Topic Loss Trends
How to reconcile financial results pre- and post-IFRS 17
January 24, 2024 by Jason ContantInsurance professionals looking to reconcile financial results pre- and post-IFRS 17 implementation need to understand specific accounting policy choices their company has taken because it’s “not going to be apples to apples right across the board,” a Wawanesa executive said.…
How reconstruction companies are improving repair timelines
January 22, 2024 by Alyssa Di SabatinoA shortage of tradespeople isn’t making it easy for the restoration industry to recover from extended repair cycle times during the pandemic. While cycle times are starting to improve, frequent NatCats and a lack of qualified talent are stretching capacity…
Ten per cent of country’s insured losses in Alberta alone
January 12, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoFor all the smoke, fire and flood that happened across Canada this year, damage to property in Alberta alone exceeded $330 million, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). That’s nearly 10% of all insured losses across…
Can higher lodging costs cut restoration losses?
January 12, 2024 by Philip PoradoInsurers looking to reduce home restoration claims costs should find ways to avoid tearing out walls, flooring, rugs, trim and other major construction components. One insurer’s launched a program to do just that. The approach will lead to a “1%…
What the industry learned from a 20-year-old wildfire
January 11, 2024 by Jason ContantThe devastation of British Columbia’s Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire in 2003 was unlike anything Janna Smart had adjusted before. “It was full of raw emotion, chaos, destruction, and limited experience in handling a wildfire in a densely populated area. It…
NatCats taking their toll on Canadian property lines
January 8, 2024 by David GambrillAnother year, another $3 billion in NatCat insurance claims payouts. Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry paid out more than $3.1 billion last year in claims related to natural catastrophes, based on the latest numbers from Catastrophe and Indices Quantification…
Should insurers help customers build back better…or not at all?
January 4, 2024 by Philip PoradoIncreased severity and frequency of NatCats has Canada’s P&C insurance ecosystem seeking ways to add resilience to the claims process. This includes build back better initiatives to encourage adding things like hurricane straps or hail-resistant shingling to roof rebuilds to…
2024 Executive Outlook |Anna McCrindell, Wawanesa Insurance
December 22, 2023 by Canadian Underwriter StaffAnna McCrindell, senior vice president, COO – East, Wawanesa Insurance This year challenged insurers and our broker partners. Inflation and macroeconomic pressures drove up costs, auto thefts reached new and troublesome levels, and climate change resulted in a devastating wildfire season…
Holly, jolly claims follies
December 18, 2023 by David GambrillIt wouldn’t be the holiday season without someone trying to ignite their house by attaching burning candles to the Christmas tree. An internet search for “crazy Christmas claims” finds insurance broker websites rife with holiday-related claims in the neighbourhood of…
How insurers can manage losses as NatCat events ramp up
December 18, 2023 by Philip PoradoWhatever’s driving increasingly devastating storms over the past decade, one thing is certain — insurers have watched NatCat losses ramp up over the past decade. “It used to be an unusual year where you’d have more than a billion dollars…
Can Canada’s P&C industry catch up to NatCats?
December 14, 2023 by Philip PoradoIn much of Nova Scotia, last summer was hell. The Tantallon wildfire in May and June generated $165 million in insured damage, mostly for personal property, by the time the flames went out July 4. In a normal year, residents…
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…