News
How Guidewire is changing its approach to the market
September 10, 2018 by Greg MeckbachGuidewire Software Inc. is “not interested” in building a services organization and is touting its new analytics and data services group to insurance buyers. The new analytics and data services group – formed after the acquisition in 2017 of modelling…
Canada sees info ‘gaps’ about dangerous goods moving through North
September 10, 2018 by The Canadian PressOTTAWA – The federal government says it doesn’t know enough about how, when and where dangerous goods move through the Canadian North, highlighting the potential risks of a major spill or other disaster. As a result, Transport Canada acknowledges the…
Did settling soil or sudden water leak cause this home damage?
September 8, 2018 by Greg MeckbachA disputed home insurance claim could go to trial because the carrier has accessed 22-year-old court records from the claimant’s divorce. In September, 2009, Douglas Cotter noticed the patio along the front of his Penticton, British Columbia home had shifted.…
Ontario already near $1 billion in insured damage in 2018
September 8, 2018 by Jason ContantWith almost three months left in the year, severe weather in Ontario alone has already caused almost $1 billion in insured damage, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported Friday. One of the most recent events occurred Aug. 7, when a…
Top 3 measures to mitigate home flood risk
September 7, 2018 by Greg MeckbachYour book of business could have lower water losses if you give homeowner clients just three pieces of advice. First, homeowners should figure out whether their home actually has a backwater valve, said Cheryl Evans, director of the home flood…
Where Canada ranks worldwide in cyber breaches
September 7, 2018 by Jason ContantThe importance of obtaining cyber insurance has again hit home, following the release of a report that found by mid-2018, Canada was the country with the third most cyber incidents in the world and ninth most exposed records. Last month,…
B.C. cancels wildfire state of emergency, thousands still evacuated
September 7, 2018 by The Canadian PressVICTORIA – The British Columbia government has cancelled the state of emergency it declared in August when hundreds of wildfires engulfed the province. The government says cooler weather and progress in containing the forest fires means the powers granted under…
Will consumers soon be able to access policy documents electronically?
September 6, 2018 by Jason ContantHow close is the industry to consistently allowing consumers to access insurance documents electronically, such as by email? “It’s a bit of a hodge podge out there at the moment,” Colin Simpson, CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario…
Summer storms in this Canadian region cost over $200 million in insured damage
September 6, 2018 by Jason ContantSummer storms across the Prairies have caused more than $200 million in insured damage so far this year. This brings total weather-related insured damage on the Prairies to $464 million since May 2017. The numbers from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification…
The ‘touchy topic’ in Canadian home insurance
September 6, 2018 by Greg MeckbachLack of flood coverage in high-risk areas raises the controversial question of whether owners of high-risk properties should have their insurance premiums subsidized. Overland flood coverage was generally unavailable on home insurance policies in Canada until 2015. Now dozens of…
Regulation suppressing required auto insurance rate increases
September 6, 2018 by Greg MeckbachSome Canadian auto insurers would hike rates even further if provincial bureaucrats would let them, a New Jersey-based analyst said Wednesday at A.M. Best’s 2018 Insurance Market Briefing-Canada in Toronto. In a recent report, A.M. Best Company Inc. warned of…
Debris blown into air as explosions and fire rock Alberta industrial park
September 6, 2018 by The Canadian PressNISKU, Alta. – Explosions and large flames lit up the night sky when a fire broke out at a recycling business in an industrial park south of Edmonton. The blaze erupted late Wednesday night at a Nisku-area company that recycles…