Canadian Underwriter


A forest fire burns among a residential area
News AssociationsCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeInsurance

Wildfires: Where there’s smoke, there’s damage

July 18, 2023 by David Gambrill

As smoke from almost 900 of Canada’s wildfires descends upon the United States, resurrecting media reports about air quality, Canadian property and casualty insurers have an eye on a different type of exposure — property damage claims due to wildfire

Carpenter at work on a kitchen repair
News AdjustersBrokersClaimsConstructionInsuranceRestoration

High building materials and labour costs still slowing home repairs

July 12, 2023 Philip Porado

While inflation’s pace has eased in Canada, it’s still expensive to put homeowners back into their properties after a fire, flood, wind or other event. That’s because lingering supply chain and labour-shortage issues are extending restoration timelines. And that’s increasing

Insurance claims adjuster working in the field
News AdjustersClaimsEmploymentEngineeringProfessional DevelopmentRestorationRiskTechnology

How the pandemic changed adjusting for the long haul

July 10, 2023 Philip Porado

COVID-19 restrictions led adjusters to shift claims work to desktop teams. The change was driven by client reluctance to meet in-person and employees’ desire to reduce site work until the risks were better understood. But those changes can make some

Industrial building destroyed by a hurricane, NatCat
News BrokersCatastrophesClaimsClimate ChangeCommercial LinesInsuranceMarkets / CoveragesRestoration

How trade agreements could change claims adjusting in Canada

June 20, 2023 Alyssa Di Sabatino

When a NatCat occurs in Canada, it’s common for U.S. adjusters to be on the scene — sometimes before Canadian adjusters, who are bound by provincial licensing restrictions. And while processes for getting either country’s adjusters on the scene are

Complaint file
News BrokersClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegalRisk

How brokers can protect clients from ESG and DEI claims risk

April 25, 2023 Philip Porado

Brokers placing directors and officers (D&O) insurance coverage should recognize the growing importance of how private company clients manage both environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) concerns. Those issues are of increasing concern to the

Business associates arguing.
News ClaimsCommercial LinesConstructionEngineeringInsuranceLegal

Why resolving claims disputes is about more than numbers

April 11, 2023 Derek Sayers

Want to increase the likelihood of a construction project insurance claim being accepted? Take the time to validate each aspect of that claim. The upfront work will make it easier for any umpires, mediators, consultants or lawyers brought in to

Robot sorting documents to represent AI helping insurance adjusters manage claims
News AdjustersBrokersCatastrophesClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceRestoration

How automation’s shifting on-site claims work to bigger losses

February 23, 2023 Philip Porado

COVID-19 accelerated development of process efficiencies for insurance adjusters. Pre-pandemic, data-gathering and communications systems began shifting many claims to desk teams, creating efficiencies for adjusters by reserving site visits for complex cases. “What COVID did was expedite some of that

Motorbike accident
News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

Failure to tell an insurer about a new vehicle can mean trouble

February 16, 2023 Philip Porado

A multiple-vehicle owner who failed to add a motorcycle to his insurance within a set time period is precluded from receiving benefits following an accident, said a Feb. 6 decision by Ontario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) adjudicator Stephanie Kepman. On

Fallen tree damage to the roof of a house
News AdjustersClaimsCommercial LinesConstructionInsuranceRestoration

How adjusters can benefit from putting consumers in control of their claims

January 19, 2023 Jason Contant

When severe weather events take place, not everything can be fixed overnight. There are only so many contractors and thousands of homes will likely need repairs ranging from major to minor. “It comes down to triaging and putting the insured

Car body being painted after repair.
News AdjustersBrokersClaimsCommercial LinesConstructionEngineeringInsuranceRestoration

Can the P&C industry navigate these 3 problems in 2023?

January 9, 2023 David Gambrill

Thanks to supply chain disruptions, labour shortages and inflation, insurance policyholders face longer and more expensive repairs. To address that, insurance industry execs said, Canada’s P&C industry needs to up its communications game during the claims process. P&C insurance professionals

Art/Illustration: group of people discussing
News AdjustersCatastrophesClaimsInsuranceRestoration

Communication around claims must be top priority: CEOs

October 24, 2022 by David Gambrill

Supply chain pressures and labour shortages mean Canada’s P&C industry and its suppliers need to focus on communications around claims service to maintain consumer trust and high service levels, insurance executives told a broker conference last week. Matthew Turack, group

Tree and property damage from natural disaster
News CatastrophesClaimsInsurance

Where the derecho falls among Canadian Cat events

May 30, 2022 by David Gambrill

Canada’s rare and deadly derecho last week seems likely to rank among the country’s Top 10 costliest insured catastrophes, Aon plc predicts. “In Canada, a rare derecho impacted densely populated metropolitan areas in Ontario and Quebec on May 21 that