2006 global catastrophes cause US$40 million in damages
February 1, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterNatural and man-made catastrophes triggered total economic losses worldwide of approximately US$40 billion, and cost property insurers US$15 billion in 2006, according to Swiss Re. This compares favourably to 2005 insured losses totaling US$78 billion. The significantly smaller amount of…
What’s New: In Brief (January 17, 2007)
January 17, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterGore Mutual Insurance Company has donated Cdn$1 million to their charitable Foundation.This is the third year in a row the company has made a Cdn$1-million contribution to the Gore Mutual Foundation.The Foundation was established to support worthwhile causes in the…
Ironshore Insurance formed in response to U.S. market dislocation
January 3, 2007 by Canadian UnderwriterIronshore Inc. has raised more than US$1 billion through a private placement of its equity securities, and it will begin underwriting specialty lines of insurance immediately through its Bermuda-based insurance subsidiary, Ironshore Insurance Ltd., the company has announced. “This newly…
Catastrophes cost US$15 billion in 2006
December 20, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterNatural and man-mad catastrophes triggered total economic losses worldwide of approximately US$40 billion and cost property insurers US$15 billion in 2006, according to Swiss Re.The 2006 figure compares favourably to the 2005 amount of US$78 billion for insured loses.Earthquake, cold…
Growth potential huge for insurance-linked securities
December 12, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe total volume of Insurance-linked Securities (ILS) outstanding has grown three-fold over the last five years, and is now close to US$23 billion, according to Swiss Re’s new sigma study “Securitization.”Life bonds account for two-thirds (or US$15 billion) of the…
Holding the Key to Climate Change
December 1, 2006 David GambrillSound underwriting has the edge on computer models when it comes to providing sensible insurance coverage for natural catastrophes
Global Risk, Global Defence
December 1, 2006 Mike Wallace, Vice President of Risk, Underwriting and Reinsurance, Royal & SunAlliance CanadaInsurers should pool their international resources, if available, to help defend against the global nature of emerging risks
Views (December 01, 2006)
December 1, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterACE INA Insurance and ACE INA Life Insurance recently its annual cocktail reception in October at Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel in Toronto. *** The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Benfield Group and the…
Northern Ontario earthquake causes minimal damage
November 29, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterAn earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale sent tremors through the Sudbury region in northern Ontario, but failed to cause any damage.The epicentre of the quake was about five kilometres from the town of Lively, west of Sudbury, the…
2006 a “banner year” for U.S. P&C industry: RIMS
November 6, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterEchoing a similar trend in Canada, commercial insurance premiums in the United States are declining in 2006 Q3, continuing a phenomenon over the past two quarters, according the quarterly RIMS Benchmark Survey, prepared by the industry analyst Advisen.In the United…
Protection Through Research
November 1, 2006 Glenn McGillivray, Managing Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss ReductionWhat the Canadian insurance industry is doing about climate change
A.M. Best to rate the “basis risk” of parametric cat bonds (November 01, 2006)
November 1, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterA.M. Best Co. recently released a new methodology for rating the “basis risk” associated with parametric catastrophe bonds. The new methodology is designed to help the ratings agency determine the amount of reinsurance credit that can be claimed by the…