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Topic Catastrophes

News CatastrophesClaimsYukon

Update on Yellowknife wildfire

August 21, 2023 by The Canadian Press

YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T – Firefighters battling a wildfire near the capital of the Northwest Territories shifted from defence to offence Monday after a weekend of cooler temperatures, favourable winds and some rain. “We’re in a position to move to direct attack

News B.C.CatastrophesClaimsInsurersPersonal HomeProperty

What P&C industry can expect from Kelowna wildfires

August 21, 2023 by David Gambrill

In an eerie coincidence, almost 20 years to the day wildfires caused $200 million in insured damage back in 2003, Kelowna is burning once again. About 30,000 people in the southern Interior region of B.C. — about a third of

Lightning strike in a thunderstorm
News CatastrophesClaimsInsurersLoss TrendsOntarioQuebec

Thunderstorms now a primary concern for insurers

August 10, 2023 by David Gambrill

Damage from secondary perils such as thunderstorms in the first half of 2023 is of primary concern to reinsurers. A series of widespread thunderstorms hitting the U.S. accounted for 68% of global insured natural catastrophe losses in the first half

Wildfire in Halifax
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveEnvironmentalInsurersLoss TrendsNova ScotiaPersonal Home

What’s driving Intact’s high personal property combined ratio?

August 3, 2023 by Jason Contant

Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) saw an elevated combined ratio (undiscounted) of 119.2% in its Canadian personal property segment in 2023 Q2, driven in part by twice the expected level of Cat losses.  The 119.2% combined ratio in Intact’s personal property

Rocket represents rising reinsurance premiums
News CatastrophesClaimsEnvironmentalInsurersLoss ControlNew BrunswickNewfoundland & LabradorNova ScotiaOntarioP.E.I.PropertyQuebec

What’s the future for Canada’s reinsurance rates?

August 2, 2023 by Alyssa Di Sabatino

New risks emerging in Canada are leading reinsurers to increase premiums, industry experts have told Canadian Underwriter. Although U.S. damage losses last year far outweighed Canada’s, contributing significantly to escalating reinsurance prices, insured NatCat damage in Canada in 2022 was

A washed-out roadway in Nova Scotia following flooding.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveEnvironmentalNova ScotiaPersonal Home

‘Complacency’ blamed for N.S. struggles with flooding, other climate disasters

August 1, 2023 by Michael Tutton - THE CANADIAN PRESS

HALIFAX – 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

An evacuation order has been issued for more than 700 properties in Osoyoos, B.C.
News AdjustersB.C.CatastrophesClaimsCommercialEnvironmentalInsurersPersonal AutoPersonal Home

What it would take for Osoyoos wildfires to become a Cat

August 1, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Winds 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

Buildings are seen in floodwater following a major rain event in Halifax on Saturday, July 22, 2023. A long procession of intense thunderstorms have dumped record amounts of rain across a wide swath of Nova Scotia, causing flash flooding, road washouts and power outages
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsCommercialEnvironmentalInsurersNova ScotiaPersonal AutoPersonal Home

How the Nova Scotia floods compare to Hurricane Fiona

July 28, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Recent 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

Flooded street in Nova Scotia
News B.C.CatastrophesClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveEmerging RisksEnvironmentalLoss ControlLoss TrendsNova ScotiaProperty

Aging infrastructure struggling to keep up with storms, wildfires, changing climate

July 27, 2023 by Hina Alam - THE CANADIAN PRESS

FREDERICTON – 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

Buildings are seen in floodwater following a major rain event in Halifax on Saturday, July 22, 2023. A long procession of intense thunderstorms have dumped record amounts of rain across a wide swath of Nova Scotia, causing flash flooding, road washouts and power outages
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsCommercialEnvironmentalInsurersNew BrunswickNewfoundland & LabradorNova ScotiaP.E.I.Personal AutoPersonal Home

Claims pouring in for record Nova Scotia rainstorm

July 24, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Adjusters 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

Mathematical equation on a black board
News CatastrophesClaimsInsurersOperations

What the math says about P&C return rates

July 24, 2023 by Alyssa Di Sabatino

What’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,

Person running away from a tidal wave or tsunami
News CatastrophesClaimsEmerging RisksEnvironmentalInsurersPersonal AutoPersonal Home

Can insurers and reinsurers survive looming NatCat trends?

July 21, 2023 by Glenn McGillivray

One 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