Canadian Underwriter

Topic Property

Happy woman client receiving a text message from her insurance broker.
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Sales Column: Clients ignoring your emails? Try texting

February 22, 2023 by Adam Mitchell

People love their smartphones. And even those who claim they don’t still spend hours using them every day. A study last year by cybersecurity company NordVPN found 66% of Canadians even use their phones while in the washroom. I’ve always

Joining a puzzle on a blue background; M&A concept
News BrokersCommercialCommercial AutoPersonal AutoPersonal HomePropertyQuebecSaskatchewan

Westland acquires brokerages in two provinces

February 15, 2023 by Jason Contant

Westland Insurance continues its expansion across Canada with acquisition of Quebec-based Niche Assurance Inc. and Saskatchewan-based Heritage Insurance, effective Feb. 1. The latest acquisitions come a month after industry veteran Doug Morrow joined Westland as its new vice president of

A crushed vehicle from a fallen tree following a tornado in Tweed, Ont. on July 25, 2022.
News AdjustersAlbertaCatastrophesClaimsClaims Canada ArchiveEnvironmentalManitobaNew BrunswickOntarioPersonal AutoPersonal HomePropertyQuebecSaskatchewan

Is Canada seeing more tornadoes every year?

February 14, 2023 by Jason Contant

Canada saw 117 recorded tornadoes across the country during the 2022 season, tying 2021 for the highest-ever single season on record, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP). As with 2021, 29 of the tornadoes reached up to EF2 on

Five small wooden toy block houses are surrounded by murky brown water in a flood plain, up to their windows.
News B.C.BrokersCatastrophesClaimsCommercialEnvironmentalInsurersPersonal HomeProperty

Is there a better coverage solution for flood plain residents?

February 14, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

When insurers recommend consumers pack up and move from their flood-prone homes, it’s easier said than done. That’s why the industry needs to come up with better resilience solutions and more efficient claims response to protect the customers most impacted

Earthquake in central Montreal
News ClaimsPersonal HomePropertyQuebec

What’s the best way to increase earthquake insurance take-up in Quebec?

February 8, 2023 by Jason Contant

The best way to get consumers to buy earthquake insurance in provinces like Quebec is to find a balance between highlighting the benefits of early intervention and not making the narrative too scary, a research social scientist told delegates at

Condo owner calls her insurance company as the kitchen ceiling leaks
News B.C.BrokersClaimsLegalLiabilityPersonal HomeProperty

How an insurer’s report on a condo ceiling leak won the day

February 8, 2023 by Philip Porado

Repairs outlined in an insurance company’s assessment of damages at a British Columbia condo must be made by the strata, said a decision from the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT). Applicants in Rolfe v. The Owners, Strata Plan EPS3064 claimed the

Five Islands Lighthouse in Nova Scotia
News ClaimsLegalLiabilityNova ScotiaProperty

Lawsuit over fall at historic Nova Scotia lighthouse allowed to proceed

January 31, 2023 by Keith Doucette - THE CANADIAN PRESS

HALIFAX – An American tourist who alleges she was injured in a fall at Nova Scotia’s historic Five Islands Lighthouse in July 2017 can proceed with her lawsuit, a Nova Scotia judge has ruled. Mary Riddle of Pennsylvania is suing

Earthquake seismograph pattern
News B.C.CatastrophesClaimsEmerging RisksInsurersPersonal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

What a Canadian public earthquake backstop might look like

January 31, 2023 by David Gambrill

A federal government backstop designed to help private insurers cover high-risk flooding could be extended to protect Canadians from earthquake risk as well, Canada’s home, car and business insurers suggested in a release Tuesday. Meanwhile, in the absence of a

Looking at an earthquake early warning sensor app on a phone
News B.C.Emerging RisksPersonal HomeProperty

B.C. to install earthquake warning sensors to give life-saving notice

January 27, 2023 by The Canadian Press

VICTORIA – Up to 50 earthquake early warning sensors are being installed around British Columbia as part of a larger plan to protect people and infrastructure in a big quake. The sensors will be connected to the national Earthquake Early

Toy auto cars in front of differing stacks of coins
News AlbertaBrokersCommercial AutoInsurersPersonal AutoProperty

Alberta UCP announces auto rate freeze

January 26, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Alberta’s United Conservative Party announced today an auto insurance rate freeze until the end of 2023, and insurer and broker associations alike are calling this decision “disappointing” and “not the best option” for consumers.  The government is also requiring insurance

Insurance professional holds two houses up, and prevents them from crashing along a downfacing arrow, a symbol of the recession,
News BrokersClaimsCommercialCommercial AutoInsurersLoss TrendsPersonal AutoPersonal HomeProperty

How the recession will affect personal lines

January 24, 2023 by Alyssa DiSabatino

An impending recession could mean unaffordability for personal lines policyholders who make up almost half (49%) of the industry’s direct property premiums, an expert at the Insurance Institute of Canada’s Industry Trends & Predictions: 2023 webinar said. Insurers will need to

Fire alarm mounted on wall. In case of fire, pull
News B.C.ClaimsLegalPersonal HomeProperty

$500,000+ payment ordered for uninsured B.C. tenants

January 20, 2023 by Philip Porado

A 2017 apartment fire that a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled was ‘foreseeable’ led to an order to pay more than $500,000 to the building-owner plaintiff. In his decision in Langara Gardens Holdings Ltd. v. Chen (2023 BCSC 58), B.C.