Canadian Underwriter

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News Insurers

Why Intact will not chase growth by lowering rates

November 8, 2018 by Jason Contant

As both personal and commercial markets continue to show signs of hardening, Intact Financial Corporation will not pursue growth by lowering rates as 2019 approaches. “We’re not chasing growth by lowering rates as we move into 2019,” Darren Godfrey, Intact’s

News ClaimsInsurers

Root cause of commercial auto woes hard to pinpoint: Insurer CEO

October 25, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Commercial auto losses have been worse than expected for The Travelers Companies Inc., and company officials are not exactly sure why. “It’s a line that has been challenged from a profitability perspective for a while,” Travelers chairman and CEO Alan

News InsurersTechnology

How blockchain can help fight insurance fraud

September 24, 2018 by Jason Contant

Blockchain for insurance has various oft-touted benefits – reduced costs and simpler and faster transactions, among them – but it can also be used to combat fraud, said David Verbeeten, a domain expert in insurance at software company ConsenSys. Verbeeten

News InsurersRisk Managers

Will Hurricane Florence affect reinsurance rates in Canada?

September 12, 2018 by Jason Contant

As the southeastern United States braces for Hurricane Florence – one year after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused widespread destruction in the country – the question of whether there is sufficient reinsurance capacity is again thrust into the spotlight.

News Insurers

This reinsurer says rates need to go up

September 10, 2018 by Jason Contant

Underwriting margins will need to improve by at least six to nine points in major western markets to deliver sustainable returns, according to the latest sigma report from global reinsurer Swiss Re. The report Profitability in non-life insurance: mind the

News InsurersMergers and Aqcuisitions

Aspen Insurance agrees to be taken private

September 1, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., which writes risks in Canada, has tentatively agreed to be bought for US$2.6 billion. If the deal closes, Hamilton, Bermuda-based Aspen will be owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC of New York City.

News Insurers

Signs of a hardening commercial market

August 20, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Shopping around for the best deal for a business client may be getting more difficult as commercial lines prices start to uptick. Among commercial insurers, “it seems there is a little bit of tightening up on the risk appetite,” Raymond

News InsurersLegal

Aviva Canada’s plan to decrease its exposure in Ontario auto

August 2, 2018 by David Gambrill

Aviva Canada is diversifying its portfolio of business to avoid exposure to deteriorating conditions in Ontario’s auto insurance market. “When you look at Aviva’s business in Canada, there’s a heavy concentration in Ontario auto,” Aviva Canada president and CEO Colm

News Insurers

Where private auto insurance rates are rising the fastest in Canada

July 31, 2018 by Jason Contant

Ontario’s premium rates are rising the fastest among Canada’s private passenger auto insurance regimes, according to the Q2 2018 Auto Insurance Price Index from LowestRates.ca. A measure of only private passenger auto insurance regimes in Canada, the index from the

News InsurersMergers and Aqcuisitions

Major consolidation this year in reinsurance industry?

July 31, 2018 by Greg Meckbach

Mergers and acquisitions will likely be a topic of discussion for mid-market reinsurers, executives with a large European reinsurer suggest. Efforts by large reinsurers to improve productivity will put “more pressure” on mid-sized and smaller reinsurers “to have this strategic

News InsurersTechnology

The trick to getting blockchain to work for insurance

July 30, 2018 by Jason Contant

The trick to getting blockchain to work in the insurance space is getting all the players in the market to align and agree on common standards and a way to govern the blockchain, Aon Benfield’s chief information officer said Friday.

News Insurers

Where Canadian drivers pay the most (and least) for auto insurance

July 19, 2018 by Jason Contant

When it comes to auto insurance premiums in Canada, drivers in British Columbia pay the most, followed by Ontario, data supplied by Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) revealed Wednesday. In B.C. last year, average annual auto premiums were $1,680. The