Canadian Underwriter

Keyword
brokerage


Runners in starting blocks
News BrokersClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegal

Did the court jump the gun on allowing a negligence claim against a brokerage?

June 16, 2023 by David Gambrill

A brokerage has been added as a defendant in a sideline negligence claim, even though the central legal action for breach of contract involving two other parties (including a defendant reinsurer) has yet to be decided. Ontario’s Superior Court applied

Melting ice cream to signify a softening market for commercial insurance
News Insurance

Is market segmentation helping to soften pricing?

June 14, 2023 David Gambrill

A softening, but segmented, insurance market is allowing commercial lines brokers to leave some aspects of the years-long hard market behind. Improved pricing models are one key ingredient in the ‘stability’ now seen in commercial lines, brokers observed. Carriers are

Contract waiting for a signature
News AnnouncementsBrokersCommercial LinesInsuranceMergers and Aqcuisitions

Acquisition broadens NFP’s Ontario base

June 8, 2023 Philip Porado

NFP has acquired Rhodes & Williams Ltd. in a transaction that closed May 24, the company said in a press release. The move expands NFP’s Ontario presence “and increases its P&C capabilities and scale across personal risk and commercial lines,”

Close-up of male lawyer working in office.
News BrokersInsuranceLegal

Court backs broker in dispute over buying his book of business

May 5, 2023 by David Gambrill

Ontario’s Appeal Court has denied an appeal by a St. Catharines, Ont. brokerage in a dispute over the contract terms of a producer buying out his book of business after he served notice he was leaving the brokerage. In Lindsay

Cloud file folder being accessed by an insurance broker
News BrokersInsuranceMergers and AqcuisitionsProfessional DevelopmentTechnology

Do digitally efficient brokerages make better acquisition targets?

December 2, 2022 Alyssa DiSabatino

Brokerage owners shouldn’t just invest in digitization for its own sake, says one financial advisor. They should do it to make a purchase and integration easier for consolidators. Consolidators don’t necessarily expect small brokerages to digitize before acquisition, said Alex

Hourglass on laptop computer
News BrokersClaimsInsuranceTechnology

Brokerage’s 11-year lawsuit against tech vendor allowed to continue

October 7, 2022 by David Gambrill

Ballam Insurance Services, a Nova Scotia brokerage that sued its tech vendor 11 years ago over server issues, is allowed to proceed with its case despite examples of ‘inordinate’ and ‘inexcusable’ delays, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled Monday.

News AnnouncementsBrokersCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesMergers and Aqcuisitions

M&A deal sees brokerage expand into the child and youth care space

July 22, 2021 by David Gambrill

With the Ontario government poised to pump more funding into child care services, the timing was right for brokerage McFarlan Rowlands to acquire Magenta Insurance Professionals, a niche insurance broker focused on children and youth activities, says McFarlan Rowlands CEO

News Insurance

What’s selling hotter than real estate these days? Brokerages

July 15, 2021 by Jason Contant

Buyers are paying up to double-digit multiples for Canadian commercial lines property and casualty brokerages, while pricing for smaller retail brokerages has softened, a P&C industry consulting firm has observed. “Some of the prices being paid for larger commercial brokerages

Blocks with M&A written on them
News Insurance

Brokerages snapped up coast-to-coast in latest M&A deals

March 3, 2021 by Jason Contant

Canadian brokerage acquisitions continue coast-to-coast with the recent purchases of four brokerages in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Navacord, B.C.-based brokerage Waypoint Insurance, Archway Insurance and Westland Insurance Group (which bought two brokerages) all made acquisition announcements at

News BrokersInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesMergers and Aqcuisitions

COVID’s impact on brokerage M&A: Myth versus reality

December 10, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to raise money from major banks to finance mergers and acquisitions, but well-run brokerages will still be attractive to buyers, suggests an expert in brokerage valuation. “When COVID hit, the banks

News Insurance

Brokerage M&A round-up: Which four were bought?

November 9, 2020 by Jason Contant

British Columbia-based Westland Insurance Group Ltd. has moved into the Ontario market, announcing that it has acquired Gillons Insurance Brokers Ltd. The “significant and substantial milestone” supports Westland’s expansion strategy to become a national insurance brokerage, the brokerage said when

News AnnouncementsAppointmentsBrokersInsuranceReinsurance

Guy Carpenter names new head of Canadian operations

August 5, 2020 by David Gambrill

Peter Askew has been named president and CEO of the Canadian business of global reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, a business of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Effective immediately, Askew will be responsible for Guy Carpenter’s reinsurance broking activities