Features
99 Canadian Insurance Congress: Marching to new Drummers
July 1, 1999 Lowell Conn & Sean van ZylHeld against the backdrop of the nation’s capital, the 1999 Canadian Insurance Congress — seen as Canada’s premier reinsurer/primary company CEO forum — offered good news to insurers and risk managers on the treaty negotiation front. This year’s reinsurance rates,…
RIMS releases 99 Quality Scorecard
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe New York-based Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) released its second annual Quality Scorecard which polled 1,259 risk managers rating the service of brokers, carriers and third-party administrators (TPA). The overall performances were similar to that of last year,…
Progressive packs south
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterA month after Progressive announced its intention to pull out of the Canadian marketplace, its general manager continues to insist the withdrawal had nothing to with Canada’s insurance environment. Chip Conner, Progressive general manager, says industry speculation that the company…
The right adjuster FOR THE JOB
July 1, 1999 Lowell ConnNational harmonization of the licensing and regulation of the adjusting profession has become a hot topic for regulators and the insurance industry in Canada. Alberta’s recent Insurance Act rewrite included a step-licensing structure as well as a provision for mandatory…
CIBC rumours persist
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe federal government’s recently released paper outlining the future of financial institutions in Canada did little to quell market rumours surrounding a potential sale of CIBC Insurance. The company, originally tabbed to be sold to U.S.-based GEICO Insurance, is now…
A.M. Best acquires TRAC
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S.-based A.M. Best Company has announced it has acquired TRAC Insurance Services Ltd. — an independent Canadian insurance rating agency — and renamed it A.M. Best Canada Ltd. The acquisition of Toronto-based TRAC is the latest step in A.M. Best’s…
Study shows buyers anti to reinsurance adjustments
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterA Conning & Company reinsurance study concludes that buyers will not respond well to a general hardening of market rates. The study suggests that a reinsurance price increase will lead to a significant outflow of business from the traditional insurance…
Broker network focuses on rationalization expenses
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCanada Brokerlink Inc. posted first quarter results for this year showed business growth of 67%, and, at the same time, nearly doubling its assets to $67 million compared with the level for the same period in 1998. Revenue for first…
Letters (July 01, 1999)
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDear Editor, Subject: Jokers Wild, editorial, February Issue Your editorial appears to bemoan the demise of Synchron, an event that is now about a year old. Its flavour tars the system vendors as a special interest group outside the industry,…
IBAC prepares for advertising war
July 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) has set in motion plans to return a major salvo against direct writers in the consumer advertising war during this year. At IBAC’s recently held broker-based company CEO symposium, through which the association…
Wake up, the “Knowledge Economy” is here
July 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe Insurance Institute of Ontario’s Centennial Symposium, recently held in Toronto, drew together several key local and international financial services experts who provided a mixed view of the future in terms of how current and emerging marketplace events will impact the property and casualty insurance industry. However, all of the speakers agreed that change is rushing the industry into a new era.
The Internet’s consumer VOICE
July 1, 1999 Dennis Krueger, a U.S. freelance technology writerOriginally a medium for scientists to exchange information, the Internet’s use has rapidly expanded to become a virtual commercial marketplace. And, with the Internet’s commercial potential beginning to truly surface, consumers through news group forums and dedicated web sites are…