What’s New: In Brief (June 11, 2008)

The Insurance Bureau of Canada is advising Montreal residents to check their policies after torrential rain and winds more than 100 km-h barreled across southern Quebec on Tuesday afternoon.
The winds knocked over tractor-trailers on the Champlain Bridge in Montreal and cut power to nearly 250,000 residences, CTV.ca reported. Hail the size of tennis balls was reported in the Montreal area.
IBC noted most policies cover the kinds of damages seen in Montreal, but individual policies should be checked for possible exclusions.
For example, some losses, such as damage to outdoor swimming pools, might be excluded in some basic home insurance policies. In addition, trees and shrubs damaged by wind are not usually covered, the IBC notes in a release.

Swiss Re and Guy Carpenter have implemented joint operations for electronic data exchange in the areas of accounting and settlement.
The data exchange between the companies is based on the ACORD and eBOT (electronic back-office transaction) standards agreed upon by cedants, brokers and reinsurers.
The joint initiative would allow companies throughout the world to manage accounting processes between their reinsurers and brokers more efficiently, according to a release.