Segment
Risk Management
Fairfax sees strong investment gains in 2008 Q3
October 31, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterFairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX: FFH) reported a 2008 Q3 net profit of US$467.6 million, an increase from 2007 Q3’s profit of US$253.2 million.These Q3 results include net gains on investments of US$856.8 million and US$274.6 million of net catastrophe…
Market turmoil ‘exacerbating’ rate erosion in specialty p&c lines
October 30, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterPricing in the property and casualty commercial specialty lines continues to soften in spite of damages wrought by Hurricane Ike and recent market turmoil, attendees of an A.M. Best Webinar heard.Anthony Markel, vice chairman of the Markel Insurance Group, sat…
U.S. experiences most expensive Q3 property losses in a decade
October 29, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated US$11.5 billion for Q3 property losses, marking the fourth-largest insured property loss in a Q3 since 1998, according to ISO’s Property Claims Services.PCS estimates the 11 catastrophes of…
What’s New: In Brief (October 29, 2008)
October 29, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterEarl Cameron has been appointed acting president and CEO of SGI, effective Nov.1.Cameron is currently the vice president, claims and salvage, with SGI. He has been with the insurer for 35 years.He moves into the position following the resignation of…
Survey finds gap between employment practice liability coverage and events
October 28, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterOnly 22% of 769 North American companies surveyed had employment practice liability policies, even though 34% of firms experienced and 25% expected to face in the future a management liability event, a Chubb survey found.The ‘2007 Chubb Private Company Risk…
What’s New: In Brief (October 27, 2008)
October 27, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterDavid Brosnan has been appointed CEO of ACE Canada, contingent upon obtaining a work permit from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.Karen Barkley will now serve as COO of ACE Canada and president of ACE Canada’s property and casualty business, a release…
Lower net income could signal turn in pricing cycle
October 24, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterLower insurance industry net income may signal a turn in the insurance pricing cycle, according to a RIMS Benchmark Survey. This is despite the failure of two major hurricanes and a global credit crunch to derail the soft commercial insurance…
U.S. bond insurers change gears in volatile market
October 17, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. bond insurers, which collectively underwrote at least US$1 billion of par in the first half of 2008, are refocusing their strategies towards the lower-risk public finance market in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis, according to Standard &…
Other multiline insurers likely to teeter on brink of bankruptcy: survey finds
October 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterAmerican International Group (AIG) will not be the only major, multi-line insurance group to experience trouble as a result of market dislocation, A.M. Best survey respondents predict. A.M. Best surveyed more than 550 insurance industry professionals via email. Seventy-two per…
Risk managers advised to manage insurance costs to leverage working capital
October 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterOrganizations can release working capital by reducing insurance and risk costs, while managing changing risk factors, a Marsh briefing suggests.These changing risk factors may include supplier liquidity, customer default and increasing production and transportation overheads.In ‘Improving Working Capital and Business…
PartnerRe predicts its 2008 Q3 combined ratio will be 95-96%
October 10, 2008 by Canadian Underwriter**CLARIFICATION** PartnerRe was earlier reported to have predicted an industry combined ratio of between 95-96%, when in fact the company was predicting its own combined ratio. PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) predicts its 2008 Q3 combined ratio (COR) will be 95-96%,…
Loss ratios increase for Saskatchewan hail, auto insurers
October 9, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterSaskatchewan non-life insurers saw their loss ratios increase 6.4% in 2007, according to statistics recently released by the provincial insurance regulator.In total, Saskatchewan’s non-life insurance industry showed a loss ratio of 64.8% in 2007, up from 60.9% in 2006.Hail insurance…