Canadian Underwriter

Topic Property

Business team success and partnership
News BrokersCommercialManagementMergers and AqcuisitionsOntarioOperationsPersonal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

McDougall merges with 100-year-old brokerage

April 5, 2023 by Jason Contant

McDougall Insurance has merged with 100-year-old brokerage Rayburn Insurance Brokers Ltd., a fourth-generation family-owned business located in Tweed, Ont.  Rayburn Insurance has been in business since 1922. The brokerage serves Tweed, Northbrook and surrounding areas, offering home, auto, commercial, farm,

Hand holding magnifying glass and looking at house model with row of coin money, house selection, real estate concept.
News ClaimsInsurersLegalOntarioProperty

Intact policyholder conflates ACV with replacement cost value

April 4, 2023 by David Gambrill

Intact recently won an appraisal dispute with an insured who originally claimed more than four times the market value of his business property after a fire, prompting the court to find the insured was conflating actual cash value (ACV) of

Flooded Calgary Stampede grandstand
News CatastrophesClaimsEnvironmentalPersonal HomeProperty

What Canada’s national flood insurance program could look like

March 31, 2023 by Jason Contant

Canada’s upcoming national flood insurance program will likely take characteristics from flood models in both France and Britain, Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) CEO Peter Braid told Canadian Underwriter in an interview. In its 2023 budget, the federal government

Large commercial building under construction.
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoConstructionInsurersProperty

Where brokers writing construction coverage may see bottlenecks

March 31, 2023 by Philip Porado

A significant rise in construction projects being submitted in Canada means lead underwriting time is critical, according to a 2023 Q1 Global Construction Rate Trend Report from WTW. “Staffing shortages and underwriting approval processes are causing delays in quote turn-around,”

Drilling rig in Alberta
News AlbertaEmerging RisksEnvironmentalProperty

Regulator defends finding that Alberta’s largest earthquake was caused by oilpatch

March 30, 2023 by Bob Weber - THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON – Alberta’s energy regulator has defended its finding that the province’s largest recorded earthquake was caused by oilpatch activity, saying the pattern of temblors since last fall clearly points to a water disposal well even though there’s no suggestion

Bad extreme heavy rain storm weather. Flooded streets of the neighborhood. A flooded road junction with a drowned car. Heavy rains from tropical storm caused many flooded areas.
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsCommercialEmerging RisksInsurersPersonal HomeProperty

Feds commit money for new national flood insurance program

March 29, 2023 by David Gambrill

Canada’s federal government finally put numbers to a low-cost flood insurance program, committing $31.7 million over three years to protect households at high risk of flooding and without access to adequate insurance. Details about the program remain up for discussion,

A fire in Old Montreal that gutted a heritage building.
News ClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveEmerging RisksInsurersLiabilityPropertyQuebec

Questions raised about safety of Old Montreal building destroyed by fatal fire

March 27, 2023 by Morgan Lowrie - THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL – More than a week after a fatal fire tore through a building in Old Montreal, accounts from former tenants and victims of the blaze are raising questions about the safety of the heritage property. Five bodies had been

Inflation is getting away from us
News ClaimsInsurersLoss TrendsPersonal AutoProperty

How insurers can respond to interest rate hikes and market volatility

March 24, 2023 by Philip Porado

How might high inflation, rising interest rates, and current volatility in stock and bond markets impact future P&C insurance pricing? It’s too early to tell. For insurers, the current environment requires consistent monitoring of profitability and portfolio performance, said Fiona

Tailings samples at an Imperial Oil research centre.
News AlbertaClaimsCommercialEmerging RisksEnvironmentalLiabilityProperty

Ottawa requests joint ‘working group’ on oilsands contamination with Alberta

March 20, 2023 by Bob Weber - THE CANADIAN PRESS

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has further spelled out what he wants to see in a new body that would oversee monitoring and communications around pollution problems in the oilsands. In a letter dated March 16 to his Alberta counterpart

Small business owners working at their company.
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoPropertyTechnology

Direct bringing competition to small-business space

March 15, 2023 by Philip Porado

Direct writer TD Insurance has launched TD Insurance for Business, which will offer commercial property, commercial auto for business vehicles and commercial general liability coverage to Canadian small businesses. Coverage will initially be available in Ontario, followed by other provinces, according

Ice melting and combining with rum.
News ClaimsCommercialInsurersLegalPropertyQuebec

Two companies, one shareholder, only one named insured. What happens next?

March 14, 2023 by David Gambrill

A man who is the sole shareholder of two companies — one that owns a title deed to a building (and the only named insured on the policy), and one a commercial tenant of that same building — has an

Water Rescue crew on site searching for survivors after dangerous NatCat Flooding Aerial drone views high above Flooding caused by Climate Change leaving entire neighborhood underwater and houses completely under water , boat with water rescue searching for people stuck in their flooded homes
News ClaimsCommercialEmerging RisksInsurersLoss TrendsPersonal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

Six to 10% of Canadian homes aren’t insurable for flooding, industry stats show

March 10, 2023 by David Gambrill

When it comes to Canadian homes being resilient against severe water damage wrought by climate change, a significant portion of them aren’t insurable for flooding, says Aviva Canada CEO Jason Storah. Storah was speaking to Canadian Underwriter about the company’s