‘Persistent low interest rate environment’ among factors affecting Canadian P&C financial performance in 2016: A.M. Best
September 6, 2017 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorAs the Bank of Canada announced Wednesday its second rate hike in less than two months, an analyst with A.M. Best Company Inc. suggested to industry professionals that a 2.1-point increase in the industry-wide operating ratio in the Canadian property…
Free online offering hopes to bolster catastrophe modelling understanding
September 5, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterWhat has been described as the first free and neutral open online catastrophe modelling course was launched today to help those working in climate change and disaster loss mitigation, academia and insurance better understand the use of models in nat-Cat…
2016 earthquake in central Italy estimated to cost 108 million euros in property losses: PERILS
August 24, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterThe magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck central Italy exactly one year ago is estimated to have cost 108 million euros, PERILS AG has reported. PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, disclosed its final loss estimate for…
Greater risk of negative underwriting results for reinsurers predicted by S&P
August 15, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterWith property catastrophe prices dropping during the 2017 renewals, combined with natural catastrophe losses exceeding US$50 billion last year, global reinsurers are at greater risk of having negative underwriting results and will tend to “shy away” from property catastrophe business,…
CatIQ enters into agreement with Impact Forecasting to use cat event flood response footprints for Canada
August 11, 2017 Jason Contant, Online EditorToronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby Impact Forecasting’s cat event response flood footprints for Canada will be made available as a layer on CatIQ’s CatHUB module. “Aon Impact Forecasting’s Canadian…
Cat bond issuance in Q2 reaches US$6.38 billion across 20 transactions, easily surpassing Q2 2014 record of US$4.49 billion: Aon Securities
August 4, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterCatastrophe bond issuance during the second quarter of 2017 totalled US$6.38 billion across 20 transactions, a new record for quarterly issuance that easily surpassed the previous record of US$4.49 billion set in Q2 2014, Aon Securities said in a new…
17% of secondary rental suites in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. considered illegal: Square One Insurance survey
August 3, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterSeventeen per cent of rental suites in detached houses in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are considered illegal, a new survey from Vancouver-based Square One Insurance Services Inc. has found. The study involved a survey of more than 5,500 homeowners…
SCOR posts net income of 292 million euros for the first half of 2017
July 27, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterFrench reinsurer SCOR has reported a net income of 292 million euros for the first half of the year, up from 275 million euros in the first half of 2016. The company’s net combined ratio in P&C was 93.5% for…
Changing climate patterns, nat cats affecting electrical grid, Swiss Re and Johns Hopkins study finds
July 25, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterChanging climate patterns are putting additional strain on both power generation and transmission, and presenting another risk factor for natural disaster mitigation and recovery in North America’s Pacific Northwest region, suggests a new study from Swiss Re and the Johns…
Possible melted fuel seen for first time at Fukushima plant
July 24, 2017 Mari Yamaguchi - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTOKYO – An underwater robot captured images of solidified lava-like rocks Friday inside a damaged reactor at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, spotting for the first time what is believed to be nuclear fuel that melted six years ago. Plant…
Quake damages buildings on Greek island; 2 killed, 120 hurt
July 21, 2017 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSKOS, Greece – A powerful earthquake shook the Greek island of Kos early Friday morning, damaging several buildings and the main port, killing at least two people and causing more than 120 injuries, authorities said. The 6.5-magnitude quake rattled Turkey’s…
Stilling quake risk in eastern Canada demands greater focus, awareness and effort: Swiss Re
July 11, 2017 by Angela StelmakowichRisk awareness is severely lacking and not enough attention is being paid to quake risk in eastern Canada, a region with “huge” loss-inflicting potential that a Swiss Re model projects could produce the country’s largest nat-Cat loss ever if the…