News

It’s been more than two years since Economical Insurance’s mutual policyholders voted in favour of demutualization and it’s not clear how much longer the process will take – assuming it happens at all. “This process was much more complex and…

The wind storm that struck Ontario and Quebec on May 4 and 5 will significantly test the capacity of insurers, independent adjusters, call centres and restoration contractors, Crawford and Company (Canada) Inc. told Canadian Underwriter Monday. Generally speaking, wind claims…

A B.C. broker who believed he was leaving one agency for another with his own book of business received a $2,500 fine for a privacy breach when he took a spreadsheet of his clients’ information with him. Before joining his…

Gerry Hooper, chair of the board of Economical Insurance from 2005 through 2016, has retired from the board of directors of Economical and is now chairman emeritus, officials with the property and casualty insurer said Monday. Hooper, a former executive…

SAINT JOHN, N.B. – For 48 years, Jerry McFarland’s rustic cottage on New Brunswick’s Grand Lake was a cherished refuge for family and friends, where precious summertime memories were carefully recorded in well-worn journals. Today, McFarland’s cottage is in ruins,…

A law intended to reduce the risk of identity theft, which is covered under some home insurance policies, is one step closer to reality in Ontario. Bill 8, the Access to Consumer Credit Reports and Elevator Availability Act, passed third…

Applied Systems’ new IVANS Exchange online tool for Canadian brokers will include a feature that allows caching and housing of data in a broker management system (BMS) for 90 days. This allows brokerages to keep the data, even if their…

The Co-operators announced Monday that homeowners in British Columbia and Nova Scotia can now be insured for storm surge damage, calling the coverage the first and only of its kind in Canada. Storm surges are waves caused by storms and…

A class-action lawsuit by shareholders against five directors and officers of a Vancouver-based coal mining firm may reach the Supreme Court of Canada. Directors and officers are at risk of being sued by shareholders if the company’s share price drops;…

Canadian Broker Network (CBN), a network of independent insurance brokers, has sold managing general agent South Western Insurance Group Limited (SWG) to Three Holdings Inc. CBN said the transaction will allow its member brokerages to focus their efforts on creating…

QUEBEC – A glitch in the new national public alert system for mobile devices affected the entire province of Quebec on Monday, said a CRTC spokeswoman. The problem did not originate with cellphone service providers but appears to have occurred…

The historic ice storm in Ontario and Quebec in mid-April could cost the insurance industry more than $150 million in damage claims, Verisk Analytics Inc.’s Property Claim Services unit reported Thursday. PCS’s preliminary estimate of a catastrophe event April 14-16…