News
Cunningham Lindsey establishes global mining practice group
June 17, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterCunningham Lindsey has established a Global Practice Mining Team, with more than 6,000 employees and based in 65 countries. The adjusters have handled hundreds of major mining losses involving floods, landslides, access route interruptions and plant losses of every description;…
FSCO releases revised forms reflecting auto insurance reforms
June 16, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterVarious policy and endorsement forms have been revised and updated by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to reflect the automobile insurance reforms. Additionally, two new forms have been approved to allow policyholders to purchase coverage to offset the…
Paul Hancock appointed national director of GTS at Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.
June 16, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterPaul Hancock has joined Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. as national director of Global Technical Services (GTS) Canada. Hancock has a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation with more than 25 years of experience in the claims industry. “Paul’s dedication to…
A.M. Best affirms Intact Insurance Group’s ‘A+’ rating
June 16, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterA.M. Best Co. has affirmed Intact Insurance Group’s financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-“. The Group includes Belair Insurance Company Inc. (Montreal, Quebec), Intact Insurance Company, Novex Insurance Company, The Nordic Insurance Company…
Auto injuries pending surgery still count against catastrophic impairment rating: FSCO
June 16, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterAuto injuries pending surgery – and which are therefore not “stable” – still count for the purpose of determining catastrophic impairments, according to a Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) arbitrator.In Sonia Bains and RBC General Insurance Company, Bains sought…
How M&A insurance can resurrect a dying deal
June 16, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterWhile many experts are predicting successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Canada in 2010, for the deals that fail, there is M&A insurance, an AON background paper observes.‘Whether the transaction involves two Fortune 500 companies or a private equity…
‘Space storms’ could wreak 20-times economic damage as major hurricane
June 15, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterImpending ‘solar storms’ may disrupt the earth’s magnetic field and wreak twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina, NASA scientists warn.A solar wind is a stream of charged particles, mostly electrons and protons, spewed from the sun. Should the…
Internal audit departments must evolve to strategic risk advisor role: PwC survey
June 15, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterInternal audit departments should hold an expanded role as strategic risk advisors to the C-suite, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.PwC polled more than 2,000 executives from 55 countries (including 82 Canadian organizations). Survey respondents suggested that internal audit departments…
U.S. commercial insurance prices remain flat in 2010 Q1
June 15, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterAggregate U.S. commercial insurance prices remained flat during 2010 Q1, according to Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). This is consistent with flat pricing seen in 2009, which followed nearly five years of price decreases, Towers Watson reports.…
Cascadia fault line identified as potential hot spot for ‘mega quake’
June 15, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterNorth America’s west coast, along the Cascadia fault line, is one of the Top 5 areas in the world most vulnerable to mega-earthquakes, according to Aon Benfield.The mega-earthquakes are moment magnitude(Mw) 8+, according to Aon Benfield’s report, When The Earth…
The larger the terrorist cells, the easier to foil the plot: RMS modelling
June 14, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterAn excessive number of terrorist operatives involved in attack planning might actually decrease the chance the operation will be carried out successfully, according to RMS risk modelling of terrorism risk pools.At the June 2010 OECD Conference, ‘Terrorism Insurance in 2010:…
Desjardins launches iPhone app for tenant insurance
June 14, 2010 by Canadian UnderwriterDesjardins General Insurance (DGI) has launched an iPhone application (app) that allows consumers to obtain a tenant insurance quote.This makes DGI the first Canadian insurer to offer an iPhone app to get a complete tenant insurance quote, a DGI release…