Armed with over 50 years experience in the insurance business, Simon Farrow is ready to lead a new company, Thompson General Insurance, onto the playing field. The market may be competitive, he says, but this “virtual company” is mixing state…
Insurer AXA Canada has sold its book of commercial trucking business, consisting of ten vehicles and more, to specialty insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. The book is valued at about $23 million in annual premium. As part of the arrangement,…
Legal action against insurance companies in the U.S. for alleged unauthorized use of aftermarket parts in vehicle repair have bubbled up into Canada. Within months of a successful $1.2 billion class action in Illinois against State Farm Insurance, similar suits…
With the creation of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) in 1998, the province took on the task of reconciling the interests of consumers with a patchwork quilt of industries governed by almost a dozen different set of rules.…
With the growth of property and casualty insurance industry earnings having plummeted to almost a 20-year low on the back of poor investment returns and intense rate competition — which saw last year’s annual rate of premium growth clock in…
The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) has revealed plans to develop standards for the exchange of loss data between insurers, service providers and the risk management community. The results of a viability study were presented to RIMS last month.…
The world of repair shops and front-line collision damage appraisers is very different to that of the corporate insurance industry. A closer understanding of the challenges faced by both sides is clearly needed. In fact, with both bodyshops and insurers…
In April, the Canadian government stopped underwriting domestic credit insurance. This is a welcome response to our ongoing industry lobby. This breakthrough shows that a persistent and sustained effort is the key to eventually convince governments to also exit other insurance businesses across Canada.
Airbags recovered from written-off vehicles will be used for collision repairs in British Columbia, likely before the end of the year, says a researcher at the province’s public insurance organization. The decision follows testing on salvaged airbags conducted by the…
Auto physical damage claims (APDs) represent a significant portion of claim costs for most insurers dealing in personal lines business. But, should this area of claims management be simply seen as the “dark evil” of being in the business, or…
Only days after class action suits were started in Quebec against insurers AXA Canada and ING Canada, Liberty Mutual General Insurance in Canada became the next victim of the aftermarkets parts legal fever sweeping North America. With its American parent…
Control over the distribution of insurance products is once again back on the property and casualty insurance industry’s radar screen as the federal government’s proposed white paper on financial services competition is set to go forward before parliament for legislative…