Segment
Risk Management
What’s New: In Brief (May 20, 2008)
May 20, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterPolicy Works has launched the first commercial management system that allows brokers to exchange commercial-lines data electronically with four insurers.With the company’s eMarketing version 6.2, brokers can upload and download commercial policy and quotation information with ING Insurance Company of…
What’s New: In Brief (May 16, 2008)
May 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is calling for a national action plan to upgrade water and sewage infrastructure across Canada. The country’s critical infrastructure, particularly water and sewage systems, were built according to weather pattern assumptions that have become totally…
PartnerRe report assesses strengths, weaknesses of risk transfer mechanisms
May 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterThe choice of whether to use traditional reinsurance or capital markets to transfer risk “will depend on careful consideration of a number of different factors, including the risk, size of insurer and ability to absorb basis risk,” PartnerRe says in…
Subprime financial losses expected to be huge, but mitigating factors may temper insurance losses
May 16, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterProjected to be bigger in scope than the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the subprime mortgage and credit derivative fiasco currently embroiling the United States is merely in its infancy, panelists told people attending…
Zurich reports US$1.4 billion profit in Q1
May 15, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterZurich Financial Services Group reported a net income of US$1.4 billion, an increase of 3% in its 2008 Q1 earnings over 2007 Q1.The general insurance unit of the company saw a 10% increase in gross written premiums and policy fees,…
Earthquake in China causes estimated US$10 to US$20 billion in property damage
May 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterA 7.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked China on May 12 is estimated to have caused damage losses ranging between US$10 and $20 billion, according to catastrophe modelers. Risk Management Solutions (RMS) estimates property losses to be between US$10 and US$15 billion,…
Tough winter conditions batter ING Canada’s 2008 Q1 results
May 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterRecord snowfalls and severe winter storms in central Canada caused ING Canada’s 2008 Q1 profit to shrink from Cdn$126.2 million down to Cdn$23 million. ING Canada also cited lower operating income and declines in equity markets as factors in its…
Pitfalls in soft market caused by blind optimism and chasing quarterly profits
May 14, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterUnwarranted optimism about claims trends and immense pressure to meet quarterly profit targets are two of the primary reasons insurers find themselves in trouble during a soft market, said George Cooke, president and CEO of the Dominion General Insurance Company…
‘Liability’ crisis may be looming, expected to raise D&O premiums
May 13, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterIf businesses do not start preparing now for expanding litigation exposures, they could face a future liability crisis, Lloyd’s warns. Dealing with liability risk consumes roughly 13% of a board’s time, and this is expected to increase further over the…
First American launches flood catastrophe model in U.S., explores Canadian opportunities
May 13, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterFirst American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), in partnership with Swiss Re, has launched a flood catastrophe model for the U.S. market that is designed to allow insurers to measure flood exposures at the portfolio, policy and property level.First American Corporation confirmed…
Controversial Guaranteed Replacement Cost (GRC) coverage to be extended to commercial lines
May 12, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterAt a time when some B.C. insurers believe eliminating guaranteed replacement cost (GRC) coverage would eradicate under-valuation of personal lines homeowners policies, ING Insurance Company of Canada announced it is piloting a project to introduce GRC coverage for commercial lines…
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal allows appeal that is “cannibalization” of original proceedings
May 12, 2008 by Canadian UnderwriterSaskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal to make changes to a statement of claim after the expiry of the applicable limitation period.The proposed amendments involve a complete “cannibalization of the original proceedings” in The Insurance Company of the…