Topic Catastrophes
‘Complacency’ blamed for N.S. struggles with flooding, other climate disasters
August 1, 2023 by Michael Tutton - THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – On the night floodwaters swept through his Nova Scotia county, taking lives and tearing out bridges, Doug Pynch says he had trouble believing an emergency alert that flashed across his phone. It called for residents to evacuate to…
What it would take for Osoyoos wildfires to become a Cat
August 1, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoWinds diverting a wildfire burning near Osoyoos, B.C., may have prevented a Cat-level event for the industry, adjusters tell Canadian Underwriter. A raging wildfire scorched 40 square kilometres of land and destroyed several structures in Washington, U.S., before jumping the…
How the Nova Scotia floods compare to Hurricane Fiona
July 28, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoRecent flooding in Nova Scotia has led adjusters to see damages comparable to Hurricane Fiona, but final claims totals aren’t expected to be as high as when Fiona blew through the East Coast last September, claims professionals on the ground…
Aging infrastructure struggling to keep up with storms, wildfires, changing climate
July 27, 2023 by Hina Alam - THE CANADIAN PRESSFREDERICTON – The torrential rain that washed out roads, bridges and a key rail link in Nova Scotia on the weekend is being described as another sign that engineers cannot rely on past weather patterns to design infrastructure able to…
Claims pouring in for record Nova Scotia rainstorm
July 24, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoAdjusters are beginning to see claims pour in after thunderstorms dumped record amounts of rain on Nova Scotia Friday. Torrential downpours dropped over two months’ worth of rain (between 200 and 250 millimetres) in about 24 hours on Halifax, Nova…
What the math says about P&C return rates
July 24, 2023 by Alyssa Di SabatinoWhat’s a reasonable rate of return for Canada’s property and casualty insurers? According to Craig Pinnock, chief financial officer at Northbridge Financial Corporation, for the insurance industry, it could sit anywhere between 5% on the low end, 10% on average,…
Can insurers and reinsurers survive looming NatCat trends?
July 21, 2023 by Glenn McGillivrayOne of the hallmarks of a warming world is that you never know what may come next. The reasonably stable climate of the last 100,000 years is being thrown into disarray as Earth’s systems are forced out of kilter. For…
Canada’s wildfires: Is industry concerned about lack of firefighters?
July 21, 2023 by Jason ContantWith Canada’s record-breaking fire season continuing to burn hot, firefighter availability and the country’s system of sharing resources is stretched thin. For Canada’s P&C insurance industry, the overall lack of firefighters is a concern, given the sheer number of fires…
Wildfires: Where there’s smoke, there’s damage
July 18, 2023 by David GambrillAs smoke from almost 900 of Canada’s wildfires descends upon the United States, resurrecting media reports about air quality, Canadian property and casualty insurers have an eye on a different type of exposure — property damage claims due to wildfire…
Montreal-Barrhaven storm declared a Cat
July 18, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoThe storm that hit Montreal on Thursday, downing trees and power lines and causing localized flooding, has been declared a catastrophe, Laura Twidle, president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) told Canadian Underwriter. A ‘catastrophe’ is an…
How much Intact paid in second quarter Cat losses
July 13, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoIntact Financial Corporation saw an estimated $335 million in catastrophe losses in Canada for the second quarter of 2023, the insurer revealed in a release. Comparatively, the company handled over a million claims and paid out over $10 billion globally in…
OSFI calls for detailed reporting of insurers’ climate risks
July 12, 2023 by David GambrillCanada’s solvency regulator has published its draft Climate Risk Returns for federally regulated P&C insurance companies, proposing in detail how insurers should be calculating any real and potential climate risks on their books. The forms were created in partnership between…