Kingsway operations gain strong financial ratings
December 14, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterRating agency A.M. Best has reaffirmed the "A" (excellent) rating of the Canadian insurance operations of Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSE: KFS). The operations in question include Kingsway General Insurance Co., York Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., Jevco Insurance Co,…
Sleeping Giant: Canada’s Wildfire Risk
December 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerIn 1991, fires raged through the hills of eastern San Francisco, killing 25 and leaving thousands homeless. This travesty cost insurers more than US$1.5 billion. Not since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake set that city ablaze, had the world seen…
2002 Primary Market Outlook Angst
December 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorWith the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry likely to end this year with a return on equity of less than 2% — the lowest level on record — and as claim costs continue to outstrip premium growth, insurer CEOs…
September 11 Will Change Canadian Insurers
December 1, 2001 Joel Baker, GM, A.M. Best Canada Ltd. and Robert Adams, asst. VP, A.M. Best Co.The indirect consequences of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. will have a far greater impact on the insurance industry in Canada than the direct costs resulting from the tragedy. Few Canadian companies will be directly affected.
Financing Terrorism Risks a Backstop, Not Bailout
December 1, 2001 Stan Griffin, executive vice president of regional operations at the IBCIn the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., which sparked concerns globally of a reinsurance withdrawal from covering such risks, the Insurance Bureau of Canada has presented a proposal to the federal government that would see the creation of a temporary reinsurance mechanism available to insurers.
Back Stop…or “Stopped”
December 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorWith the deadline for yearend reinsurance renewals rapidly drawing near, a political game of “chicken” appears to be in play between insurers, reinsurers and the federal government. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) established a special task group following the…
Terrorism Risks the Exclusion Dilemma
December 1, 2001 Brian Reeve, partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLPTerrorism exclusions in Canadian property policies, are they necessary? As the deadline for reinsurance renewals nears, many insurers are looking for alternative solutions to the vexing problem of providing – or not providing – coverage for terrorism related risks.
IBC unhappy with Ontario auto plans
December 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has lashed out at the Ontario government and provincial regulator Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) over their latest discussion document released on auto insurance regulation. The IBC says the latest government offering predates…
Insurers face terrorism “coverage gap”, says study
November 13, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterA new study from A.M. Best Canada suggests Canadian insurers will face a “coverage gap”, with reinsurers reluctant to write terrorism coverage in their January 1 renewals, despite primary contracts covering the risk that go well into 2002.The report, authored…
IBC responds to Ontario’s revised auto insurance proposal
October 31, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has lashed out at the Ontario government and provincial regulator Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) with regard to the latest legislative discussion document released on auto insurance regulation. The IBC says the latest…
IBC questions financial affairs of ICBC (October 01, 2001)
October 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterFollowing disclosure by Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) chair Nick Geer of an expected $150 million loss for the current financial year, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has called on the B.C. provincial government to conduct an independent…
Attak of th Black Mold
September 1, 2001 Glenn McGillivray, assistant vice president and head of corporatIn 1928, while working on the influenza virus, Alexander Fleming observed that mold had developed accidentally on a staphylococcus culture plate and that it had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. He was inspired to further experiment and later found that a mold culture prevented growth of staphylococci, even when diluted 800 times. He named the active substance penicillin. And the rest, as they say, is history.