Ontario ministry issues guidance on paying HST on accident benefits
March 27, 2019 by Jason ContantOntario’s Ministry of Finance has proposed regulatory amendments clarifying that harmonized sales tax (HST) is required to be paid in addition to accident benefit limits. If approved, the proposed changes to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) under the Insurance…
How environmental liability ruling could affect other insurance lines
March 27, 2019 by Greg MeckbachEnvironmental liability is not the only line of insurance that could be impacted by the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling on a trustee in bankruptcy’s obligation do deal with inactive energy assets such as oil wells. In Orphan Well…
These Lloyd’s syndicates have shut down
March 27, 2019 by Greg MeckbachToronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings is among the insurers who own Lloyd’s syndicates that were shut down at the end of 2018. The Corporation of Lloyd’s released Wednesday a list of the eight syndicates that stopped trading as of Dec. 31.…
How sports hazing and abuse affects insurers
March 26, 2019 by Jason ContantThere seems to be no shortage of hazing and abuse incidents in the news lately. Earlier this month, a Miami University student was allegedly hit “with a paddle with spikes and grooves,” forced to drink large amounts of alcohol and…
How the cat season so far compares to 2018
March 26, 2019 by Jason ContantIt seems that the Canadian catastrophe season is off to a strong start, with five events so far this quarter compared to the normal one. “I will say that we have had an anomalous start to the year,” said Laura…
Intact announces departure of executive vice president
March 25, 2019 by Jason ContantIntact Financial Corporation (IFC) has announced that executive vice president Don Fox will be leaving the company effective May 3. Fox has been responsible for overseeing IFC’s investment management, corporate legal, corporate development, audit and finance functions. These key functions,…
How mistake on last digit of postal code can affect auto rate
March 25, 2019 by Greg MeckbachWhen Kinga Surma moved eight kilometres to a new home, her auto insurance rate went up by $80 a month. “I wasn’t moving very far away,” Surma, Progressive Conservative MPP for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre, told the Ontario…
How to boost sales leads? Turn your AGMs into a fun event
March 22, 2019 by David GambrillPutting the fun back into your annual general meeting could be a great marketing opportunity, leading to more and better sales leads, a Canadian digital marketer told delegates attending the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association’s AGM in Toronto Thursday. To generate…
How to get Canadian policyholders to share their personal information
March 22, 2019 by Jason ContantNearly half of Canadian consumers would be willing to share “significant personal information,” such as location data and lifestyle information, with their insurer or bank in exchange for lower pricing on products and services, according to a new report from…
What ransomware attacks cost your clients
March 21, 2019 by Jason ContantBrokers selling cyber insurance may want to pay attention to a recent statistic: the average financial cost of downtime to a Canadian business following a ransomware attack is 7.5 times higher than the average ransom requested per incident. Canada not…
The challenges in navigating the ridesharing insurance minefield
March 20, 2019 by Jason ContantDespite using a wholly-owned captive insurance subsidiary and third-party insurance, ridesharing company Lyft Inc. cannot ensure its coverage will sustain all of its business risks and costs, the company acknowledged in a recent stock-listing prospectus of risk factors. San Francisco,…
Economical clears major hurdle to demutualization
March 20, 2019 by Greg MeckbachEconomical Insurance is a step closer to demutualization and becoming publicly traded on the stock exchange. An overwhelming majority (99%) of the insurer’s mutual policyholders voted Wednesday in favour of a demutualization proposal released in January. Several more steps are…