Canadian Underwriter

Topic Commercial

Dramatic panorama of heavy raining and storm clouds with graph
News ClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveCommercialCyberTechnology

Weather Network app still can’t send alerts days after cyberattack

September 15, 2023 by Mia Rabson - THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – The Weather Network and MeteoMedia still can’t send weather alerts through push notifications from its app following a “malicious cyberattack” on Monday. But Pelmorex, the parent company of the two weather services, says the attack is not affecting

Removing an old fuel storage tank from a contaminated building site
News CommercialConstructionEnvironmentalInsurersLiabilityLoss Control

Why strong housing markets have builders tweaking their insurance

September 14, 2023 by Philip Porado

Booming real estate markets in many Canadian cities have top-tier developers considering building sites they might previously have written off. “Here in Toronto, we know the city was heavily industrialized with old manufacturers that were there 100 years before going

Hurricane Lee approaches Atlantic Canada. Satellite image
News CatastrophesClaimsCommercialNew BrunswickNewfoundland & LabradorNova ScotiaP.E.I.Personal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

Lee update: Where the damage is likely to happen

September 14, 2023 by David Gambrill

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are bracing for flooding and high winds as Hurricane Lee approaches landfall in Atlantic Canada as a Category 1 storm. Currently showing wind speeds of 155 km/h, Lee is expected to become a strong tropical

Oilsands refinery in Fort McMurray, Alta.
News AlbertaCommercialEnvironmental

Twin polls suggest slim majority of Albertans support oil and gas emissions cap

September 14, 2023 by Bob Weber - THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON – Most Albertans would support some kind of national cap on carbon emissions from the oil and gas sector, two new polls suggest. The polls, conducted by different polling firms at the same time with the same questions, come

Insurance broker using binoculars to find opportunities
News BrokersClaimsCommercialInsurersLoss ControlLoss Trends

Where brokers can find opportunity in a softer D&O market

September 13, 2023 by David Gambrill

After several years of a hard market, P&C industry executives report a plateau of price increases in directors and officers (D&O) lines. As fears of pandemic-fuelled losses fade, D&O lines are becoming more profitable and that’s leading to some increased

M&A with wooden blocks
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoManagementMergers and AqcuisitionsNova ScotiaOperationsPersonal AutoPersonal Home

BrokerLink continues expansion with Atlantic Canada acquisition

September 13, 2023 by Jason Contant

BrokerLink continues its growth in Atlantic Canada with the acquisition of Nova Scotia-based brokerage Roger E. Strum Limited. Headquartered in Windsor, N.S., Strum Insurance has offered professional guidance for home, auto, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, boat and business insurance for more

Road forks meet to represent a merger
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoManagementMergers and AqcuisitionsOperationsPersonal AutoPersonal HomePropertyTrusted Advisor

U.K.-based firm buys two Canada brokerages

September 12, 2023 by Canadian Underwriter Staff

Looks as if the summer 2023 P&C brokerage merger train will keep on rolling into the fall. Specialist insurance and reinsurance broker BMS Group has acquired Canada-based insurance brokers, Smith & Reid Insurance Brokers Ltd. and O’Neil Insurance. Smith &

Clients that lock down their cybersecurity are favoured by insurers
News BrokersClaimsCommercialCyberInsurersLoss ControlTechnology

Which clients are cyber underwriters favouring?

September 11, 2023 by David Gambrill

Recent loss ratio data suggests the hard market in cyber insurance has plateaued. In part, that’s due to underwriters being more discriminating about which risks they select for coverage. “Insurance companies have rightsized their books. They know which clients they

Teamwork and partnership
News BrokersCommercialMergers and AqcuisitionsOperationsPersonal AutoPersonal HomeQuebec

Brokerage merger to form Top 10 P&C firm

September 11, 2023 by Jason Contant

Quebec brokerages Fort Assurances and Gaudreau Assurances have merged to form what the two companies call one of the Top 10 damage insurance firms in the province. The new entity, which will operate under the name Fort Insurance & Group

Teamwork concept
News BrokersCannabisCommercialOntarioPersonal AutoPersonal HomeSaskatchewan

Westland, Hub’s latest P&C acquisitions

September 8, 2023 by Jason Contant

Westland Insurance Group and Hub International Ltd. have added to their property and casualty insurance offerings through recent M&A activity.  Westland Insurance acquired Saskatchewan personal and commercial lines brokerage Insurance Matters Inc., while Hub International acquired Ontario-based cannabis insurance brokerage

Percentage sign and bull financial markets
News CommercialInsurersLoss ControlLoss Trends

Weakening economy convinces BoC to hold key rate, but door to more hikes stays open

September 6, 2023 by Nojoud Al Mallees - THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate steady at five per cent on Wednesday, deciding against another rate hike as the economy begins to falter. “With recent evidence that excess demand in the economy is easing,

A volunteer directing traffic in Yellowknife
News AdjustersB.C.CatastrophesClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveClaims ProfessionalsCommercialEnvironmentalNWTPersonal Home

Adjusters provide update on B.C., N.W.T. wildfires

September 6, 2023 by Jason Contant

Wildfires in British Columbia and Northwest Territories continue to present a mixed bag of claims for P&C adjusters. Claims adjusters are seeing a variety of both residential and commercial losses. “Major loss, total losses and less severe claims as well,”