Segment
P&C Companies
How insurers can manage losses as NatCat events ramp up
December 18, 2023 Philip PoradoWhatever’s driving increasingly devastating storms over the past decade, one thing is certain — insurers have watched NatCat losses ramp up over the past decade. “It used to be an unusual year where you’d have more than a billion dollars…
Intact Insurance names president
December 15, 2023 by Jason ContantIntact Financial Corporation (IFC) has appointed Anne Fortin as president of Intact Insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2024. In her new role, Fortin will have responsibility for the Quebec, West, Ontario and Atlantic divisions of Intact Insurance, the insurer said in…
Do auto clients ask for trouble by hiking deductibles?
December 15, 2023 Philip PoradoDuring the recent renewal cycle, many personal auto customers opted to increase their deductibles to reduce their annual premiums. Now, those decisions are leading customers who’ve been in accidents to delay pursuing claims because they don’t have enough cash on…
Can Canada’s P&C industry catch up to NatCats?
December 14, 2023 Philip PoradoIn much of Nova Scotia, last summer was hell. The Tantallon wildfire in May and June generated $165 million in insured damage, mostly for personal property, by the time the flames went out July 4. In a normal year, residents…
How COVID-19’s wane could change commercial real estate coverage
December 13, 2023 Philip PoradoReal estate pundits, including panellists at a Columbia University School of Business discussion early this year, are sounding the alarm about North America’s downtown cores. They’re predicting employees will shun return-to-office mandates, sparking tenancy death spirals for commercial lessors that…
MGA acquires Echelon’s surety division
December 11, 2023 by Jason ContantMontreal-based managing general agency REVAU Advanced Underwriting Inc. has acquired Echelon Insurance’s surety division. “This acquisition aligns with REVAU’s focus on expanding its existing surety operations across Canada,” the MGA said in a press release Monday. “The teams’ shared values,…
How new vehicle tech is changing the auto theft equation
December 11, 2023 Philip PoradoThere’s a small upside to Canada’s current auto theft wave, industry sources have told Canadian Underwriter. Thieves’ adoption of technologies that can capture vehicle key fob signals means criminals no longer need to resort to violent methods like carjacking to…
Police, insurers collaborate to dismantle auto theft ring
November 30, 2023 by Jason ContantOntario’s Peel Regional Police (PRP) in collaboration with Équité Association have prevented more than $350,000 of insurance fraud by disrupting and dismantling an auto theft ring, the southern Ontario police force reported Wednesday. As part of the investigation dubbed Project…
Are short-term renters covered by condo insurance?
November 29, 2023 Philip PoradoAn Airbnb renter can be considered an insured under a strata’s insurance policy but may not necessarily rely on other liability protections in a strata’s bylaws, a B.C. Supreme Court justice determined in Strata Plan VR 2213 v Schappert, 2023…
Addressing a shortage of qualified commercial underwriters
November 28, 2023 Alyssa Di SabatinoNicholas Hudescu is a rarity in the insurance industry. The 23-year-old attended Wilfrid Laurier University, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree specializing in insurance and risk management. While there, he joined the student-run Laurier Insurance and Risk Association (LIRA)…
Can car dealerships manage insurance risks from vehicle thefts?
November 27, 2023 Philip PoradoCar thefts began rising across Canada in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been climbing ever since – fuelled by organized crime rings using new technologies to steal key fob codes and take vehicles while their owners are asleep.…
These red flags may waive a brokerage buyer off a deal
November 24, 2023 David GambrillRising interest rates are changing the brokerage M&A environment and giving sellers a shorter timeline to produce the projected earnings. And chances are, if they haven’t produced reliable returns already, the buyers may balk on a purchase, said Yan Charbonneau,…