Uber-style platform for expediting appraisals now in Canada
April 16, 2019 by David GambrillAn Uber-style platform to expedite home and auto claims appraisals has made its way into Canada. Offered by WeGoLook, the online and mobile sharing-economy platform provides personalized, onsite data capture for inspections and low-complexity services across the United States. Now…
What your auto client may like about Ontario budget
April 15, 2019 by Greg MeckbachSome Ontario motorists would like an auto insurance system that lets carriers offer lower rates to clients who use the carriers’ preferred collision repair or healthcare facilities, an Insurance Bureau of Canada official suggests. In its budget document tabled April…
Is the reserve release tank running on empty?
April 15, 2019 by David GambrillThe Canadian property and casualty industry saw its reserve releases contract in 2018 to their lowest level in seven years, according to MSA’s Q4 2018 Quarterly Outlook. Expressed as a percentage of loss development margin, reserve releases last year amounted…
What the Ontario budget says about auto insurance
April 12, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCredit scores could soon be used as one factor in determining Ontario auto rates, and the province plans to double coverage for catastrophic impairment, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli suggested in the budget document tabled Thursday. “Drivers should have the choice…
How usage-based insurance affects this carrier’s profits
April 12, 2019 by Greg MeckbachPembridge Insurance Company is asking brokers in four provinces to tell auto clients how much they could save by using a usage-based insurance app. Some motorists do not want usage-based insurance, Bob Tisdale, president of Pembridge, said Friday in an…
How the industry is tackling insurance fraud
April 12, 2019 by Jason ContantInsurers need to work with regulators and other carriers to help fight the growing problem of insurance fraud, industry professionals say. Industry statistics show that insurance fraud costs $1.6 billion each year in Ontario alone. “As government reflects on the…
How Aviva is simplifying its claims process
April 10, 2019 by Jason ContantAviva Canada has worked with provincial regulators to simplify its products and the claims process for customers. “We’ve done that specifically for [accident benefits], where we got a lot of feedback from customers that the forms were confusing, they didn’t…
Insurers object to characterization of Ontario auto as “profitable”
April 9, 2019 by David GambrillCanada’s home, auto and business insurers are objecting to a recent characterization of Ontario’s auto insurance regime as “profitable.” “The current trends are unsustainable for both drivers and insurance companies,” Insurance Bureau of Canada vice president of Ontario Kim Donaldson…
Two winter storms, one $70-million claims bill for insurers
April 9, 2019 by David GambrillThe busy catastrophe season in Canada thus far is continuing with no signs of slowing down. Two severe weather storms in Ontario this year, one in February and one in March, cost insurers more than $70 million in insured damage,…
Why insurers are not calling it a hard market
April 5, 2019 by Greg MeckbachYour clients may be paying higher rates but hard market may not be the right way to describe it, speakers suggested at a recent insurance conference. “I don’t personally know if I would call it a hard market yet. What…
Why this insurer is spending $20 million on bricks-and-mortar stores
April 4, 2019 by Greg MeckbachWhen CAA Insurance clients want to visit an agent in person, company officials want those clients to feel as if they are in a home rather than an office. This is one reason CAA Club Group has spent $8 million…
CU Total Loss Series: How to reduce auto total loss cycle times by a week
April 3, 2019 by David GambrillMeet Jane Doe, a total loss survivor. The front end of her car was demolished when she tried to turn left at a busy intersection. She was hit by a driver who was talking on his cell phone while running…