News
Hamilton hit by an estimated 66 millimetres of rainfall, resulting in basement flooding and road closures
July 24, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe City of Hamilton was hammered by an estimated 66 millimetres of rainfall on July 22, resulting in road closures, fallen tree limbs and approximately 50 calls about basement flooding. The majority of calls related to basement flooding involved surface…
Federal government should reduce government, public exposure to financial risks from marine spills
July 24, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe British Columbia government wants Ottawa help reduce government and public exposure to financial risks associated with marine spills. The call was made as part of the B.C. government’s ongoing participation in the Joint Review Panel’s monitoring of the Northern…
Vancouver creates plan for climate change adaptation
July 24, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe City of Vancouver voted on July 24 to approve in principle a comprehensive climate change strategy that will address more frequent and intense storm activity, coastal flooding, sewer back-up and hotter summers. The plan was developed by director of…
Saskatchewan City Mayors’ Caucus calls on the Government of Saskatchewan to consider photo radar
July 24, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Saskatchewan City Mayors’ Caucus (CMC) has requested that the Government of Saskatchewan consider introducing photo radar within the province. Specifically, a CMC letter requests that the provincial government initiate a photo radar pilot project on the section of the…
Exploit kits, traffic direction systems cited as Top 2 emerging online threats
July 23, 2012 by Canadian Underwriter‘Exploit kits’ — basically, malware in a box — and traffic directions systems are listed as the Top 2 emerging online threats by Trend Micro, a provider of cloud computing and Internet security systems. Trend Micro senior threat researcher Paul…
Willis reports shift in cat reinsurance market towards third party capital providers
July 23, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe catastrophe reinsurance market may be on the cusp of a strategic shift, with third party capital providers set to take on increasing amounts of peak catastrophe risk in the future, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), part…
Western Financial acquires B.C. Yacht
July 23, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterWestern Financial Group (Western) has acquired B.C. Yacht Insurance Brokers Inc. (B.C. Yacht), as of July 1. B.C. Yacht is headquartered in Sidney, British Columbia and is Sidney’s only specialized marine insurance brokerage. The deal is Western Financial Group’s second…
Guy Carpenter representatives to discuss catastrophe risk and modeling during ICLR’s Sept. 14 Friday Forum
July 23, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterGuy Carpenter representatives Krista Lienau and Sherry Thomas are scheduled to discuss the current and future landscapes of Canadian catastrophe risk and modeling at the Sept. 14 Friday Forum of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). Lienau is a…
Sprint to provide vehicle-tracking technology for usage-based insurance
July 20, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. wireless carrier Sprint has set its sights on providing vehicle-tracking technology that will provide insurers with information about vehicle activity and driver behaviour. Sprint has announced its intention to market integrated, end-to-end, usage-based insurance (UBI) services, which the company…
European high court rules that flight cancellation insurance cannot be included automatically in the price of airfare
July 20, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterCompanies selling air travel tickets online cannot automatically include cancellation insurance with the airfare, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. “‘Optional price supplements’ relating to additional services which are not compulsory must be communicated clearly at…
Ontario PC proposal calls for private insurers to compete with the province’s Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB)
July 20, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterAn Ontario Progressive Conservative Caucus White Paper has recommended that private insurance companies be allowed to compete with the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) for the provision of work-related insurance coverage. The WSIB is a government agency that provides injury…
Traditional reinsurance unlikely to contribute to systemic risk: IAIS
July 20, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterTraditional reinsurance is unlikely to contribute to or amplify systemic risk, although the financial crisis has demonstrated the same may not hold for non-reinsurance activities, including certain banking activities, notes Reinsurance and Financial Stability, a new policy paper from the…