What historical insured catastrophe losses really mean
November 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf you take a deep dive into the real cost to Canadians of insured major natural disasters, even though the methodology changed around 2008, it still shows a long-term trend of claims cost increases over nearly 40 years, industry experts…
Watch for governments to transfer financial risk from natural disasters to insurers: Swiss Re
October 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThere is growing awareness that governments can transfer the financial risk of natural disasters to both insurance and capital markets, a Swiss Re expert observes. In Asia, Africa, the United States and Britain, there are examples of national and sub-national…
Cat bonds starting to attract this type of investor
October 15, 2020 by Greg MeckbachCatastrophe bonds are gaining a reputation as a socially responsible investment, a CatIQ Connect speaker said Wednesday. “Investors seeking investments in the [environmental, social and governance] market are starting to classify cat bonds as a responsible investment,” said Alyson Slater,…
IBC’s solution to ‘finger-pointing’ on who should fund climate resiliency
October 14, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWith weather catastrophes costing the industry billions, insurers are calling for a “whole of society” approach to mitigating climate risk. “Some of our insurer members have been on the vanguard of talking about climate change for many many years now.…
The tough question for insurers withdrawing coverage from coal
October 14, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe industry’s concern over carbon emissions, and their impact on climate change, raises the question of whether nuclear energy is better for the environment. “One the one hand, nuclear [energy] is a source of carbon-free power generation. On the other…
How much these four Alberta cats cost insurers in 2020
September 10, 2020 by Greg MeckbachFour Alberta catastrophes this year have cost insurers a grand total of about $2 billion, the Insurance Bureau of Canada confirmed this week. A hailstorm June 13, affecting mainly northeast Calgary, topped the list as it caused about $1.2 billion…
How high cat losses could go this year
August 4, 2020 by Adam MalikAlberta has become the epicentre for cat losses this year as combined insured damage could reach, if not exceed, $2 billion in the province alone after multiple natural catastrophes have hit various regions over a four-month span. The calculations come…
P&C insurers can handle severe weather events, but for how long?
July 27, 2020 by Adam MalikCanadian property and casualty insurers should be able to manage well financially for the time being, despite currently dealing with a pandemic and the fourth-most expensive natural catastrophe in the country’s history, says global credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar. However,…
The hard part of managing wildfire risk
February 26, 2020 by Greg MeckbachYour clients may be doing all the right things to manage their wildfire risk, but what about the property halfway down the street? “You can have four homes in a row that are perfectly maintained, just the way they are…
The thinking behind IBAC’s ‘light-hearted’ flood and earthquake education campaign
February 13, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWhile the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is encouraging homeowners to contact brokers about earthquake and overland flood risk, it is not aiming to shock or scare the living daylights out of consumers. “We consciously chose not to use…
Advice to Canadian industry from former U.S. government flood insurance CEO
February 10, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA former head of the United States National Flood Insurance Program has some frank advice for Canadian insurance professionals concerned about the lack of affordable overland flood coverage insurance for high-risk properties. “Look at what they have done south of…
What underwriters can learn from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
February 6, 2020 by Greg MeckbachHail is a major driver of insured property damage in Canada, but testing resilience of roofing material by dropping steel balls on it has limited value, a CatIQ Connect speaker suggested Wednesday. Roy Wright, president and CEO of the Insurance…