Topic Construction
How restoration firms are growing in Canada
December 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoWith natural disasters on the rise, restoration firms are responding to the growing need through expansions and acquisitions, according to recent announcements. Intact subsidiary On Side Restoration has acquired Superior Disaster Services Ltd., in a deal that closed Dec.…
How COVID-19’s wane could change commercial real estate coverage
December 13, 2023 by Philip PoradoReal estate pundits, including panellists at a Columbia University School of Business discussion early this year, are sounding the alarm about North America’s downtown cores. They’re predicting employees will shun return-to-office mandates, sparking tenancy death spirals for commercial lessors that…
Why most of your commercial clients are underinsured by at least 30%
December 12, 2023 by Jason ContantAccurate valuation and occupancy data points remain top challenges for commercial broker submissions, according to Greg McCutcheon, president of Canada’s largest property data provider, Opta Information Intelligence. In this inflationary environment, keeping up with valuations and ensuring commercial property brokers…
How Cat modelling can help your real estate clients
December 8, 2023 by David GambrillWith so many NatCats affecting the real estate property insurance sector, catastrophe (Cat) modelling is becoming a fixture for clients seeking coverage in a tightening market, a Hub International report states. “Catastrophe (CAT) modeling is…becoming essential in real estate resiliency,”…
How to build environments that reduce staircase injuries
October 31, 2023 by By Dr. Andrew Huntley and Claire Miller, 30 Forensic EngineeringAs research drives new ways to build staircases that can prevent slip-and-falls, Canada’s building codes should be updated accordingly to reflect the safer designs. The importance of code updates is illustrated by falls on stairs, which in Ontario alone led…
Tips for insuring properties worth more than $500 million
October 2, 2023 by Philip PoradoCoverage for high-value real estate, defined as sites worth $500 million or more, is often based as much on how those sites are used as on the physical assets themselves. Multi-use sites, where activities like manufacturing, distribution, logistics and management…
How insurance helps when converting office buildings to housing
September 29, 2023 by Philip PoradoCanada’s housing crisis has deepened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And when office vacancy rates across Canada topped 17% in 2022 Q4, calls grew louder to convert some of that unused commercial space into residential units. What’s more,…
Why strong housing markets have builders tweaking their insurance
September 14, 2023 by Philip PoradoBooming 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…
How NFP’s updating construction and infrastructure operations
September 7, 2023 by Philip PoradoProperty and casualty broker NFP announced it will integrate its surety practice into its Construction & Infrastructure (C&I) group, which supports companies in the construction space. These changes impact operations worldwide, including Canada, NFP said. “Surety plays a vital role…
Trial to decide insurer’s duty to defend in seniors lodge explosion
July 24, 2023 by David GambrillIt’s going to take a trial to decide whether or not Co-operators General Insurance Company owes a duty to defend in a complicated legal case concerning a 2015 gas explosion that happened on a construction site at the Bow River…
How new sources of capital are changing (re)insurance
July 18, 2023 by Glenn McGillivrayBack 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…
By how much premiums increased in the first quarter
July 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatinoWhile 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…