What your clients need to know about trip cancellation insurance
February 19, 2019 by David GambrillYour clients have a lot to learn about trip cancellation insurance. Almost two-thirds of Canadians either don’t buy or are unsure if they have trip cancellation insurance before leaving on holiday, according to a recent study of 960 Canadians by…
Fines struck for B.C. brokers who issued false receipts to insurers in toll bridge fiasco
February 19, 2019 by David GambrillEDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been corrected to show that FICOM’s position before the Financial Services Tribunal was that the financial penalties were deemed to be insufficient to deter brokers from misrepresenting facts. A previous version incorrectly stated that FICOM’s…
Atlantic Canada brokerage acquires family-owned operation
February 15, 2019 by Jason ContantArchway Insurance, one of Atlantic Canada’s largest brokerages, has announced the acquisition of family brokerage George Mitchell Insurance in Liverpool, N.S. Amherst, N.S.-headquartered Archway announced the acquisition Thursday. Effective Feb. 28, 2019, Archway’s latest acquisition brings its number of locations…
How to keep clients happy if their auto premiums skyrocket
February 15, 2019 by Greg MeckbachA huge hike in auto rates does not mean your client has to be disgruntled. “There are things that insurers can do to soften the blow when [auto] insurance rate actions need to be taken,” Tom Super, director of the…
What could have happened to Economical if it had rejected demutualization
February 14, 2019 by Greg MeckbachAmalgamation with another insurer and going into run-off were among the options considered by Economical Insurance directors before the Waterloo, Ont. carrier started the demutualization process in 2015. Mutual policyholders of Economical are scheduled to vote March 20 on a…
Insurer CEOs react to hardening commercial market
February 13, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe pace of the hardening market in commercial lines has come as a surprise to some executives at Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer. “We have seen a shift in commercial lines that is pretty abrupt in the past six…
Intact’s guesstimate of auto profitability improvement required by the industry
February 12, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe Canadian auto insurance industry needs to improve its profitability by about 10 percentage points, executives with Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer suggest. Canada-wide and industry wide, personal lines auto has a loss ratio of about 75%, said Darren…
OSFI provides guidance on reporting cyber incidents
February 12, 2019 by Jason ContantMonths after Canada’s mandatory data breach notification law came into effect on Nov. 1, 2018, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is now providing guidance on when to report cyber incidents to the financial regulator. In an…
Ontario auto discussions ‘very encouraging,’ Intact reports
February 11, 2019 by Greg MeckbachOntario’s new government and auto insurance regulator are “focussed on the right areas,” a senior manager for the province’s largest auto insurer said recently. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is scheduled to replace the Financial Services Commission of Ontario…
B.C. limits court experts in auto insurance to spur early settlements, savings
February 11, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESSVICTORIA – The British Columbia government is clamping down on the use of experts to cut costs and reduce delays in settling claims in motor vehicle accidents. Attorney General David Eby says the changes to B.C. Supreme Court civil rules…
The aftermath of ‘firm action’ in Lloyd’s market
February 8, 2019 by Greg MeckbachEight Lloyds syndicates have closed and some clients insured by the London market are seeing premiums increase four-fold, the head of a major Bermuda insurer suggests. “After some firm action by Lloyd’s in (2018), we saw the closure of eight…
Intact’s appetite for cross-border mergers
February 8, 2019 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. is not ruling out the possibility of buying a commercial brokerage or managing general agent in the United States. “We are doing a lot of work to understand the opportunities in distribution in the U.S. and will…