REFLECTIONS and CHANGE
December 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe Canadian Risk & Insurance Management Society’s (CRIMS) 25th annual conference – which was recently held in Edmonton, Alberta – centered on “Reflections” as an underlying theme for the event. The Alberta chapter of CRIMS, which organized this year’s event,…
REINSURANCE PERSPECTIVE — from the frontline
December 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerWith most reinsurers adamant that a tough stand will be taken in the upcoming annual treaty negotiations, CU went to the “frontline” to establish a broker perspective of the market mood. Tom Hopkinson, president of Guy Carpenter’s Canadian operations, expects the following:
GROWTH SIGNS …But Real Earnings?
November 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorOn paper, the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry’s earnings performance for the first two quarters of this year would strongly suggest at a rebound in real growth. In fact, Canadian insurers came home for the first half of this…
Insurer Strategies for 2001: balancing the BooksT
November 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorFollowing a grueling year of devastating performance across the various areas of business – weak rates, rising claim costs, higher expense ratios and volatile investment returns – Canada’s property and casualty insurers may have perhaps turned the corner for the…
GOING FOR THE NICHE APPLE
September 1, 2000 Mike Wills, leader of Royal & SunAlliance's Specialty SolutionsGlobalisation has created an expanded market in Canada for specialty niche lines of business. Products such as alternative risk financing or equipment maintenance management which have historically been unavailable in Canada either because the market was too small to support such activity, or large insurers were reluctant to break new ground, are now washing up on Canadian shores.
Walkerton: a risk management nightmare
September 1, 2000 William Blakeney, senior partner at Blakeney Henneberry BakshThe dramatic incident that took place in Walkerton, Ontario during the final two weeks of May, 2000 will go down in history as a tragic example of the suffering and disruption that can occur when municipal and provincial agencies fail to act on system safeguards. The events that led up to the contamination of Walkerton’s water supply present valuable lessons in risk management as well as serious considerations for insurers underwriting municipal risks.
Rhine Re pulls facultative business
September 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterAnother reinsurer has withdrawn capacity from the Canadian market with Rhine Reinsurance’s recent decision to discontinue its facultative business. The reinsurer experienced “marginal losses” in this area since it entered this particular line three years ago, says Patrick King, chief…
Putting a face to Lloyd’s
August 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerFollowing major restructuring in the mid-1990s, including the influx of corporate capital, Lloyd’s is embarking on a campaign to rejuvenate its image. Part of the strategy is the recent announcement that Lloyd’s would allow itself to be supervised by the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority, says Julian James, Lloyd’s North American director
Sweet but Deadly, Lessons From Walkerton
August 1, 2000 David CarrAging infrastructure, cut budgets and a blind political eye. With increasing pressure to cut taxes, Canada’s federal and provincial governments have for decades reduced investment and maintenance expenditure in public infrastructure. Repeatedly, reports have been issued of the resulting dangerous…
News (August 01, 2000)
August 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Toronto Society of Fellows hosted its 6th annual charity ball recently at the Toronto Marriott Eaton Centre. The black-tie affair, which included dinner, dancing, a silent auction and a live auction hosted by CITYTV’s Gord Martineau, raised $150,000 for…
Exploring management myths
August 1, 2000 AxiomSitting at the head table in the hotel’s convention room, I felt a quick stab of uncertainty. I had agreed to be a guest speaker at this broker management seminar staged by our provincial brokers’ association. As my company’s senior…
Reinsurance market outlook: Margins Wear Thin
July 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe global reinsurance market suffered its worst underwriting year in 1999, largely as a result of natural disaster catastrophe losses estimated to having cost the industry about US$24 billion. European reinsurers finished 1999 with an alarming 131% combined ratio, the…