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Ransomware attack
News ClaimsClaims CanadaCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesTechnology

Toronto Zoo says staff personal info stolen in ransomware cyberattack

January 18, 2024 The Canadian Press

TORONTO – The Toronto Zoo says it believes personal information of its current, former and retired employees was stolen in a ransomware cyberattack first detected earlier this month. The zoo says the information includes past earnings information, social insurance numbers,

Burst pipe during freezing weather
News BrokersClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

Brokerage sees nearly 200% increase in cold weather claims

January 18, 2024 by Jason Contant

With temperatures plummeting across Canada recently, one insurance brokerage has seen a 191% increase in cold weather-related claims in the early days of 2024 compared to 2023. “Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen almost three times as many

Insurance companies are reaching a tipping point on NatCats
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsInsurance

When will Canada’s insurers reach a tipping point over NatCats?

January 17, 2024 Philip Porado

If insurers’ recent response to drastic storm and fire losses recorded in many parts of the U.S. are any harbinger, some Canadian regions may soon grapple with a future in which standard market insurers simply walk away. It’s already happening

Man using interactive scale that shows low risk and high risk on each end
News BrokersClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesRisk

Your Canadian clients’ top business risks in 2024

January 17, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatino

Canada’s top three business risks show companies are widely, and primarily, worried about disruption to their operations, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2024.   Over half (57%) of respondents in Canada said business interruption was their number one risk,

The McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, BC.
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

More than 100 wildfires still burning after B.C.’s record wildfire season

January 17, 2024 Ashley Joannou - The Canadian Press

More than 100 wildfires are still listed as burning in British Columbia thanks to a combination of a busy wildfire season, extreme drought and generally warmer and drier conditions through December. Forrest Tower of the BC Wildfire Service said that

A city worker shovels snow in Vancouver
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsurance

Snowstorm inbound for Metro Vancouver as winter weather rages across Canada

January 16, 2024 The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER – Environment Canada says a snowstorm is expected to hit Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and beyond, bringing up to 20 centimetres of accumulation and possible freezing rain to southern British Columbia. The weather agency has issued a snowfall warning

The Red Sea conflict is delaying ships in the Port of Halifax.
News ClaimsClaims CanadaCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Tremors from Red Sea conflict start to shake Canada, with dozens of ships delayed

January 15, 2024 The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – Canadian shippers are starting to feel the strain of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, as container rates rise and boats are late to arrive.  Port data shows that two-thirds of the 43 ships slated to

Removing damaged drywall
News ClaimsInsurance

Can higher lodging costs cut restoration losses?

January 12, 2024 Philip Porado

Insurers looking to reduce home restoration claims costs should find ways to avoid tearing out walls, flooring, rugs, trim and other major construction components. One insurer’s launched a program to do just that. The approach will lead to a “1%

Firefighters battle a wildfire blaze
News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

What the industry learned from a 20-year-old wildfire

January 11, 2024 Jason Contant

The devastation of British Columbia’s Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire in 2003 was unlike anything Janna Smart had adjusted before. “It was full of raw emotion, chaos, destruction, and limited experience in handling a wildfire in a densely populated area. It

Burnt out trucks from a wildfire in Drayton Valley, Alta. in May 2023
News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeInsuranceMarkets / Coverages

Wildfires in Alberta burned 10 times more area in 2023 than the five-year average

January 5, 2024 Colette Derworiz - THE CANADIAN PRESS

Alberta Wildfire says it saw an average number of wildfires last year, but the area burned across the province set a record.   The province saw a total of 1,088 wildfires that burned about 22,000 square kilometres from March 1 to

Close up of an industrial bricklayer installing bricks to build back on a construction site
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsInsurance

Should insurers help customers build back better…or not at all?

January 4, 2024 Philip Porado

Increased severity and frequency of NatCats has Canada’s P&C insurance ecosystem seeking ways to add resilience to the claims process. This includes build back better initiatives to encourage adding things like hurricane straps or hail-resistant shingling to roof rebuilds to

A row of computer monitor workstations
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceTechnology

Cybersecurity issue delays in-person classes at Newfoundland’s Memorial University

January 3, 2024 The Canadian Press

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A Memorial University campus in western Newfoundland is the latest Canadian post-secondary institution to be grappling with what officials are calling a “cybersecurity incident.” The beginning of most in-person classes for the winter semester at Memorial’s