Kingsway sets quarterly record
June 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterSpecialty risk auto insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSE: KFS) delivered a sterling 13.1% return on equity for the first quarter of this year. Net income for the latest reporting period rose 138% year-on-year to $10.6 million (1st quarter 2000:…
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
May 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerA recent decision by the Newfoundland Public Utilities Board has created the platform for a “sure victory” for the property and casualty insurance industry’s Facility Association (FA). This development has also produced a heady start for Stan Griffin, the current…
Collision Repair: Fast Lane to the Future
May 1, 2001 Sam Malatesta, vice president marketing & insurance relations atThe past decade has been a time of transition for the collision repair industry, marked by a shrinking market and consolidation. Now the industry is seeking new alliances with the insurance industry in the drive to improve efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. As both industries head into the next decade, the pressure and the potential for success is increasingly dependent on the strength of those alliances.
Collision Repair: SERVICE DETERMINES PROFITABILITY
May 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorSpeakers of an insurer/collision discussion panel hosted by the industry’s international education body I-Car at its recent Canadian national conference were provided with the stark theme of dealing with “reality”. On a particularly “realistic note” was the thick tension in…
Auto theft: BILLION DOLLAR QUESTION
May 1, 2001 Linda Farha of Boomerang Tracking Inc.Canadian automobile owners, insurance companies and law enforcement officials are looking for solutions to the rising cost of auto theft, which is estimated at more than $1 billion per year in this country. Many new developments in anti-theft systems have been made, but adoption rates have been slow and their effectiveness remains questionable. The latest developments in cellular tracking may be especially effective in combating the export of stolen vehicles, and new insurance incentives to drivers who install these and other devices are a key part of the solution.
ONLINE SALES: THE “BLEEDING EDGE”
May 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerThe writing is on the wall. The insurance industry must move online, and sooner rather than later. Or must it? And what form should this “movement” toward the Internet take? Speakers at the recent Strategy Institute P&C Super Summit offered a range of views on the potential for online success and disaster.
Queensway sells Canadian operations
May 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterFinancially troubled specialty insurer Queensway Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSE: QFH) has signed a deal to sell off the last of its assets, with a letter of intent to sell Ontario auto insurer Coachman Insurance Co. to Saskatchewan Government Insurance. At…
UNLOCKING B.C.’S AUTO MARKET
May 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorAt the time of writing this article, less than two weeks remained before voters in British Columbia will be asked to choose a new provincial government. And, in the lead-up to B.C.’s provincial election set for May 16, polling results suggest that the current ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) will likely garner less than 20% of the popular vote, while the opposition Liberal Party seems to be favored by 80% of the province’s voters. As media reports in B.C. point out, it is not a case of whether the Liberals will win, but by how much. What does this have to do with the insurance industry? A change in government in B.C. this year – particularly with the Liberals in the driving seat – could herald the beginning of deregulation of the province’s $2.6 billion “basic auto” insurance marketplace which for the last 27 years has been legislatively protected and underwritten by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
U.S. not out of woods
May 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterWhile rates are on the rise, the price correction may not be enough to counter the U.S. industry’s expense problems, says a new report by A.M. Best. Figures from the last quarter of 2000, as well as yearend results, show…
Driving Economics
April 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe business environment facing Canada’s property and casualty insurers over the year ahead is going to be tough, with the industry having closed the 2000 financial year with its first quarterly net loss since the 1970s and a dismal 6.2%…
2000 fin-year a dismal experience
April 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Canadian property and casualty insurance industry disclosed a $130 million taxed loss for the final quarter of last year, the first quarterly loss in almost 18 years, observes Paul Kovacs, chief economist of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).…
Kingsway maintains profit surge
April 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterNon-standard auto insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSE: KFS) more than doubled net income for the 2000 financial year to $27.5 million (1999: $13.6 million). This translated to earnings of 81 a share (1999: 38), with the company posting a…