News
Phelan to head up Munich Re American unit
January 10, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterJohn Phelan, president of Munich Reinsurance Company of Canada (MROC), will take over as head of the global company’s U.S. unit, American Re.The move is a result of the decision of current American Re president and CEO Edward J. Noonan…
Tough decisions ahead for insurers: Deloitte & Touche
January 9, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterAs 2002 gets underway, insurers will be faced with increasingly tougher decisions on risk, says consulting firm Deloitte & Touche. In its “Top Ten Global Insurance Trends”, the firm predicts insurers facing increasingly unpredictable and global catastrophes, will have to…
Post-9/11 Canadian insurance market “brutal”: Belton Report
January 9, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterTerrorist attacks south of the border are sending reverberations through the Canadian p&c industry, says analyst Ted Belton, author of the Belton Report. In his third quarter analysis, Belton notes that prior to the attacks market hardening was predicted to…
U.S. state regulators deny ISO terrorism exclusions
January 8, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterNew York’s insurance superintendent, Gregory Serio, today rejected terrorism exclusion wordings that would have pegged maximum insured losses per event at US$25 million. This rejection of the exclusion wordings, which were recently issued by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) and…
Insurers see mixed results from technology: TTP survey
January 7, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterNorth American insurers have not yet realized the promise of technology investments, but appear hopeful those benefits will be seen in the future, suggests a study by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin (TTP). The survey, which tracks 248 financial services providers, largely insurers,…
Battle between Silverstein and insurers over WTC claim heats up
January 4, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterThe court case between World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein and insurers is broadening in scope, with Silverstein asking courts to extend his suit to all of the building’s insurers, except ACE and XL. Silverstein has already filed suit against…
Canada tops U.S. in car theft rates
January 4, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterStudies by Statistics Canada and the FBI show Canada is actually outpacing the U.S. in terms of auto theft. Based on 2000 figures, Canada averages 521 vehicle thefts per 100,000 people, 26% higher than the U.S. rate of 414. This…
Insurers lose on “preferred shop” appeal
January 2, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterA decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal could limit insurers’ ability to recommend preferred collision shops to their claimants. The Court is overturning a lower court judgement from November 1999, and saying that Toronto’s new Collision Reporting Centres bylaw…
Hub sells subsidiaries to Fairfax
January 2, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterBroker consolidator Hub International Ltd. (TSE: HBG), is set to sell two of its properties to its own largest shareholder. U.S.-based underwriting subsidiaries Old Lyme Insurance Company of Rhode Island and Old Lyme Insurance Company Ltd. (“Old Lyme”) will be…
Canadian Underwriter and canadianunderwriter.ca Launch Free Insurance News Alert Service
January 1, 2002 by Canadian UnderwriterWelcome to your first edition of Canadian Underwriter magazine and canadianunderwriter.ca’s new Email News Alert Service for the Insurance Industry, called “At Your Personal Request”. This FREE Breaking News Alert Service will keep the market informed of the latest Insurance…
No US terror pool in place before yearend
December 21, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterWith the U.S. Congress adjourning for the year, there will be no terrorism risk pool in place as insurers head into the new year, when most commercial policies come up for renewal. Congress gave up the ghost when the U.S.…
Global catastrophes top US$115 billion, study reveals
December 21, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterOn a worldwide scale, catastrophes both man-made and natural resulted in losses of more than US$115 billion, costing insurers more than US$32 billion, in 2001, says a study from Swiss Re. The US$115 billion figure is three times that of…