Finite insurance the unfair target of regulators, panel says
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (NYSE: CB) recently received the title of “Best Overall Commercial Property/Casualty Insurer” by readers choice Awards. The award is based on readers’ evaluations of insurance companies on service, value, quality and innovation. Thomas F. Motamed,…
The Insurance Institute joined the Institutes of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Halifax for a tree-planting ceremony that aimed to help rebuild Point Pleasant Park after being devastated two years ago by Hurricane Juan. The Institutes sponsored the ceremony,…
Stan Griffin, the current president and CEO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), is one of two board of directors appointed Sept. 28 by the General Insurance OmbudService (GIO).Dr. Roger Palmer, Ph.D. (Theoretical Physics), of the business school at…
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH) recently announced plans to deliver on its Client Advocate Model across Canada and thus increase market share and revenues in this region. In lieu of this plan Willis will relocate its regional…
The U.S. Treasury Department recently released a report on the state of terrorism suggesting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) should not be extended in its present form.Treasury secretary John Snow says, in a letter concurrent with the reports recent…
After the volatile financial performance of the property and casualty insurance industry over the past five years, coupled with the public attacks of politicians and regulatory agencies last year, insurers are facing “rocky times” as they scramble to regain consumer confidence and maintain underwriting discipline, say speakers at this year’s Canadian Insurance Congress, which was recently held in Banff, Alberta. The top concern of the insurance industry is the potential of new draconian regulations being brought into place in light of the controversy sparked by the numerous and ongoing regulatory investigations into intermediary remuneration arrangements and the use of finite reinsurance contracts – the outcome of which could be a significantly different operating landscape.
Little did the drafters of the U.S. Declaration of Independence know how intensely to heart their call to free speech and revolutionary thinking would be taken by risk managers who recently met in Philadelphia for the annual Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference. The city – which saw the foundation of liberty – was the site of frank dialogue between risk managers, brokers and insurers concerning the alarming regulatory issues now facing the property and casualty insurance industry.
Once spinning their wheels with standalone technology products, many insurance companies are now actively pursuing integrated, end-to-end solutions that allow for full management of the claim lifecycle. Modern technology, coupled with a tight focus on business processes and employee training, is giving insurers a chance to accelerate the speed of claims handling and ramp up service standards. The question today, however, is who is staying ahead of the claims curve?
Despite the restrictive regulations governing the Canadian property and casualty insurance marketplace, the country continues to enjoy above average demand from carriers for new commercial business. While global capacity of Lloyd’s of London remained mostly flat during 2004, the market’s Canadian business growth over this same period significantly outpaced that of the U.S. and the U.K.
The insurance industry should take recent controversy over broker compensation and use it as an opportunity for “healthy self-examination”, Willis Group CEO and chairman Joe Plumeri told an audience at the RIMS Conference in Philadelphia Monday.Plumeri says the industry needs…
The small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) business segment dominates the Canadian economy. Yet, it is a marketplace which property and casualty insurers have in the past experienced varied success, with not all carriers having expressing wholehearted enthusiasm at developing coverage solutions appropriate to the needs of these insureds. The reaction of insurers in the most recent hard market pricing cycle bears testimony to the inconsistency which some insurance companies have approached underwriting of the small to mid-sized business marketplace. But, with renewed pricing stability having being achieved in many commercial lines, we believe that a concerted effort is now needed to provide long-term and consistent coverage solutions to the SME sector.