Features
Mandatory mediation: Split decision?
June 1, 1999 Jonathan Schrieder, Milton J. Brown, Q.C. & Assoc., Barristers &When the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) introduced mandatory mediation of statutory accident benefits disputes, insurance companies quietly rejoiced. Essentially, the new rules preclude plaintiffs from launching an action at law prior to mediating issues in dispute which fall…
IBABC 99 AGM AND CONFERENCE: Regional Unity the Cornerstone
June 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorPromoting regional unity and getting out on the road to read member needs and concerns first hand are central issues of the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia’s strategic growth plan for the year ahead. Although brokers should remain competitive…
Cat hits on U.S.
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterJanuary 1999 was the third-costliest January for the U.S. in terms of catastrophe claims on record with insurers paying an estimated $1.75 billion in damages. The claims result from four events, according to Insurance Services Office, Inc.’s Property Claim Services…
Banks will be hard to regulate, says Cooke
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterProperty & casualty insurance is a pure risk product that must be kept separate from the financial, wealth management and investment-based services provided by life insurers and banks, George Cooke, president of Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, told a…
Canadian insurance earnings plummet
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterJanuary ice storm losses, rate cutting and poor investment returns are the major culprits pointing to a 42% drop in property and casualty insurers’ earnings to $1.137 billion for 1998 compared with 1997’s earnings of $1.960 billion, says Paul Kovacs,…
Kingsway delivers star performance
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterTSE-listed Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (KFS) disclosed an 18% rise in earnings to 86c a share for the 1998 financial year ended December compared with that of the previous year. The return on equity for the year clocked in at…
Co-operators’ year end profit dented
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDespite a $11.7 million decline in after-tax income for the financial year ended December 1998, the Co-operators General Insurance Company says it is encouraged by the 7.4% marketshare it notched up during the year. After-tax income for the year amounted…
General Accident becomes CGU
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThis month, insurer General Accident will officially change its name to CGU Group Ltd. The Canadian operation will operate as CGU Insurance Company of Canada. According to head of corporate communications Diane Scott, the change harmonizes the Canadian name with…
Lindsey Morden changes name
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterLindsey Morden Claims Services Ltd. has officially changed its name to Cunningham Lindsey Canada Ltd., a move to harmonize the company’s identity worldwide. “As a large, strong global company, sharing this common identity amongst our claims and risk management services…
globally Speaking
April 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe CICMA and CIAA 99 Joint Conference – held in Toronto in February – focused on the competitive challenges reshaping the p&c insurance industry. The overall message delivered at the event was clear: the process of industry change, mainly as…
We are Doing Something About the Weather
April 1, 1999 Paul Kovacs, executive director, Institute for Catastrophic LossIn January, more than two hundred of the world’s leading scientists met in Geneva to discuss what we should do about our changing weather. This gathering is part of an even larger working group that has been making steady research…
D&O profit margins decrease
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterIntense competition, increasing litigation and the rising cost of claims is decreasing profitability in directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance market, a panel of executives told the D&O Liability and Issues Symposium sponsored by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).…