Making a Name for Adjusters
January 1, 2005 Vikki SpencerAs the Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association (OIAA) builds up to its 75th anniversary year, which kicks off this July, association president Spencer Bailey says the focus will be squarely on helping adjusters learn new skills and sharpen old ones to address an industry in transition. Changing auto insurance legislation, privacy legislation and more have confronted adjusters over the past year, and Bailey says the OIAA’s membership is ready to answer the call of these challenges.
RIBO Releases Broker Disclosure Rules
January 1, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) recently published its new regulations on broker disclosure. RIBO, the self-regulatory body for general insurance brokers in Ontario, is responding to controversy begun in the U.S. over the level of disclosure related to…
L&H insurers devise disclosure code
December 22, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterLife and health insurers are following in the footsteps of their general insurance counterparts, announcing a plan for public disclosure of intermediary relationships and incentives from insurers. “”Not only in North America but around the world, developments in the financial…
RIBO publishes new broker disclosure rules
December 20, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) has just published its new regulations on broker disclosure.RIBO, the self-regulatory body for general insurance brokers, is responding to controversy begun in the U.S. over the level of disclosure related to broker commissions,…
U.S. regulators release draft broker compensation rules
December 2, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurers are generally reacting positively to proposed model regulations around broker compensation.The Property-Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) says the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) model regulation of broker compensation makes sense in principle. The new regulations would require…
Primary Insurer Strategies 2005: Cycle Management
December 1, 2004 Sean van Zyl, EditorFrom “bust to boom” is how many insurer CEOs regard the financial landscape of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry over the past two years. And, with 2004 likely to be the peak year of profitability for the primary insurance sector, many insurer CEOs expect that the coming 12 months will see an overall weakening of the bottom-line as claims frequency and costs – particularly that of the auto product – begin to escalate after two years of a declining trend. Lost consumer confidence, and the negative political and media attention generated in the wake of the dramatic coverage price adjustments implemented by companies over the past two years, will likely remain a challenge in 2005, particularly in light of the controversy sparked by the Spitzer investigation into broker remuneration arrangements, predict insurer CEOs in CU’s latest “primary insurer strategies” annual market review.
BI Exposure on R&D
December 1, 2004 Richard DavidsonRisk managers employed by corporations which may have some involvement in research and development (R&D) activities could unknowingly face a significantly uninsured exposure on their business interruption (BI) coverages. Typically, R&D is regarded as an area of the business that…
IBC, Brokers Respond to Commission Controversy
December 1, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterCanadian insurers and brokers are responding to the U.S. controversy over broker commissions with a new “consumer code of rights and responsibilities”. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) released the code, along…
U.S. insurers battle back against Spitzer claims
November 17, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. insurers had their chance to refute claims of widespread industry deception about their relationships with brokers when Property & Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) CEO Ernie Csiszar spoke before a Senate subcommittee this week.Csiszar’s comments came the same…
U.S. regulators draft model for broker compensation
November 17, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. insurance regulators have devised a draft of model legislation for broker disclosure of compensation.The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) had formed a task force in response to the investigations sparked by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into…
What’s new: In brief (November 17, 2004)
November 17, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. brokers quickly spoke out against the testimony of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to a Senate subcommittee looking at compensation issues Tuesday. Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) president Ken Crerar says, “we categorically challenge assertions that…
S&P reports on “financial engineering” investigations
November 16, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterFollowing on media reports in the U.S. of an investigation into potential abuse of “financial engineering” products, Standard & Poor’s has issued a report which cites four companies who could be targets of such an investigation.Bermuda-based ACE Ltd. disclosed this…