News
Colorado’s most destructive wildfire now contained
July 11, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe worst wildfire to hit Colorado has now been fully contained, according to the Associated Press and a report from a U.S. federal incident management team. The 29-square-mile Waldo Canyon Fire started on June 23 and was completely encircled July…
Moore-McLean Insurance Group appoints John Belyea as chief operating officer
July 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterMoore-McLean Insurance Group, an independent insurance broker in Ontario, has appointed John Belyea as its chief operating officer. During his 23-year career, Belyea has held numerous leadership positions in the insurance brokerage industry, beginning with Trivest Insurance Network in 1989…
Key driving behaviours better indicators of risk than traditional rating variables: Progressive
July 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterKey driving behaviors — for example, actual miles driven, braking and time of day of driving — can predict the likelihood of a claim far better than traditional insurance rating variables such as a driver’s demographic profile, age, and the…
Aon Benfield catalogues June 2012 catastrophe losses in the United States, Canada
July 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. severe weather insurance losses totalled nearly $2 billion in June 2012, according to the latest edition of Aon Benfield’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap, which reviews natural disaster perils occurring worldwide. In Canada, the report notes that powerful thunderstorms ripped…
Zurich offers online rate, quote and policy issuance platform to Ontario’s independent brokers
July 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterZurich Canada has made ZurichEZclick.ca, its online rate, quote and policy issuance platform, available to independent brokers in Ontario. This is the first time independent brokers in Ontario are invited to do business with Zurich through www.ZurichEZclick.ca. Using this system,…
Insurance rates follow hardening trend
July 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterInternational insurance prices continued to firm in 2012 Q2, according to a new global insurance index launched recently by Marsh. The index takes into account client renewal data on property, casualty and financial and professional lines of business from 20…
David Crozier leaves Economical to pursue other endeavours
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterEconomical Insurance announced on July 9 that David Crozier, the company’s senior vice president of operations, has left the company to pursue other endeavours. “We acknowledge David’s positive contributions to the company over the past six years as vice-president of…
Sean Forgie joins Cunningham Lindsey’s commercial risk division
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterSean Forgie has joined Cunningham Lindsey’s commercial risk division (CRD) team as national director of casualty/liability. As national director, Forgie will oversee the handling of complex liability claims conducted by the executive general adjusters, senior general adjusters and general adjusters…
Lightning strikes cost U.S. insurers $1 billion in 2011
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterLightning strikes cost nearly $1 billion in insured losses in 2011, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) notes. An analysis of homeowners insurance data by the I.I.I. and State Farm found there were more than 186,000 lightning claims in 2011, down…
ICLR launches new website on basement flooding
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), a centre for multi-disciplinary disaster prevention research and communications, has launched a new website to help reduce the chances of experiencing basement flooding and other types of water damage. In addition, the website,…
ICBC teams with Fix Auto in Alberta
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterWith the Calgary Stampede starting this past weekend, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) has signed an agreement with an Alberta-based repair shop network to handle potential claims from car accidents involving B.C. drivers. The public auto insurer notes…
Flooding in Thunder Bay, Montreal causes insured damage of $200 million
July 9, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), citing data from Property Claim Services Canada (PCS-Canada), reports that the estimated insured damage caused by the recent wind and thunderstorm event that hit Ontario and Quebec amounts to more than $200 million. PCS-Canada tracks…