Storming ahead successfully
June 1, 1999 AxiomWe couldn’t have picked a worse day for the opening of my company’s new regional office. Gale-force winds had blasted into the city overnight, knocking down trees and power-lines, shutting down the airport, and tearing the roofs off new, unfinished…
Manitoba brokers brace for the banks
June 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterThe new president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba (IBAM) Ron Vandenbosch says the battle against banks retailing insurance is the top concern expressed by his constituents at the recent IBAM annual general meeting in Winnipeg. Asked to list…
Letters (June 01, 1999)
June 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDear Editor, You are to be complimented on an excellent feature article, in the April Underwriter, on the threat posed by the big banks. The Independent Life Insurance Brokers of Canada have many members who also hold a p&c license.…
Modeling risk, or maybe not…
June 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorWith the rising trend of North American natural catastrophe losses, a great deal of attention is being turned to the development of computer simulated cat risk programs. Cat risk models are hardly a new technological advancement for the insurance industry,…
The Safety Equation
June 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorRecent months have seen increased pressure being brought to bear by the private property and casualty insurance industry to deregulate the monopoly positions of provincial government insurers. Due to its sheer size and control of one of Canada’s largest consumer…
U.S. Insurance Market Outlook
April 1, 1999 Sean Mooney, senior vice president at Guy Carpenter & Company InForecasting the U.S. insurance industry in recent years has been a rear view mirror exercise. The rate of growth in the industry has been in the same 2% to 3% range and profitability indicators have shown little change from year…
MINERS looking for global risk partners
April 1, 1999 Ken Fedosen and Eugene Iacob of Zurich Global EnergyDespite plummeting international commodity values — which over the last decade have made mining equities less than the darlings of stock markets — the Canadian mining industry is expanding at a healthy clip. It is estimated that 100 new mines…
Equisure acquires Ontario broker
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterEquisure Financial Network Inc. (TSE: EFN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Sudbury-based Dinan Insurance Brokers and Financial Services Ltd., a multi-line general insurance and financial service brokerage. The undisclosed purchase price will be paid partly in cash and…
Queensway hits investment snag
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterTSE-listed Queensway Financial Holdings (QFH) posted a 59% drop in earnings a share to 52c for the financial year ended December 1998 compared with the previous year. The company’s directors attribute the earnings decline primarily as a result of a…
Co-operators’ year end profit dented
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterDespite a $11.7 million decline in after-tax income for the financial year ended December 1998, the Co-operators General Insurance Company says it is encouraged by the 7.4% marketshare it notched up during the year. After-tax income for the year amounted…
Transatlantic reports record 1998
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterGlobal reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings Inc. has reported record net income earnings for 1998, up 33.4% from 1997’s US$185.5 million to 1998’s $247.5 million. Net income diluted on a common share basis rose $1.76 from 1997’s $5.34 to 1998’s $7.10. Record…
D&O profit margins decrease
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterIntense competition, increasing litigation and the rising cost of claims is decreasing profitability in directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance market, a panel of executives told the D&O Liability and Issues Symposium sponsored by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).…