Topic Commercial
An emerging commercial risk with growth opportunity
September 30, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCompanies providing electric scooters and similar devices are spawning a growing market for commercial insurance, an analyst with A.M. Best Company Inc. suggests. There is no standard definition of “micro mobility” but it often refers to small “last-mile” modes of…
How Economical returned to profitability
August 19, 2019 by Greg MeckbachEditor’s Note: In an earlier version of this story, Canadian Underwriter incorrectly reported Economical Insurance’s net loss in 2017. Canadian Underwriter regrets the error. Commercial premiums for Economical Insurance are down more than 10%, but that does not mean prices…
Intact agrees to buy The Guarantee and MGA Frank Cowan
August 15, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCanada’s largest property and casualty insurer, Intact Financial Corp. has agreed to buy The Guarantee Company of North America and MGA Frank Cowan Company Limited for about $1 billion from Princeton Holdings. Princeton will continue to own retail brokerage Cowan…
Commercial insurer raising some prices by 30%
August 12, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe hardening commercial insurance market has resulted in double-digit price increases for some of Fairfax Financial’s insurers, with rates in some lines increasing by nearly a third. “Price increases are significant, some lines up as much as 30%,” said Paul…
Why are a growing number of trucking fleets winding up in Facility Association?
July 23, 2019 by John G. SmithEditor’s Note: This article is reprinted with permission from Truck News A national review by Facility Association, an insurer of last resort for fleets that can’t secure coverage elsewhere, is looking to keep trucking companies from misrepresenting themselves when…
Top 2 priorities for Canadian commercial insurers
July 23, 2019 by David GambrillTwo major issues facing personal lines insurers – auto and climate change – are similarly vexing commercial insurers, says Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)’s new board chair, Silvy Wright. And working with Canadian insurance regulators will be key to responding…
Extensive fire damage to 29-unit PEI apartment building
July 18, 2019 by THE CANADIAN PRESSCHARLOTTETOWN – A pre-dawn fire has extensively damaged a three-storey apartment building in downtown Charlottetown displacing more than 50 people. The Canadian Red Cross says most of the tenants in the 29-unit complex on 10 Harley Street are seniors. The…
Trends Intact is seeing with equipment breakdown losses
July 18, 2019 by Jason ContantThe increasing interconnectedness of buildings is leading to larger losses from an equipment breakdown standpoint, said Loren Gardiner, vice president of specialty solutions for Intact’s western division. For example, there are now alarms built right into electrical systems, and there…
New chief agent in Canada for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
July 16, 2019 by Greg MeckbachLinda Regner Dykeman is the new chief agent in Canada for German commercial insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE. She replaces Ulrich Kadow, who is now global head of marine for Munich-based AGCS, which has offices in Toronto, Montreal…
The other technology risk that’s keeping clients up at night
June 17, 2019 by Greg MeckbachIf you place commercial insurance, you probably have clients who are very concerned about the risk of making large investments in information technology projects. “The failure rate of IT projects is quite high and the returns are often not what…
Large commercial brokerage expands presence in benefits space
June 6, 2019 by Jason ContantYet another commercial brokerage has expanded its presence in the benefits space in Canada. Toronto-headquartered Navacord Corp. announced Tuesday the acquisition of Toronto-based Future Benefits Management Inc. (FBMI), effective June 3. Founded in 1995 and exclusively focused on group benefits,…
This commercial line could get a lot more exciting soon
June 4, 2019 by Jason ContantThe Canadian marine insurance market could get a lot more interesting in the next year-and-a-half as major infrastructure projects get underway. “There are more large infrastructure projects on the drawing board and it could be a very interesting 18 months…