Privacy legislation: INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE
May 1, 2001 Carole Machtinger, chief privacy officer of Insurance InformatioNew marketing technologies and rising consumer concern of “information exploitation” by financial service providers has created a challenge for the insurance industry. Faced with new federal legislation under Bill-6, which affords information protection to individuals, insurers and their financial services…
Writing e-Law into the books
March 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerAs the world of insurance moves online, new laws are being established to validate online transactions, as well as protect consumer interests. Electronic signature and privacy legislation being enacted at both the federal and provincial levels will challenge the industry…
E-INSURANCE: BREAKING DOWN REGULATORY BARRIERS
March 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorWith the recent approval of federal and provincial laws paving the way for the development of e-commerce, property and casualty insurance regulators in Canada face the tough decision of whether or not online buyers need the extent of “hand holding”…
New Heights for Regulation
February 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerLike it or not, Winston Morris, chair of Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and assistant deputy minister of commercial and corporate affairs in Newfoundland and Labrador, has found his name in the news quite a bit lately. Public hearings…
SETTING THE STANDARD: Regulators tackle the Internet
February 1, 2001 Lawrie Savage, president of Lawrie Savage & Associates Inc.As insurers dip their toes into the vast ocean of e-commerce, regulators are donning their lifeguard gear in an attempt to protect consumers and the industry itself from the potential dangers lurking there. At home and abroad, the as yet…
D&O coverage rates hopelessly inadequate
November 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterGiven the rise in litigation and claims severity under D&O (directors and officers) coverage, rates are woefully inadequate, a recent Toronto Insurance Conference seminar was told. Udo Nixdorf, senior vice president of Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, says trends in…
Privacy under the SPOTLIGHT
October 1, 2000 David CarrThe first phase of Bill C-6, the federal government’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, becomes law on January 1, 2001. Only Canada’s Schedule-A banks, wholly regulated companies such as Air Canada and Bell, and data gathering organizations such…
Ontario: THE HEART of Regulatory Evolution
October 1, 2000 Dina Palozzi, superintendent of the Financial Services CommissioOver the last several years, the Canadian financial landscape has shifted. In the past, financial services regulation was based on the concept of the traditional “four pillars”. Changes in the marketplace have occurred across geographic, sectoral and jurisdictional boundaries and…
News (November 01, 1999)
November 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterConsumers need better information when they buy insurance, provincial and territorial insurance regulators agree. “Consumers should get plain-language ‘disclosure’ documents when they buy life insurance,” the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) agreed at its two-day meeting in Charlottetown, Prince…
INDEPENDENCE or INTERDEPENDENCE?
October 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorDespite the recent and resounding victory of independent property and casualty insurance brokers in blocking banks from branch retailing of insurance, Canada’s brokerage community faces many challenges on the road ahead. Even without the bank threat, the distribution end of…
INDEPENDENCE ALIVE
October 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorIf anyone harbored doubts of the political clout capable of the independent broker movement in protecting its business turf, such a notion would have been soundly thrashed by the highly effective campaign wielded against the banks in the latest round…
under the SPOTLIGHT
September 1, 1999 William Blakeney, BA (Hons.) LL.B and Khalid Baksh, BA (Hons.) LOver the past decade sexual abuse claims in institutional environments have become one of the most troublesome areas of civil litigation. In particular, insurers underwriting risks involving many of Canada’s most respected not for profit, charitable and religious organizations are now find themselves confronted by catastrophic personal injury claims involving serious allegations from past decades.