Features
News (January 01, 1999)
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterTo celebrate their acquisition of P.D. Brunt & Company Ltd., adjusters Sobel Adamsons Clements Ltd. recently held a one-day workshop, at Toronto’s The Albany Club, hosted by law enforcement consultant Glenn Foster. A former homicide detective and author of “How…
CBUS targets $250 million premium outflow
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterToronto-based Cross Border Underwriting Services Inc (CBUS), a subsidiary of the listed KRG Insurance Group, notched up half a million in premium dollars in its first year of operation. A specialist wholesale brokerage operator, CBUS was created a year ago…
GA & Vector strike pact
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterListed broker-network Vector Intermediaries Inc. has struck a deal with General Accident Group (GA) which could cure the network’s cash woes. The deal, which could inject up to $35 million into Vector’s coffers, includes a $20 million loan facility made…
Do virtual insurers dream of electric premiums?
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterTomorrow’s insurers may become virtual companies that interact electronically with customers, while driving down costs and improving speed to market, a leading business futurist predicted at the opening of the U.S. Insurance Services Office Inc.’s (ISO) InsTech98 Conference. Dr. Bill…
BELAIRdirect goes online
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterBELAIRdirect, a division of ING Canada, has raised the stakes in direct insurance by going to the Internet as a means of distribution. The direct writer launched its online car insurance quotation system in December. The first of its kind…
Crossing the line in the battle against cancer
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurance broker and vice president of Toronto-based KRG Insurance Group Eileen Greene recently fulfilled a prophesy and raised more than $10,000 in donations for the Women In Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC). Her cause was motivated by her mother. Last year…
Bill 59 revised
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe legislative fine-tuning of Ontario’s auto insurance product under Bill 59, which carried through last month with the passing of Bill 90, was generally lauded by insurance, legal and medical professionals at a review seminar held by the Insurance Institute…
Sober Y2K predictions
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe recently held Employers Reinsurance Corporation seminar on Y2K risks delivered some serious food for thought. The most startling of the information revealed was delivered by the first three speakers who provided a broad outline of the technology disruption likely…
Insurer concerns taxi for take off
January 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorConsolidation and cost cutting became the corporate buzzwords of the 1980s and 1990s, with operators from insurance to retail-chains through to the aviation industry embracing downsizing and cheaper marketing and delivery systems. The aviation business emerged from this process, particularly…
Claims management and the Environment
January 1, 1999 Cecil Jaipaul,In the early days of environmental underwriting companies were often unaware of the full risk involved. For many companies the risks they took on and subsequent claims were not foreseen. For others, while the possibility of large claims may have…
THE ADJUSTERS’ DIPLOMAT
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCounting both independent and in-house insurance adjusters among its member base, the Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association (OIAA) requires a special breed of leader. The captain of this team must respect and grasp the sometimes contradictory priorities of its different faction members. Garth Roscoe is the leader as well as referee on the adjusting field.
U.S. cat losses continue
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCatastrophe losses continued to dampen U.S. property and casualty underwriters’ results for the third quarter of 1998, according to A.M. Best Company. The industry’s net income for the period fell 15% from the previous year’s level, due to higher underwriting…