Segment
Risk Management
Insurer to pay costs in “mixed” defence, even if they relate to uninsured claims
October 8, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterIn a lawsuit involving “mixed claims,” some of which are insured under a policy and some of which are not, the costs of defending a lawsuit should be apportioned between an insurer and an insured based on the operative language…
BFL Canada joins forces with Kansas City broker Lockton
October 8, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterBFL Canada and Kansas City-based Lockton have formed an alliance to serve clients in North America. BFL Canada is Canada’s largest independent commercial insurance broker and Lockton is the world’s largest privately held insurance broker, according to a news release…
Risk managers predict both hard and soft markets arising out of financial crisis
October 8, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe cascading financial services crisis in the United States has risk managers bracing for a hard market, although some suggest the crisis may actually prolong the current soft market, participants of a Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Webinar heard.Janice…
New York insurance regulator calls for regulation of credit default swap market
October 7, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department has called on the United States federal government to regulate the credit default swap (CDS) market, after CDS played a major role in the financial unravelling of the American International Group…
Combined ratios in U.S. property and casualty likely to break 100% by year-end
October 7, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterA.M. Best Co. has revised its year-end projections for the U.S. property and casualty industry, noting the adjusted combined ratios for the overall and individual segments of the industry will each likely break the 100% mark.A.M. Best believes the overall…
Canadians homes and businesses estimated to be underinsured by Cdn$11 billion
October 6, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterAbout 80% of Canadian houses today are undervalued by 27%, which hasn’t changed since 1995, according to Peter Wells, president of Marshall & Swift/Boeck (M&S/B), a provider of building cost technologies.In addition, 60% of commercial buildings are undervalued by 40%.In…
Non-cancellable broker contracts needed for market stability
October 6, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterIn order to achieve market stability, insurers and brokers should consider non-cancellable broker-partner contracts, Paul Martin, president and chief operating officer of KRG Insurance Group, told delegates of the National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC) in Ottawa-Gatineau, Que.Martin spoke as…
Canadian CROs earn less than American counterparts
September 30, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterAverage base salaries of American chief risk officers (CROs) outpace those of their Canadian counterparts by roughly $30,000, reports the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s Risk Management Compensation Survey.The 2008 survey presents compensation data for 11 different positions; for the…
AIG considers selling its 59% stake in Transatlantic Holdings Inc.
September 29, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterTransatlantic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TRH) has established a special committee to evaluate proposals received from American International Group Inc. (“AIG”) related to the possible sale of AIG’s 59% common stock interest in the company.Commenting on these actions, Robert F. Orlich,…
Hurricane Kyle fizzles out over New Brunswick
September 29, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterHurricane Kyle made landfall at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on the evening of Sept. 28 as a Category 1 storm, but was quickly downgraded to a post-tropical low and failed to cause any serious damage, reports the Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC).The…
Boom in extractive industries could lead to skewed asset valuations: Swiss Re
September 24, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterA boom in the extractive industries including the mining and oil and gas sectors has created new challenges for the insurance industry, including asset evaluations and determining true business interruption (BI) numbers.“Reinstatement costs [are] often underestimated, leading to insufficient premium…
Expressing empathy immediately is key to riding out a crisis, risk managers told
September 23, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterWhen faced with a crisis endangering a company’s reputation, it is vital for the spokesperson of that organization to immediately express empathy and then stress what the organization is doing at that moment to investigate and remedy the situation. The…