Canadian Underwriter

Topic Commercial Auto

cay keys on top of an auto insurance policy
News AlbertaClaimsCommercial AutoInsurersPersonal AutoTrending

Zenith Insurance ends broker contract; Alberta Finance Minister cites rate pause

July 20, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Editor’s Note: On Friday July 21, 2023, Canadian Underwriter sent out an e-newsletter with an incorrect subject heading, implying that Zenith pulled out of auto insurance in Alberta. In fact, Zenith has only cancelled a contract with a brokerage that

News AlbertaBrokersCommercial AutoEmerging RisksInsurersPersonal Auto

Insurer backs away from Alberta auto — could others follow suit?

July 19, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Alberta’s auto insurance rate pause has caused one insurer to back away from the market, with others potentially following suit. The insurer is said to have a market share of less than 0.5% of auto policies in Alberta, a source

Piles of Canadian money representing investment in insurance capacity.
News CommercialCommercial AutoConstructionCyberInsurersMergers and AqcuisitionsOperations

How new sources of capital are changing (re)insurance

July 18, 2023 by Glenn McGillivray

Back in July 2004, I wrote an article for Canadian Underwriter called ‘Our own worst enemy,’ about the mechanics of the insurance cycle. The piece explained “cyclical rate peaks and valleys in (re)insurance [i.e., primary insurance and reinsurance] markets almost

Flowers poke through the softening snow in springtime
News BrokersClaimsCommercialCommercial AutoInsurersOperationsPersonal AutoPersonal Home

Will markets soften after 2022’s strong performance?

July 14, 2023 by Glenn McGillivray

For 2021, a year-in-review for the P&C industry began with the sunny news that it “was the most generally favourable for Canadian insurers in a long while.” But that same review ended with the suggestion that those rosy numbers may

Distracted driver about to have a car accident
News ClaimsClaims ProfessionalsCommercial AutoInsurersLegalLiabilityLoss ControlLoss TrendsPersonal AutoTechnology

What’s to blame for distracted driving trends?

July 14, 2023 by Philip Porado

Brokers hear lots of stories about minor fender-benders that don’t lead to injuries. And some could even be seen as amusing – if they weren’t linked to financial losses for insurers. “We had an incident where someone was trying to

turtle walking on chalkboard with drawing of an increasing line graph
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoConstructionInsurersPersonal AutoPersonal Home

By how much premiums increased in the first quarter

July 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

While consumers might have noticed their insurance rates are still increasing, prices are flattening out compared to last year’s single- or double-digit increases, two new reports from Applied Systems showed.  Commercial lines saw an overall rate increase of 7.39% in

Map of Canada
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoManagementMergers and AqcuisitionsNew BrunswickNova ScotiaOperationsP.E.I.Personal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

Large Canadian brokerage now operating coast to coast

June 28, 2023 by Jason Contant

Editor’s Note: An original version of this article incorrectly identified Western Financial Group as Westland. Canadian Underwriter apologizes for the error.   Western Financial Group now operates coast to coast following its full acquisition of Huestis Insurance and Associates Ltd.

Economic and geopolitical risks have insurers walking a tightrope in 2023
News BrokersCatastrophesCommercialCommercial AutoConstructionEmerging RisksPersonal AutoPersonal HomePropertyTrusted Advisor

Despite easing inflation, P&C insurers face challenges

June 27, 2023 by Philip Porado

Canada’s May inflation rate slipped to an annualized 3.4%, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. That’s the lowest rate in two years and solidly below the 4.4% annual rate posted in April. It’s also in line with the Bank of Canada’s efforts

Illustration of four brokers in suits racing each other
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoInsurersOntarioPersonal AutoPersonal Home

Ontario brokers’ biggest source of competition

June 22, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Although Ontario’s broker distribution market share has slightly increased year-over-year, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) distribution channel is becoming more competitive, an expert broker shared at the Young Brokers Conference in Niagara Falls.  Ontario brokers should expect to feel more pressure from

Industrial building destroyed by a hurricane, NatCat
News ClaimsClaims ProfessionalsClaims TechnologyCommercialCommercial AutoConstructionHRInsurersLoss ControlLoss TrendsPersonal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

How trade agreements could change claims adjusting in Canada

June 20, 2023 by Alyssa Di Sabatino

When a NatCat occurs in Canada, it’s common for U.S. adjusters to be on the scene — sometimes before Canadian adjusters, who are bound by provincial licensing restrictions. And while processes for getting either country’s adjusters on the scene are

The area where a bus collided with a transport truck
News ClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveCommercial AutoLiabilityManitoba

Collision between semi-trailer and bus kills 15, injures 10

June 16, 2023 by Steve Lambert and Jeremy Simes - THE CANADIAN PRESS

DAUPHIN, MAN. – Flags were at half-mast as residents of a western Manitoba city awaited word on the fate of loved ones, while police started to piece together what caused a crash between a semi-trailer and a bus carrying seniors

Young people in co-working creative space
News CommercialCommercial AutoHRInsurersManagementTrending

How to hire more Gen-Z underwriters

June 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Employers of all industries want to hire the newest generation of workers, Generation Z, and so the insurance industry needs to make sure it’s getting ahead of the curve, especially with a dearth of property and casualty underwriters in Canada.