opportunity for third party…
When it rains, it pours
July 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterThe torrential and almost record downpour resulting from a rainstorm which struck southern Ontario over the weekend of May 12th and 13th of this year is expected to cost insurers about $68 million in insured damages, according to preliminary figures…