Segment
Reinsurance
Only small portion of flood loss ceded to UK reinsurers
December 13, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterOnly a small proportion of the 2007 flood losses in the United Kingdom was ceded to reinsurers, while most of the damage losses were absorbed by the direct insurance industry, a Guy Carpenter report says.According to the report, Wrong Type…
What’s New: In Brief (December 12, 2007)
December 12, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterAon Re Global Fac has launched a reinsurance private clients suite model consisting of facultative insurance professionals in 15 different locations around the world.This approach to global cedants is a component of the Aon Re Global’s Integrated Capital Solutions and…
Long-range, 2008 forecast predicts 13 storms, three major hurricanes next season
December 10, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterColorado State University (CSU)’s Tropical Meteorology Project is calling for somewhat above-average Atlantic basin hurricane activity in 2008.A new report provides the team’s first extended-range forecast for the 2008 hurricane season. It anticipates 13 named storms forming in the Atlantic…
Benfield results affected by weak US dollar
December 10, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterThe U.S. dollar’s weakness and the softening of the reinsurance market significantly affected the financial results of the first half of 2007, Benfield Group Limited says. Benfield said its earlier expectation that reported trading profit for the full year would…
U.S. reinsurers report decrease in net premiums written
December 6, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterA group of 21 U.S. property and casualty reinsurers wrote US$17.9 billion of net premiums during the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared to US$19.6 billion in net premium written during the same period in 2006, according to an…
Climate change will triple number of people exposed to flooding by 2070
December 4, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterAs a result of climate change and urban development, as many as 150 million people in the world’s major cities could be reliant on flood defenses by 2070 more than three times the 40 million people who face such exposure…
What’s New: In Brief (November 30, 2007)
November 30, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterCARSTAR Automotive Canada has opened two new locations, one in London, Ont. and one in Richmond Hill, Ont. The two new franchises are part of a network of more than 115 CARSTAR locations across the country, dedicated to providing the…
Toronto firm calls for spin-off of MMC subsidiaries
November 28, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterK.J. Harrison & Partners Inc. (KJH), a Toronto-based private client investment management firm, has filed a proposal that Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) Inc., the holding company of global advice and solutions providers in risk, strategy and human capital, spin…
Don’t rely on alternative markets for terrorism coverage, Swiss Re warns
November 28, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurance-linked securities (ILS) will not be able to provide adequate coverage for terrorism risk for the foreseeable future, warns a Swiss Re report.Because the ILS market is still in its infancy and terrorism risk has limited insurability, a sufficient market…
Lloyd’s: Canada needs public-private, risk-sharing pool for terror cover
November 28, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterCanada needs a formal, public-private, risk-sharing pool to provide businesses with coverage against the risk of terrorist attacks, Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Peter Levine indicated in a prepared address to The Empire Club in Toronto.Fighting a spell of the…
Reinsurers see property lines portfolios increase, casualty lines decrease
November 26, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterReinsurers are shuffling the mix of their property and casualty lines in an environment of declining catastrophes and deteriorating rates, according to A.M. Best.As our casualty lines have shrunk, property has become a larger part of the portfolio than in…
Insurers need to re-evaluate pricing in energy sector
November 23, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterThe booming energy sector, along with the hot oil and gas construction industry, can have a serious impact on replacement costs and business interruption coverages so insurers need to ensure exposures are adequately priced, warns a Swiss Re report.In its…