News
US government to study shale gas extraction process amid environmental concerns
March 8, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterEnvironmental concerns related to a process used to extract shale gas – a fuel often hailed as a potential ‘energy saviour’ – have prompted the United States Congress to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the practice, reports…
Intact launches mass media campaign
March 8, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterIntact Insurance launched its second mass national advertising campaign since the launch of its new brand in February 2009. The campaign promotes the idea that insurance is about people and not things. It’s designed to continue to build on Intact’s…
‘Funds withheld’ arrangements for unlicensed insurance: a possible alternative to reinsurance security agreements?
March 8, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterIn an article outlining Canada’s new requirement for reinsurance security agreements when using unlicensed reinsurance, McMillan LLP has raised the alternative possibility of administering an unlicensed reinsurance agreement on a “funds withheld” basis instead.Canada’s solvency regulator, the Office of the…
Kernaghan Adjusters expands presence on Vancouver Island
March 8, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterKernaghan Adjusters has opened a new branch in Courtenay/Comox, British Columbia. Brad Murray has joined the branch as appraiser and specialty risks adjuster. Currently he serves as the control adjuster for several logging and forestry programs. Debbie Halstead also joins…
Alberta incorporated P&C insurers show signs of growth in 2010
March 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterAlberta incorporated property and casualty insurers showed strong signs of growth in 2010, with an increase in collective net income growing from $40.7 million in 2009 to $63.1 million in 2010, according to postings by Alberta’s Superintendent of Insurance.The figures…
Markel International announces executive appointment for Canadian operations
March 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterMarkel International, a London-based specialist insurer, has appointed Nick James to its specialty division as a class underwriter in Canada and the US property treaty reinsurance.James has more than 14 years of experience handling international property in the insurance and…
QBE completes acquisition of US Renaissance Re unit
March 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterQBE Insurance Group Ltd. has completed its acquisition of the US admitted insurance business of Renaissance Re.The acquisition includes a US crop and small specialist program insurance business. The cost of the transaction was $275 million. “The business acquired is…
B.C. judge cautions defence bar against swearing affidavits on behalf of clients
March 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterA British Columbia judge has cautioned the insurance defence bar that lawyers should not be swearing affidavits on behalf of clients, except in the most limited of circumstances, and doing so might result in the waiver of solicitor-client privilege.British Columbia…
International business law firms seek to enter Canadian space through tie-ins with Canadian insurance and business law firms
March 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterInternational business law firms are aiming to make their way into the Canadian market through tie-ins with local Canadian law firms, including firms working in the insurance area.Most recently, legal media reported United Kingdom insurance specialist Clyde & Co is…
Insurers may want to “try hardest” to settle claims with self-represented litigants: judge
March 4, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterGiven the additional time, effort and expense required to try cases involving self-represented litigants, insurers might want to give special consideration to settling these cases early, a Nova Scotia judge observed at the Canadian Defence Lawyers 7th Annual Insurance Symposium…
Good faith claims may just ‘distract’ from common law principles that apply to insurance contracts: lawyer
March 4, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterAn insurer’s duty to act in good faith may not actually mean much beyond the standard common law doctrines that apply to insurance contracts, according to Roderick Winsor of Blaney McMurtry LLP.Winsor is the author of Good Faith in Canadian…
RMS releases major upgrade to its U.S. hurricane model
March 4, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterRisk Management Solutions (RMS) has released a “major” upgrade to its U.S. hurricane model.The latest version of the model incorporates 10 times more onshore and offshore wind observation data since the last hazard update in 2003. Also, it incorporates the…