Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is asking the Public Utilities Board (PUB) to approve a 2.5% increase to its premium base, the first such increase in five years.In filing its annual report with the government, MPI notes that rising claims costs…
Fairfax subsidiary Markel is selling its U.K. auto portfolio to Brit Insurance Ltd. Markel International is selling the portfolio that includes fleet, self drive hire (rental) and taxi business. In total, the book is worth about 16.25 million pounds in…
Insurers are applauding the news that New Brunswick will cap “pain and suffering” awards for minor injuries as a result of auto accidents. The announcement follows an intense election in that province, where rising auto insurance rates become a key…
The Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) has asked all three political parties in New Brunswick to implement public auto insurance in New Brunswick.The plan calls for a system based on that of the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) as a…
The previously announced private debt placement by Hub International Ltd. (TSX, NYSE: HBG) has been completed. The US$65 million in principal of unsecured senior notes were sold in the U.S. to private institutional buyers.“Net proceeds of the sale of the…
Despite market pressures, North American insurers will spend 2% more on information technology (IT) in 2003, says a new report from Forrester Research’s Giga Information Group.The survey of insurance chief information officers (CIOs) shows that improving employee efficiency, agent efficiency…
A new poll commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) suggests Nova Scotians would support limits on “pain and suffering” compensation for auto accident victims if it leads to lower premiums.The poll, which saw 1008 residents aged 16 or…
The association representing risk managers headed to Capital Hill this week to discuss the need for tort reform in the U.S.In the fifth annual “RIMS on the Hill”, Risk and Insurance Management Society leaders are meeting with legislators on a…
Insurers bounced strongly back into profitability for the first quarter of this year, with net earnings over three and a half times higher at $396 million compared with the $108 million reported for the same period in 2002, according to…
A negative outlook persists for the global reinsurance industry, says rating agency Standard & Poor’s. In it’s “Global Reinsurance Outlook”, S&P notes that despite rising premiums, long-tail losses, investment declines and the decision by some companies to exit reinsurance continue…
General insurance underwriters analyze a variety of important factors in determining the risk of an applicant. Determining underwriting risk is a tricky science that involves a number of factors before the appropriate coverages are allowed and rates defined. Apart from determining the level of insurance permitted and priced, underwriters must also decide if the risk should be taken at all. Electronic data transmission and storage has cultivated new databases that should be used as criteria in assessing underwriting risks.
This year’s annual general meeting and conference of the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia (IBABC), which was recently held in Victoria, focused on implementation of increased competition in the province’s optional auto insurance marketplace. Also included in the association’s top priorities in the year ahead is facilitating increased underwriting capacity in commercial lines, where the province’s brokers have most experienced the effect of the “hard market” cycle.