Topic Property
Co-operators acquires home inspection firm
February 16, 2024 by Jason ContantThe Co-operators has entered the home services line of business with the acquisition of the parent company of home inspection firm Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd. Co-operators Financial Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Co-operators Group Limited, announced the…
Blizzard-like conditions expected in Newfoundland
February 15, 2024 by The Canadian PressSchools in Newfoundland’s capital are closed today, due to the threat of inclement winter weather. The head office for NLSchools in St. John’s will be open, but officials say not until 11:00 a.m. local time. This week’s hazardous winter conditions…
Warm weather forces city in Quebec to cancel ice-fishing villages for first time
February 13, 2024 by The Canadian PressSAGUENAY, QUE. – There will be no colourful ice-fishing huts dotting the frozen water near Saguenay, Que., this year after mild winter weather forced authorities to cancel the popular tradition for the first time. The municipality about 200 kilometres north…
Lax e-scooter insurance spells trouble for Canadian municipalities
February 12, 2024 by Philip PoradoBased on what’s taking place in other jurisdictions, lawsuits over accidents involving e-scooters will likely rise in Canada – particularly in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, where some municipalities permit their use on public streets, park trails, or sidewalks. Municipalities…
When the national earthquake early warning system goes live
February 8, 2024 by Jason ContantCanada’s national earthquake early warning system is expected to go live in British Columbia in April followed by Ontario and Quebec this fall, a program manager for the federal government told delegates at CatIQ Connect Wednesday. The system works by…
What needs to happen for a smooth 2025 reinsurance renewal season
February 7, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoMomentum from this year’s favourable reinsurance renewal can continue into 2025 if outlying conditions and losses don’t exceed expectations, panellists said during Cat IQ Connect in Toronto. Although it’s too early to make assertions about how the next 1.1 renewal…
Do we need a Category 6 for hurricanes?
February 6, 2024 by Jason ContantTwo climate scientists are questioning whether the open-endedness of Category 5 hurricanes is sufficient to communicate the risk of hurricane property damage in a warming climate. Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and James Kossin of First…
Home, auto rate increases in 2023 “highest…seen in years.”
January 26, 2024 by David GambrillCanadian auto insurance rates increased 10% in 2023 compared to 2022, and similarly home insurance rates saw an increase as well — up 6.6% last year, according to the latest release of the Applied Rating Index. “The close of 2023…
The rise and fall of the P&C industry’s financial results
January 22, 2024 by David GambrillAs the Alan Parson Project once sang, “What goes up, must come down,” and predictions about industry profitability made two years ago are unfortunately coming true — including a marked downward trend of financial results in 2023, says one veteran…
Roof collapses feared if freezing rain follows heavy snowfall
January 16, 2024 by David GambrillFearing a wave of roof collapses could occur in the short term, Toitures Hogue, a large Quebec roofer, is urging owners of commercial, industrial and/or institutional buildings to be cautious and proactive in advance of a freezing rain forecast over…
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…
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…