News
Government agency waits two months to inform stakeholders of data breach
June 5, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThousands of Prairie farmers were notified, two months after the fact, that their personal and financial information was the subject of a data breach, the Winnipeg Sun has reported.Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada sent out letters to nearly 32,000 canola producers…
What’s New: In Brief (June 04, 2008)
June 4, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterManitoba Public Insurance has selected FINEOS Claims to manage claims for bodily injury resulting from road accidents. “Improving efficiencies in claims processing underpins our strategy to maintain and improve the highest levels of claimant satisfaction for Manitobans,” Dan Guimond, vice-president…
Supreme Court’s 2007 rulings on “indirect use of an auto” favour ING in Alberta Court of Appeal
June 4, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in the twin 2007 cases of Herbison and Vytlingham have already changed the fate of a case in the Court of Appeal in Alberta.The Court of Appeal of Alberta has granted the appeal of…
U.S. regulators amend agreement with Aon over contingency fees
June 4, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. insurance industry regulators have reached an agreement with Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC), permitting companies acquired by Aon to continue to accept contingent commissions for three years following their acquisition. Such use of contingent commissions would be phased out after…
Use of investigation firms sparks privacy complaints against insurers
June 4, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterComplaints against the insurance industry filed with the federal privacy commissioner increasingly involve the covert collection of personal information by private investigation firms, the commissioner said in her annual report.Of the 350 complaints filed with the Office of the Privacy…
Property exclusion should have specified “equipment,” Appeal Court rules
June 3, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterBy referring vaguely to “property” damage, an exclusion contained in a marina’s all-risks insurance policy was inoperable because the exclusion didn’t specifically refer to the marina’s “equipment,” the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled.The Appeal Court thus rejected the appeal…
What’s New: In Brief (June 03, 2008)
June 3, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterFM Global, a commercial and industrial property insurer, has decided to release thousands of pages of previously exclusive property loss prevention engineering guidelines at no cost.FM Global has decided to issue these data sheets at no extra cost because doing…
FSCO calls for submissions for review of Insurance Act
June 3, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has requested submissions from stakeholders to assist with its review of part VI of the Insurance Act dealing with automobile insurance. The deadline for submissions is July 14, 2008.The review is being conducted…
What’s New: In Brief (June 03, 2008)
June 3, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterAviva plc has opened its North American Region office in Chicago, Ill., one of four regional centres for the company’s global operations.The new office will serve as headquarters for its North American executive team functions, a release says. These functions…
TSR moderates its 2008 hurricane season forecast
June 2, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterWith the 2008 hurricane season officially underway, forecaster Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) is predicting Atlantic basin and U.S. land-falling hurricane activity in 2008 will be slightly (20%) above the long-term (1950-2007) norm. This updates the 35% above-norm prediction TSR issued…
What’s New: In Brief (June 02, 2008)
June 2, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterCooper Gay has purchased Heath Lambert’s aviation, FSJ (UK wholesale) and reinsurance divisions as of May 31. Commercial discussions are ongoing with regards to the sale of Heath Lambert’s international wholesale division, Global Business Solutions (GBS), according to a Heath…
U.S. reinsurers wrote more premium in 2008 Q1, but combined ratios also up
June 2, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. reinsurers are writing more premiums and increasing policyholders’ surplus in 2008 Q1, but their loss ratios are also rising, as are there combined ratios.The Reinsurance Association of America (RAA) posted the quarterly results of about 20 property and casualty…