Canadian Underwriter

Rocket represents rising reinsurance premiums
News CatastrophesClimate ChangeInsurance

What’s the future for Canada’s reinsurance rates?

August 2, 2023 Alyssa Di Sabatino

New risks emerging in Canada are leading reinsurers to increase premiums, industry experts have told Canadian Underwriter. Although U.S. damage losses last year far outweighed Canada’s, contributing significantly to escalating reinsurance prices, insured NatCat damage in Canada in 2022 was

Person running away from a tidal wave or tsunami
News CatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

Can insurers and reinsurers survive looming NatCat trends?

July 21, 2023 Glenn McGillivray

One of the hallmarks of a warming world is that you never know what may come next. The reasonably stable climate of the last 100,000 years is being thrown into disarray as Earth’s systems are forced out of kilter. For

sea coast houses bracing for a hurricane
News AdjustersBrokersCatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaClimate ChangeConstructionInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesReinsuranceRestorationRisk

How hurricane losses will impact pricing and capacity

November 21, 2022 Philip Porado

Watch for Hurricane Ian’s damage estimates of between US$50 billion and US$70 billion to made insurers more conservative about pricing and capacity, according to Aon’s global market insights for 2022 Q3. “As the full market impacts of Hurricane Ian materialize,”

A beam balancing on a ball, symbolizing equilibrium
News Insurance

The good and bad news for reinsurers

August 31, 2022 by Jason Contant

The global reinsurance industry appears to be in a “state of equilibrium,” with positive and negative factors countering each other, according to a new report from AM Best. Despite lingering economic and operational challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, AM

Damage following the Barrie tornado in July 2021
News Insurance

The cheaper we build our buildings, the more they cost after an earthquake, wildfire or tornado

June 17, 2022 Keith Porter

By Keith Porter, adjunct research professor, civil and environmental engineering, Western University This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original

Collapsed sections of bridges following flooding in B.C.
News Climate ChangeInsuranceRisk

One step closer to a National Flood Insurance Program

March 29, 2022 by Alyssa DiSabatino

The industry is one step closer to getting updated flood maps, and a new national flood insurance program to protect homeowners in high-risk flood zones is in the works, says Canada’s public safety minister.  Flood maps are being developed in

Flood damage
News Insurance

Cat trends: How 2021 deviated from the norm

February 22, 2022 by Jason Contant

Last year saw a shift from “normal” catastrophic losses by quarter and even geographical location, data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) show. Both the third and fourth quarters of 2021 had “well above average” average catastrophes in terms

News Insurance

What Intact paid for Cats last quarter

January 12, 2022 by Jason Contant

Intact paid out an estimated $186 million for catastrophe losses in 2021 Q4, the company reported. “Approximately 55% of the catastrophe losses were in our Canada segment, with half in personal property,” IFC says in a press release. “This mostly

News Insurance

Canadian insured Cat losses exceed $2 billion — again

January 11, 2022 by Jason Contant

Canadian insured losses topped $2 billion for the second year in a row, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). “2021 saw much discussion of a ‘new normal’ for Canadians, but when it comes to insured losses,

News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaEarnings / RatingsInsurance

Why the hard market could be unsustainable

September 21, 2021 by Greg Meckbach

The Canadian industry’s combined ratio, at 81% so far in 2021, is at a historic low but this is mainly due to a 23% drop in claims and adjustment expenses, from $20.26 billion in the first six months of 2020,

News Insurance

How to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to your clients

April 9, 2021 by Jason Contant

Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry needs to ramp up its public education efforts to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to the Canadian population, speakers said Thursday during the virtual CIP Society Symposium 2021. “I don’t like to

News Insurance

Feds seek post-pandemic ideas to prepare for next major disaster

March 16, 2021 The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – The federal government is looking beyond COVID-19 to prepare for the next large-scale calamity – be it another pandemic, a tsunami or cyberattack. In a notice posted today, Defence Research and Development Canada seeks proposals for studies, technology