What’s new: In brief (December 16, 2004)

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says its members remain concerned over the issue of insurance pricing. In its quarterly survey of 100,000 small business owners, the CFIB finds 72% saying insurance prices have had a negative impact on their business in the past 12 months only energy prices had a more damaging impact. Just 3% of those surveyed say insurance pricing has had a positive impact.

Toronto-based Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Co. (LAWPro) has seen its “A” (excellent) rating affirmed by A.M. Best, which says the Law Society of Upper Canada’s mechanism for insuring members has “strong capitalization, favorable underwriting and operating performance”. LAWPro has also shown favorable loss reserve development, although the rater notes that the long-tail nature of its liability exposure is an offsetting factor, along with its concentration, both geographic and by product.

Zurich Financial Services will have a new board chair following its annual general meeting in April, with the board’s recommendation to name 62-year-old Manfred Getz to the post. Getz is recently retired as head of the finance and controlling functions as part of the management board of DaimlerChrysler. He has been with Daimler since 1970, and has been associated with Zurich since 1996 as a member of the supervisory board of its German sub-holding company. He is also chairman of the German International Chamber of Commerce, among his many other community involvements.