News
Burns & Wilcox Canada opens new office in St. John’s, Newfoundland
April 13, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterBurns & Wilcox Canada is opening a new office in St. John’s, Newfoundland, as the first step in the company’s plans to build a strong presence in Atlantic Canada. Burns & Wilcox Canada offers more than 300 products to the…
Denial-of-service attacks surge in 2012
April 12, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterA wave of distributed denial-of-service attacks plagued financial services companies during the first quarter of this year, according to a report from Prolexic Technologies Inc. A distributed denial-of-service attack is one in which several compromised systems attack a single target,…
Insured losses from Texas tornadoes could reach $500 million
April 12, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterTornadoes that hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Apr. 3 may result in up to $500 million in insured losses, according to the Southwestern Insurance Information Service (SIIS). Insurers have already reported $300 million in claims, according to the service,…
Adopting Corporate Responsibility Standards (CSR) can help reduce a company’s political risk in emerging economies: lawyer
April 12, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterMore than just a “philanthropic” exercise, international Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards can help a company gain valuable “intelligence” that may in fact reduce the risk of a business failure in emerging economies. Avril Cole, associate at Norton Rose Canada…
USGS examines correlation between “fracking” and low-level earthquakes
April 12, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterMaybe not all earthquakes are “natural” disasters. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has issued a report suggesting “strong spatial and temporal correlations” existed between low-level earthquakes in Oklahoma in January 2011 and a nearby hydraulic fracturing project engaged in process…
Customer retention is key for North American insurers: Gartner
April 12, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe top priority for information technology leaders at insurance companies is keeping the clients they have, Gartner Inc. said in a recent report. In a survey of IT professionals from five Canadian and 57 U.S. property and casualty insurers, 81%…
Moody’s warns of interest rate risk for American insurers
April 11, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterAn upward surge in interest rates could spell trouble for U.S. property and casualty insurer investments, Moody’s rating agency said in a recent report. Insurers are facing increased interest rate risk due to their large fixed income holdings, which account…
Global property insurance prices firming: Marsh
April 11, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurers have tried to recoup some of their catastrophe-related losses in 2011 by upping global property insurance rates in the first quarter of this year, according to a report from Marsh. It found property rates in the United States generally…
Policy Works helps Intact Insurance with commercial data exchange
April 11, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterIntact Insurance is the first private insurer to provide its brokers with enhanced commercial data exchange tools through improved portfolio download management. Working with Policy Works, the company now gives brokers the ability to process their entire commercial lines portfolio…
Ontario court ruling that establishes a civil action for privacy breaches is a “game-changer” for defence counsel: lawyer
April 11, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Jones v. Tsige, which found a right to a civil action for breach of privacy, may be a “game-changer” for insurance defence counsel. “We have this [data breach] case out there, and it…
Everyday carelessness with work data a major source of data breach liability
April 11, 2012 by Canadian Underwriter‘Hacktivists’ randomly exposing millions of dollars worth of personal and corporate information may grab media headlines, but more common — and equally disturbing — forms of data breaches relate to everyday carelessness with non-encrypted work data, according to a panel…
Alberta oil sands fire loss tallied at $726 million
April 10, 2012 by Canadian UnderwriterThe total insurance costs of the fire that halted production at the Horizon oil sands project in Alberta last year has been finalized at $726 million. Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) Limited indicated in a release of fourth-quarter and year-end 2011…