Canadian Underwriter


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RIMS releases benchmarks

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The cost of risk has risen in the U.S. but dropped in Canada, according to the recently released Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) 1999 Benchmark Survey. The annual report, co-authored by Ernst & Young, polled 737 American and 79

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Investments plague Canadian and U.S. insurers

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The 1999 third quarter returns for both Canadian and U.S. property and casualty insurers show little improvement in net earnings, with the return on investment of both sectors now hovering at around the 7% mark. The real problem child surfacing

Products Shipped Under JIT/Quick Response ProgramsTrend in small shipment size, more frequent shipments
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Commercial Risk Under JIT

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The “just-in-time” (JIT) efficiency supply process has over recent years become more than just a popular fad among manufacturers, it has become an engraved business philosophy having produced significant operating savings to companies. However, when evaluating commercial coverages, insurers need to carefully weigh up all the risk factors associated with JIT.

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Learning From the Masters

January 1, 2000 Lowell Conn

The independent adjuster faces an array of challenges in the year ahead, concedes new Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association (OIAA) president Christina Welton. Greater regulatory scrutiny on licensing, a pending court case that could introduce more liability for claims professionals, and

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The future of distribution: Keeping our Options Open

December 1, 1999 Doug Davis of Davis Consulting Inc.

With increasing attention being brought to bear on the cost of distribution and how to improve competitiveness, insurers and independent brokers alike are repositioning. This, however, is having a noticeable impact on the industry’s “traditional relationships,” leaving many within the industry unsure to the “what”, “where” and “how” of the future of the independent broker profession.

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The quest for EFFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT

December 1, 1999 Jacinta Whyte, vice president of the personal insurance division

The traditional property and casualty (p&c) insurance industry is moving toward multi-channel distribution. The shift may not be as brisk as some industry observers believe is necessary to blunt the competitive challenge posed by the banks and others, even some traditional broker companies. Still, it is difficult to argue with the success that Canadian brokers are having in retaining customers in the face of an expanded range of distribution options already available.

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Scrambling for loose business

December 1, 1999 Lowell Conn

Sports insurance is a specialty-lines oddity. It is unprofitable business marred by rising loss payouts not accurately balanced by the premiums generated. It is a competitive market where premium prices should be two or three times their current rate, insiders

maddocks
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HUON goes online at Kemper

December 1, 1999 by Canadian Underwriter

Kemper Canada has gone online with its HUON system, announcing their personal lines automobile and property markets are now being supported by The HUON Solution. “We now have the system to facilitate a winning environment,” says Judy Maddocks, president of

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Thinking Big From Small

December 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, Editor

Most people in the industry think he has lost his marbles, launching a new property and casualty insurance company in Canada from the ground up in what is widely seen as an overcrowded and cutthroat market. To say that Brian

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OLD DOGS LEARNING NEW TRICKS

November 1, 1999 Lowell Conn

Taco Bell’s Chihuahua campaign, launched in late 1997, has become the pre-eminent brand recognition success of the late 1990s. The ad spots, featuring a talking Mexican dog whose only desire is to pursue Taco Bell food, has resulted in a

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Global brokers RESET TARGETS

November 1, 1999 Lowell Conn

The wave of mergers and acquisitions which has occurred between the corporate national property and casualty brokers across North America appears to have reached an end, leaving a landscape occupied by two distinct camps: small regional operators and the new

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A Brave New World

November 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, Editor

The term “globalization” has become yet another buzzword expression littering the field of industry jargon. Similar to other grand but ambiguous phrases like “business reengineering” and “corporate repositioning” (among a broad host too numerous to mention), the term globalization jumps