News

With lingering concerns over the long-term prospects for the p&c industry, rating agency A.M. Best says it will be in no rush to issue upgrades.The rating agency notes the record profitability experienced by the U.S. and Canadian industry in 2004,…

Fairfax Financial Holdings says it has gained regulatory approval to extend the maturity date of the US$100 million note payable by Fairfax to its TIG Insurance Co. by one year. The original repayment date was June 30, 2005, but has…

The Alberta government says insurers are voluntarily filing reduced rates for private passenger auto insurance, making it unnecessary for reductions to be mandated.Insurers representing about 50% of the market have already filed for reductions of between 4%-7% with the province’s…

A review of 2004 yearend financial results reported by U.S. p&c insurers indicates last year was likely the “peak” of underwriting results in the current cycle, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings.The rating agency notes many insurers produced…

Toronto-based Lindsey Morden Group says it is selling its Dutch subsidiary Cunningham Lindsey TES b.v. The Dutch operation provides surveying and claims management services for the automotive sector in its home country of the Netherlands, as well as Belgium and…

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has issued a bulletin highlighting changes to excluded driver endorsements, which applies to policies issued or renewed as of June 1. The endorsement has been revised to include “strengthened wording to deter excluded…

Please note: due to the Easter holiday weekend, Canadian Underwriter’s Breaking News will not be published again until Tuesday, March 29. Marsh co-president Peter F. Garvey has resigned “for personal reasons”, the company announced Wednesday. Garvey had been with Marsh…

Commercial insurance pricing is likely to stabilize, with increased capacity and competition in 2005, but the high deductibles and retentions taken during the recent hard market will likely remain in place. This, according to the annual “Insurance Market Overview” published…

Overall, the January 2005 reinsurance renewal season was “much less dramatic” than might have been expected given the significant catastrophe losses seen by the industry in recent years, notes a new report by Fitch Ratings.The rating agency notes that despite…

Aon has released a “Risk in Global Filmmaking” map which shows 70 countries with “high-risk” status, as compared to 55 last year. Some of the riskiest locations are also the most popular, including Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines and South Africa,…

A new survey by A.M. Best finds the current controversy over broker compensation systems is forcing all brokers and agents to do more work, specifically in providing information, answering questions and filling out paperwork.The survey, published by Best’s Review magazine,…

While 2004 showed only a small increase in the expense ratio of U.S. p&c insurers, this result came as a surprise to rating agency Standard & Poor’s.S&P says history suggests periods of declining loss ratios are often followed by an…