Canadian Underwriter

Topic Loss Control

Wooden grain storage elevator in Saskatchewan
News ClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveCommercialEnvironmentalLoss ControlLoss TrendsSaskatchewan

Prairie drought continues, forcing farmers to write off crops 

July 25, 2023 by Amanda Stephenson - THE CANADIAN PRESS

Saskatchewan farmers forced to write off drought-afflicted crops are being asked to consider ways to turn those crops into cattle feed instead.   The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), an industry association, put out a plea recently to grain farmers

Passing a baton to represent reinsurers passing rising costs to consumers.
News CommercialEmerging RisksInsurersLoss ControlLoss Trends

Will reinsurers pass rate increases to consumers?

July 20, 2023 by Alyssa Di Sabatino

Reinsurers reached a tipping point during their January renewal cycle that saw primary insurers bearing larger-than-usual rate increases. Which had the industry asking: How much of these reinsurance increases will make their way down to consumers? And do insurers have

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

Carpenter at work on a kitchen repair
News AdjustersClaimsInsurersLoss ControlPersonal HomeProperty

High building materials and labour costs still slowing home repairs

July 12, 2023 by Philip Porado

While inflation’s pace has eased in Canada, it’s still expensive to put homeowners back into their properties after a fire, flood, wind or other event. That’s because lingering supply chain and labour-shortage issues are extending restoration timelines. And that’s increasing

Smaller accidents are increasingly likely to lead to cars being totalled out.
News AdjustersClaimsInsurersLoss ControlLoss TrendsPersonal Auto

Why auto insurers are more likely to declare cars totalled

July 7, 2023 by Philip Porado

Is that car worth repairing? Given ongoing supply chain disruption and high inflation rates, the answer for insurers may increasingly be ‘no.’ “We see significant increases in rental costs,” said Kumar Siva, senior vice president for third party administration services

Illustration of a businessman standing on a laptop and holding a red shield
News B.C.BrokersClaimsCommercialCyberInsurersLoss Control

How insurers can reduce cyber claims without slashing coverages

July 6, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Cyber insurers are finding that acting as incident response services for their small- to mid-sized business clients is helping to reduce overall claims, experts shared during an industry conference.  Insurers should be the first ones to open the lines of

Web bot scrapes data for cyber attacks.
News ClaimsCyberInsurersLegalLiabilityLoss ControlLoss TrendsOperationsTechnology

Can we predict where cyber claims might emerge?

July 4, 2023 by Philip Porado

Data culled from external scanning systems and other tech tools can help insurers improve underwriting by showing where cyber claims might emerge. But only if the companies develop methods for making proper use of that data, said a recent Gallagher

Christchurch cathedral in New Zealand following the 2011 earthquake.
News ClaimsEmerging RisksInsurersLoss ControlLoss TrendsPersonal HomeProperty

What Canadian insurers can learn from a New Zealand earthquake

June 30, 2023 by Philip Porado

Private property and casualty (P&C) insurers can’t be the sole providers of coverage for peak peril because they cannot efficiently assume extreme tail risk. That’s a key takeaway for Canada’s P&C insurers from a catastrophic 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New

Cargo ships colliding
News ClaimsCommercialLegalLiabilityLoss ControlLoss TrendsTechnology

Who’s at fault when AI’s driving a cargo ship?

June 29, 2023 by Philip Porado

It’s 2035 and a maritime court has convened to determine who’s at fault when a seagoing vessel made an error in passage planning – a safety exercise that maps a voyage from start to finish, including harbour navigation and docking.

Turning off a giant faucet to represent loss control
News BrokersCommercialLoss ControlLoss TrendsSaskatchewan

What’s changing the way commercial brokers view loss control?

June 26, 2023 by David Gambrill

It’s possible the pandemic, combined with the P&C industry’s ongoing hard market, may have permanently altered how insurers assess their risk appetites. And brokers wise to this shift have adjusted their approach to advising clients accordingly. Given that insurers are

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

Butterfly emerging from a cocoon to represent evolution in business models for insurance brokers
News BrokersCommercialEmerging RisksLoss ControlLoss TrendsOperationsRisk Managers

How commercial brokers have evolved into holistic risk advisors

June 20, 2023 by David Gambrill

With insurance underwriters now voicing preference for ‘best-in-class’ commercial risks, it’s fallen to brokers to educate their clients about how to reduce their losses. And that means commercial brokers are becoming more like holistic risk advisors, making recommendations to their