Why home insurance was so profitable for Intact in 2020
March 11, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe hard market in home insurance is helping Canada’s largest P&C insurer make a healthy profit. But insurers need to maintain pricing discipline in personal property because weather catastrophe costs are increasing over time, suggests the chief financial officer at…
How Intact will decide whether to keep RSA operations outside of Canada
March 2, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIt would have been difficult for Intact Financial Corp. to only buy RSA’s Canadian operation without buying other parts of London-based RSA plc, a senior Intact executive suggests. “It is difficult to pull [RSA Canada] away from the RSA Group…
Intact looks beyond RSA deal for more M&A
March 1, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. will probably not be finished acquiring other insurers after Intact absorbs RSA Canada. “We will be ready at some point to take on more transactions in Canada,” Intact CFO Louis Marcotte said during the 22nd Annual Credit…
Four ways Intact defends itself from disruption
February 26, 2021 by Greg MeckbachCanada’s property and casualty insurance providers are not likely to be affected by aggregators to the same extent as their British counterparts, although brokers could certainly face disruption from technology firms, Intact Financial Corp.’s chief financial officer says. “The biggest…
Intact CEO’s forecast for auto rate relief in 2021
February 24, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIt could be up to a year before driving habits return to normal, but don’t expect many of your clients to pay less for auto insurance. Those were a couple of key takeaways from a recent Intact earnings call. “It…
Property restoration space has ‘big capacity’ issue: Brindamour
February 19, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. is aiming to build capacity in what CEO Charles Brindamour calls the “super-fragmented” restoration contractor industry. “Our thought process with On Side [Restoration] is very much consistent with what we tried to do with BrokerLink a decade…
Where Intact sits with the RSA acquisition
February 10, 2021 by Greg MeckbachNow that Intact Financial Corp.’s deal to acquire a large chunk of RSA plc has been approved by both the federal Competition Bureau and RSA shareholders, Toronto-based Intact expects the deal to close by July and has more than two…
How much the second COVID wave will probably add to Intact’s claims costs
February 10, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. has now reserved $106 million for claims related to COVID-19, with $23 million of that booked during the last three months of 2020. Intact initially set aside $83 million in reserves for COVID-19 claims during the three…
Court sides with condo insurers that used the wrong policy to deny a $4.4-million water damage claim
January 20, 2021 by David GambrillSix subscription policy insurers that denied coverage to a condo corporation in a $4.4-million water damage claim — a denial based on reference to the wrong policy — have had the matter tossed out of court. The Court of Queen’s…
RSA shareholders approve Intact-Tryg takeover
January 18, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp.’s proposed takeover of RSA Canada has crossed two additional hurdles. The deal was approved Monday by a majority of shareholders of London-based RSA, Intact said in a release. Canada’s federal competition bureau has also approved the deal,…
The diversity and inclusion statement that hit home for Intact’s management team
December 9, 2020 by Jason ContantIntact Financial Corporation was holding focus groups on diversity and inclusion a few months ago, when a young manager of colour shared her experience with the insurer’s senior management. “She gave an example to us, which struck most of the…
End of the line for Intact’s bid to appeal frozen food spoilage coverage dispute
December 7, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA Supreme Court of Canada decision released Thursday means Intact Insurance has to defend two lawsuits against a client that operates a cold storage warehouse. Clauson Cold & Cooler Ltd. had a “Commercial Edge Express Plus” policy with Intact. In…