Why the hard market could be unsustainable
September 21, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe 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,…
How to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to your clients
April 9, 2021 by Jason ContantCanada’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…
Feds seek post-pandemic ideas to prepare for next major disaster
March 16, 2021 The Canadian PressOTTAWA – 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…
$2 billion is the new $1 billion for insured Canadian NatCat events
January 5, 2021 by Jason ContantInsured losses from natural catastrophes in Canada totalled nearly $2.5 billion last year, Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) reported Monday. “The years where annual catastrophic insured losses were below $1 billion seem to be a thing of the…
Ontario wind storm costs the industry $87 million
December 15, 2020 by Jason ContantAdd $87 million to the more than $2.1 billion that the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry has paid out in claims thus far in 2020. An Ontario windstorm in November hit the Greater Toronto Area, the areas of Hamilton,…
More than one way to define a Cat
September 3, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf you disagree with a co-worker on exactly what a catastrophe is, both of you could be right. There is no single standard definition of a “Cat,” with the industry’s loss costs — and even media coverage — among the…
Adjusting Calgary’s hailstorm: The rationale for bringing in U.S. Cat adjusters
August 28, 2020 by Greg MeckbachDuring the hail storm this past June that damaged tens of thousands of Alberta homes, adjusting firm CRU Group struggled to find enough qualified independent catastrophe adjusters in Canada, and wound up resorting to bringing in people from the United…
How much insurers paid out for Fort Mac’s spring flood
June 2, 2020 by Adam MalikInsurers paid out more $228 million in insured damage for spring flooding in Fort McMurray, Alta., that occurred a little over a month ago. Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) released the numbers this week, noting that commercial properties took…
The impact of COVID-19 on independent adjusters
March 18, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAs most Canadians are being asked to leave home only when necessary, how will the property and casualty industry deal with a large catastrophe, such as a major wind storm, while still taking precautions to reduce the risk of COVID-19…
Canada’s biggest insurance losses in 2019
January 22, 2020 by Greg MeckbachInsured damage from floods, rain, snow and windstorms reached $1.3 billion in 2019, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported Tuesday, citing data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) “Like 2018, no single event in 2019 caused the high…
How catastrophes affected Intact’s Q4 numbers
January 9, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. is pegging its catastrophe claims at $115 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 alone, more than double the figure for the same period in 2018. Intact released its $115 million estimated catastrophe loss Tuesday. The company…
How this year’s CAT losses are trending
July 3, 2019 by Adam MalikCanada is well on its way to cracking the $1-billion threshold in insured catastrophe losses yet again as we enter the second half of 2019. Catastrophe Indices and Quantification (CatIQ) told Canadian Underwriter Wednesday that the estimated catastrophic insured loss…