News
What’s New: In Brief (January 17, 2008)
January 17, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has confirmed a 3.3% increase in rates for basic insurance, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia reports. The ICBC filed an application in March 2007 concerning basic insurance rates, which the BCUC approved on…
What’s New: In Brief (January 17, 2008)
January 17, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThomas V. Ealy, Willis North America’s chief operating officer, has been appointed to lead the company’s commercial and consumer segments for both Canada and the United States. Ealy will continue in his current role until a successor is named.The commercial…
Canadian insurance industry could lose up to Cdn$1 billion in profits in 2008
January 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Canadian insurance industry’s financial health will start to decline in 2008, and there may be “financial failures this year” if companies don’t rely on solid underwriting results to bail them out, warns Chubb Insurance Company of Canada CEO Ellen…
Bill 107 could increase damage awards
January 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterBill 107, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Code, could increase damage awards, including punitive damages, Martin Smith, associate lawyer with McCague Peacock Borlack McInnis & Lloyd LLP, told ORIMS members at a luncheon seminar.Bill 107 sets out to…
What’s New: In Brief (January 16, 2008)
January 16, 2008 by Canadian Underwriter**CORRECTION** The following story contains corrected information. Gore Mutual contributed to 100 different charitable organizations and not 10, as initially reported. The Toronto Insurance Women’s Association is holding its annual wine and cheese reception on Feb. 14, 2008. The reception…
Fire chief lobbies for mandatory residential sprinkler systems
January 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario should learn from the experience in Vancouver, where installation of residential sprinkler systems contained roughly 90% of fires, and reduced average property damage to a fraction of the average fire loss per unsprinkled incident (Cdn$1,065 from Cdn$13,937), Toronto fire…
Ontario court allows plaintiff lawyers to switch class-action representatives mid-stream
January 15, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Ontario Superior Court has denied an appeal by a defendant in a class action liability case that essentially allowed a trial lawyer to switch representative plaintiffs in mid-stream.The decision raised the issue of whether defence lawyers were, as a…
IBC wants Newfoundland to remove insurance premium tax
January 15, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has reiterated its long-standing call to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador to remove taxes on insurance premiums. “The people of Newfoundland and Labrador have the highest insurance tax burden in the G8,” Don Forgeron,…
MPI reports favourable results
January 15, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterManitoba Public Insurance (MPI) reported a profit of Cdn$80.4 million for the nine months ending Nov. 30, 2007, marking an increase over the Cdn$59.1 million reported during the same period in 2006. MPI later this spring intends to return Cdn$63…
What’s New: In Brief (January 15, 2008)
January 15, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterRod Hancock has officially assumed his new role as president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO). After a career as a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario, Hancock launched a career in the insurance brokerage business…
2007 cat claims likely US$6.5 billion for P&C insurers
January 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterProperty and casualty insurers in the United States are expected to pay US$6.5 billion to homeowners and business for property losses from 23 catastrophes in 2007, according to preliminary analysis by ISO’s property claim services (PCS) unit. This is the…
What’s New: In Brief (January 14, 2008)
January 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) have launched an Ontario-wide contest, ‘Dude, Where’s My License?’ aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of doing drugs and driving. “Most teens don’t even realize that doing drugs and driving is just as…