Cat counter starts the year at $134 million for winter storms
February 19, 2021 by David GambrillFor the Canadian P&C insurance industry, Cat activity roared in like a lion in January, but has looked more like a kitten since then. Two winter storms in Western Canada caused more than $134 million in insured damage, based on…
Today’s cat losses ‘unimaginable’ even 10 years ago: mutual CEO
November 12, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe increase in cat losses over the past 10 years alone is high on the radar for Canada’s mutual insurers and has the industry calling for measures to help adapt properties to severe weather. “We have seen weather and wildfire…
What historical insured catastrophe losses really mean
November 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf you take a deep dive into the real cost to Canadians of insured major natural disasters, even though the methodology changed around 2008, it still shows a long-term trend of claims cost increases over nearly 40 years, industry experts…
IBC talking to feds about future pandemic risk transfer
November 2, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe Insurance Bureau of Canada is starting to look for a national approach to transferring pandemic risk, Ontario brokers have learned. “IBC is in the early stages of exploring what a pandemic risk transfer mechanism would look like with the…
B.C. auto could look a bit like these two provinces under a Liberal regime: IBC
October 9, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf the Liberals return to power this fall in British Columbia after a three-year hiatus, and if they keep their election promises, the province’s auto insurance system may look similar to the auto insurance systems in both Quebec and Saskatchewan,…
‘Much clearer picture’ of how Ottawa will address flood risk coming soon
September 29, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA special pool, in which high-risk properties would have caps or subsidies on premiums for flood insurance, remains a possibility in Canada, and the industry should have a much better idea this fall of what the government plans to do,…
How much these four Alberta cats cost insurers in 2020
September 10, 2020 by Greg MeckbachFour Alberta catastrophes this year have cost insurers a grand total of about $2 billion, the Insurance Bureau of Canada confirmed this week. A hailstorm June 13, affecting mainly northeast Calgary, topped the list as it caused about $1.2 billion…
How many claims the Calgary hail storm caused
July 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe industry is dealing with more than 70,000 claims arising from last month’s hail storm in Alberta, but it’s not clear yet how much of the bill will get picked up by reinsurers, the Insurance Bureau of Canada reports. The…
P&C leaders fire back against no-fault portrayal
July 7, 2020 by Adam MalikBroker and insurer leaders in Alberta are speaking out against those who would paint the insurance industry as nefarious actors looking to line their pockets at the expense of auto policyholders. In particular, they dispute what they feel are negative…
Auto total loss claims escalate after Calgary hail storm: IBC
June 24, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe industry is expecting well over 20,000 claims from the recent Alberta hail storm, and some vehicles were wrecked badly enough that they have to be written off, the Insurance Bureau of Canada reports. “We are hearing from several consumers…
COVID-related fraud schemes that IBC has observed
June 2, 2020 by Greg MeckbachFour vehicles were reported stolen to separate insurers, from the same driveway, on the same night in Brampton, Ont. This is just one example of alleged fraud identified shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Insurance Bureau of…
Where the federal government sits with its national flood insurance review
May 20, 2020 by Greg MeckbachSix years after the federal government promised to explore options for a national approach to home flood insurance, the feds are still thinking about it. About 13,000 were recently evacuated from Fort McMurray, Alta., because of flooding on the Athabasca…