Topic Catastrophes
UFO sightings: Are your clients covered for an alien invasion?
June 24, 2021 by David GambrillRecent talk about UFOs during the pandemic has caused the most conspiratorial among us to wonder if Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry is prepared for the most secretive of risks: An alien invasion of Earth. Film footage has emerged…
Reservoir to protect Calgary from floods gets approval
June 24, 2021 by The Canadian PressEDMONTON – The Natural Resources Conservation Board has approved a controversial reservoir that could protect Calgary from future flooding, ruling that it’s in the public interest. Alberta Transportation proposed the $432-million off-stream reservoir near the rural community of Springbank, Alta.,…
Progress report: Canada-wide flood mapping is well underway
June 16, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA nationwide estimate of coastal, pluvial, and fluvial flood hazard is one part of the ongoing effort to come up with a national approach to insuring or re-locating homes at high risk of flood, a federal government official suggests. Flood…
Look back, but not too far: Why some perils need a new approach
June 14, 2021 by Jason ContantThe insurance industry needs to look at the “more recent past” and take a shorter-term view of catastrophic perils to see their effects going forward, Swiss Re told Canadian Underwriter recently. “When we’re looking at recent events, including the 2020…
How to be really customer-centric: Lessons from the global insurance market
June 11, 2021 by Jason ContantCanada’s property and casualty insurance industry should look towards the global insurance market for some insights about how to increase take-up rates, particularly among marginalized and low-income people, speakers said Thursday at the CatIQ Connect virtual conference. In the global…
Where Canada sits with national low-cost residential flood insurance
June 10, 2021 by Greg MeckbachSix possible flood insurance models for homes at high risk of flood are about to go through an actuarial review, a federal government official suggests. The Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation is going to hand off those possible…
Why Canada could be in the path of stronger hurricanes in the future
June 7, 2021 by Jason ContantCanada could see heightened hurricane risk in the future, as climate change and fluctuations in ocean temperature are increasing the likelihood of stronger hurricanes making landfall further north, according to Swiss Re. “We see an increased likelihood of intense hurricanes…
Why wildfire is moving into ‘peak peril’ range
May 14, 2021 by Jason ContantWildfire is now moving into the range of a “peak peril” type of risk, similar to earthquakes and hurricanes, Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS) told Canadian Underwriter recently. Overall, in both Canada and the United States, wildfire risks are starting…
Canada’s worst-case wildfire scenario could see a $20-billion loss: RMS
May 13, 2021 by Jason ContantCanada could potentially see $20-billion loss events from wildfire alone, according to recent simulations by Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS). The odds of that happening would be “extremely rare, on the order of a 1-in-10,000-year return period,” Michael Young, vice…
Why IBAC foresees a national flood insurance program
April 28, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe recently-released federal budget gives brokers reason to be optimistic that Canada will eventually have a national flood insurance program for homeowners, the head of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada suggests. “The commitment from the federal government is clear…
Insurers seek federal grants for homeowners to improve basement flood protection
April 21, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe industry is pushing to make federal grants available for Canadian homeowners to reduce basement flood risk. In the fall of 2020, the federal government announced its Greener Homes initiative. When the program rolls out, the plan is to provide…
How to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to your clients
April 9, 2021 by Jason ContantCanada’s property and casualty insurance industry needs to ramp up its public education efforts to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to the Canadian population, speakers said Thursday during the virtual CIP Society Symposium 2021. “I don’t like to…