Features
Hub/Co-operators on partnership bandwagon
February 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCo-operators General Insurance Company is the latest insurer to take an ownership position in a broker network, trading its equity holdings in Ontario-based Barton Insurance Brokers to the Hub Group in exchange for an approximate 10% stake of the latter’s…
Belton third-quarter predictions
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDuring the third quarter of 1998, preliminary net earning returns of Canadian property and casualty companies were down $59 million in comparison to the same quarter in 1997, says the latest issue of The Belton Report. The combined impact of…
Canada Brokerlink breaks $200 million barrier
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCanada Brokerlink has added two Ontario brokers pushing total annualized premium volume to more than $200 million. The publicly traded broker network acquired Hawkesbury-based Charbonneau Bercier Taillon Insurance Brokers Ltd. which has premium volume of approximately $5.1 million and Thunder…
Queensway consolidates Alliance
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterQueensway Financial Holdings Ltd. (QFH) has entered into an agreement to acquire Alliance Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurance holding company located in Chicago, Illinois. Alliance, posting gross premiums written totalling $17 million in 1997, specializes through subsidiaries in…
Insurance fraud: The Insider Job
January 1, 1999 Linden Rees, president of Underwriters Fraud Control Inc.Last November I provided a presentation in Boston, Mass. on “Automated Fraud Control” to an audience of senior American insurance executives. While all nodded in agreement with my salient points, that being internal fraud within the insurance industry is on the rise and needs to be addressed sooner than later, I was left with the feeling that most of the listeners were too aghast at the thought that their employees might be capable of stealing.
RIBO meeting stresses industry SELF-REGULATION
January 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe last six years have seen dramatic change in the structure and method of business of the property and casualty insurance industry. These “winds of change” sweeping through the industry are primarily a result of the unprecedented consolidation activity and…
Coming Events (January 01, 1999)
January 1, 1999 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. Insurance Institute of Ontario:…
Tossed Salad
January 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe change occurring in traditional business roles, and to some extent the outright turmoil this is causing in certain quarters of the property and casualty insurance industry, continues to hold centre stage at professional gatherings. Preparing for the future, dealing…
CSIO SHAKEUP
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterLast month Howard Moran, in his capacity as board chairman of the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), announced the resignation of Len Ashby as the organization’s president. Although an outspoken critic of the political dabbling of both companies…
Lindsey Morden shaves off Hambro interests
January 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterLindsey Morden Group has sold Hambro Assistance (HA) to Eastgate Group Limited of London England for $132.4 million. HA, which provides telephone helplines and other assistance services in the United Kingdom, is a unit of Lindsey Morden’s Hambro Insurance Services…
SIZING UP IN: a TUG of WAR
January 1, 1999 Lowell ConnA battle of brawn and wits has begun among service providers to the insurance industry in response to the rapid consolidation taking place at the primary company level.Faced with a changing landscape, service providers are looking for new opportunities and…
Paying the Dues of Diligence
January 1, 1999 Lowell ConnKPMG’s 7th annual Insurance Issues Conference, held in November at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel, focused on the effectsof industry consolidation on medium and small-sized insurance players.