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Primary Insurer Strategies 2005: Cycle Management

December 1, 2004 Sean van Zyl, Editor

From “bust to boom” is how many insurer CEOs regard the financial landscape of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry over the past two years. And, with 2004 likely to be the peak year of profitability for the primary insurance sector, many insurer CEOs expect that the coming 12 months will see an overall weakening of the bottom-line as claims frequency and costs – particularly that of the auto product – begin to escalate after two years of a declining trend. Lost consumer confidence, and the negative political and media attention generated in the wake of the dramatic coverage price adjustments implemented by companies over the past two years, will likely remain a challenge in 2005, particularly in light of the controversy sparked by the Spitzer investigation into broker remuneration arrangements, predict insurer CEOs in CU’s latest “primary insurer strategies” annual market review.

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Getting Beyond “Recovery”

November 1, 2004 Joel Baker

After three years of hard market conditions, many players in the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry have put their existential woes behind them. Most balance sheets have been mended, risk-adjusted capital ratios have improved and rating agencies have backed off.

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Protecting the Proctectors Fiduciary Liability Coverage

September 1, 2004 Rob Bickerton

“Every right implies a responsibility – every opportunity, an obligation… Every possession – a duty.” – John Rockefeller. Is your employer-sponsored retirement plan safe? Are those you have entrusted with the responsibility to look after your retirement funds doing their duty?

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How Bad Can a 5% Rate Reduction Really Be?

May 1, 2004 Brian Gray

How bad can a 5% rate reduction really be? The first issue is leverage. Imagine a mythical commercial lines insurer operating with a 10% margin. For every $100 in premium, the combination of underwriting and investment income, net of operating…

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Tough Times for Main Street

March 1, 2004 by Canadian Underwriter

Premium hikes and availability issues have prompted the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to call for a federal review of the property and casualty insurance industry. But, insurers and brokers say solutions for small businesses should be market-driven, not political. They also contend that the market is working.

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CICMA/CIAA Joint Conference: Testing the Limits

March 1, 2004 Vikki Spencer

As claims managers and adjusters entered the new year they faced tough federal privacy legislation which presented a host of unknown factors to their work environment: public reaction, professional limitations, and whether the industry’s existing claims handling standards would hold…

Feature Mergers and Aqcuisitions

IBAO 2003 Convention: A Crises of Credibility

December 1, 2003 Vikki Spencer and Sean van Zyl

The recently held Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) annual convention hosted a panel of primary insurer CEOs who were put before the firing line of the 500-plus audience of mostly independent brokers who felt that the “hard market” has brought on an unnecessarily “hard attitude” by insurers in their relationship with the brokerage community. While defending the “strength” of company relations with brokers, the CEOs admit that some actions taken by insurers during the latest hard market in terms of cutting broker contracts and forcing “standard risks” into the non-standard market may have been overly severe – the cost being a loss of faith in insurance companies from brokers to consumers.

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Canadian Risk Managers: Change in the Air

November 1, 2003 Vikki Spencer

Three years ago, risk managers were focused on how to promote their profession. Now, for better or worse, risk management is center stage. But, what will risk managers do with their newfound fame? At this year’s RIMS Canada conference, risk managers “took the bull by the horns” and talked about how to make the most out of the intense pressure they are currently under, to finally advance the cause of enterprise risk management in their organizations.

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Curtain Call? On The Hard Market

September 1, 2003 Vikki Spencer

Waiting in the wings like nervous actors on opening night, risk managers are preparing for the upcoming insurance renewal season, unsure of the reception before them. Over recent years they have received a less than warm greeting from underwriters. But, recent surveys of the commercial insurance marketplace suggest that there may well be a “turning point” near – or at the least a “moderation” of the hard market which has dictated pricing for the last two years. However, CU’s annual roundup of Canadian risk management views indicates that the hard market is far from over, although its intensity has shifted from property to casualty/liability lines. And, in light of recent catastrophes from SARS to the “blackout of 2003”, the pressure from corporate boardrooms has increased on risk managers.

Feature Mergers and Aqcuisitions

“New School” Adjusting

July 1, 2003 Vikki Spencer

Adjusting may be a time-honored profession, but it is one facing an intense period of transition. New privacy rules, varied and changing auto insurance systems, the rise of class actions and growing concern with potential bad faith lawsuits. As if…

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Insight: The Cost of SARS

June 1, 2003 Craig Harris

The spread of highly contagious atypical pneumonia to Canada, particularly Toronto, caused huge economic repercussions in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. What is the impact on the insurance sector?

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Unplugged: ASPs lighten IT burden

February 1, 2003 Chris Shannahan, vice president, Fair, Isaac and Co.

Today insurers spend an average 4% to 8% of their annual budgets on technology – a relatively small investment compared to that of other industries. In the past year, with insurance companies being hard hit by unexpected terrorist-related claims, increasing reinsurance costs, and decreasing income from investments, beleaguered carriers are demanding more returns from their precious IT dollars. Many insurers are opting for the flexibility and agility offered by hosted ASPs (application service providers), a form of IT and application outsourcing.