How reliable are severe weather emergency alerts?
June 5, 2019 by Jason ContantTwo tornadoes that swept through the Ottawa region Sunday have prompted questions about the effectiveness of Canada’s emergency alert system. Questions arose after numerous residents reported that they never received warnings about a tornado that hit Orléans, an east-end suburb…
Brokerage fined for rebating premium to unhappy client
June 3, 2019 by David GambrillA Manitoba brokerage recently found itself in hot water with the regulator for rebating premium money to a dissatisfied client. Insurance Council of Manitoba ruled that Donbar Agency Limited, which operates as Crossroads Insurance, should not have rebated an unhappy…
Brokers concerned about blanket approach to binding authority restrictions
May 31, 2019 by Jason ContantWith wildfires raging in northern Alberta and Ontario, brokers are reporting some funky outcomes associated with insurers’ binding authority restrictions. Under the restrictions, brokers cannot bind coverage in areas under civil authority, forest fire alerts, flood alerts and certain earthquake…
New COO, EVP for Totten
May 28, 2019 by Jason ContantPaul Meinschenk has joined managing general agency (MGA) Totten Insurance Group as chief operating officer and executive vice president, effective May 31. With 18 years of experience in the insurance industry, Meinschenk was mostly recently vice president of sales and…
This ‘leading practitioner’ in insurance law is now a judge
May 27, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCORRECTION NOTICE: In an earlier version of this story, Glen L.C. Noel was incorrectly identified as a lawyer representing Lloyd’s in Lawlor v. Royal. In fact, Noel represented Mary Lawlor in that case. Canadian Underwriter regrets the error. Glen L.C.…
Is there culture after an acquisition?
May 23, 2019 by Adam MalikA question posed at a recent event asked how many of the approximately 30 people in the room had ever been part of an acquisition or merger. Almost every hand went up. It seems just about every broker has been…
New cyber insurance platform offers quotes using single piece of data
May 23, 2019 by Jason ContantWhile online quote and bind systems have historically been cumbersome, one specialist insurer will soon offer a cyber insurance platform with single-question quoting capabilities. Using a single piece of client data, brokers will be able generate a cyber insurance quote…
Being offline ‘is a huge red flag’
May 22, 2019 by Adam MalikFinding a business is much simpler these days. Rather the fishing around for the yellow pages, dropping it with a loud thud on a desk and flipping through the pages, people opt for a much simpler approach – Google. Anyone…
Why your clients may not be covered when there’s an active wildfire
May 21, 2019 by Jason ContantWith wildfire season already underway in Alberta and British Columbia, brokers will be looking at how insurance can help their clients mitigate any losses. But brokers and clients alike may not know that the ability to bind coverage could be…
BFL Canada acquires B.C. brokerage
May 15, 2019 by Jason ContantLarge commercial brokerage BFL Canada announced Tuesday the acquisition of British Columbia-based Summit Insurance Brokers Inc. Summit, based in Prince George, was founded in the late 1990s and brings expertise in industrial, commercial and farm risks to BFL Canada. Summit…
How far can employee confidentiality agreements go?
May 13, 2019 by Jason ContantIf you leave your brokerage with some confidential information stored to memory as opposed to a physical document, can you use that information? A recent ruling from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that even committing to memory confidential…
Are you prepared for insurance quotes through Google Home and Amazon Echo?
May 10, 2019 by David Gambrill“Google Home, Amazon Echo, buy me auto insurance for my new, black 2019 Hyundai Sontata.” If you are a broker, would you be able to handle this voice request for an auto insurance quote? If not, you’d better start strategizing…