News

Given that market uncertainty could potentially continue well into 2010, insurers need to focus on preserving capital in order to remain resilient, according to Swiss Re economists. Reinsurers’ prices are expected to harden, partly because alternative capacity is no longer…

A hard market is nearing, according to an Aon Benfield report.“In sum, the end of the soft market in insurance has arrived,” Evan Greenberg, chairman of ACE, noted in the report, Bermuda Quarterly 9M 2008 Bittersweet. A combination of higher…

Canada’s insurance industry is broadly supporting three principles for managing conflicts of interest proposed by the country’s insurance market conduct regulator in 2006, a survey has found.These principles include ensuring:•    the priority of a client’s interest;•    disclosure of conflicts or…

The U.S. property and casualty composite rate index for Nov. 2008 maintained single-digit premium reductions (9%) generated in October, according to MarketScout’s Market Barometer. Relative to other lines, commercial property and general liability rates were reduced the most in November…

The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Canadian National Railway v. Royal and SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada may not be as favourable to insureds as initially portrayed, according to an information bulletin from Ogilvy Renault LLP. “While at first…

Women In Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) Ontario has announced its goal to field 50 teams in the 2009 Canadian Cancer Society’s ‘Relay for Life.’The Ontario Relay for Life is a 12-hour non-competitive relay on June 19, 2009. It takes place…

Surety lines in the Canadian reinsurance market are showing definite signs of hardening, Andre Fredette, senior vice president, general manager, CCR Canada, told delegates of an Ontario Risk and Insurance Management Society (ORIMS) seminar.The seminar, ‘Insurance Market in Canada Update’…

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings (FSR) of A- (Excellent) of Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada (RSA Canada) and Quebec Assurance Company. A.M. Best also has upgraded the FSR to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good)…

The current economic and political climate will likely lead to increased losses for insurance carriers, and potential developments in directors and officers (D&O) litigation, said Lynn Oldfield, president of AIG Commercial Insurance Company of Canada.Oldfield spoke at the Ontario Risk…

Canadian Claims Services Inc. (CCS), a new full service independent adjusting company is planning to launch in Alberta on Jan. 5, 2009. CCS will be providing adjusting services through a network of small- to medium-sized adjusting firms, according to a…

Federally regulated insurance companies that are about to sign long-term agreements with foreign-based reinsurers — i.e. agreements that extend beyond 2010 — should be aware of the potential impact that changes to Part XIII might have on capital/asset credit eligibility,…

The trend in outsourcing the manufacturing of non-invasive medical devices could introduce new risk exposures, a Lloyd’s report warns.The long-tail risk exposures for invasive medical devices could also increase due to expanding knowledge of technologies that were implemented years ago,…