MARKETING MANAGEMENT: The SAME PRODUCT, but the SAME SERVICE?
October 1, 1999 Chris MacKechnie, a consultant at Information DesignWorksAs an industry within the personal financial services sector, our customers don’t like us very much. To tell you the truth, I don’t blame them.; The SAME PRODUCT,
Underwriting performance HERE, and SOUTH
October 1, 1999 Gary Ketchum, managing senior financial analyst at A.M. Best Co.Investment gains have kept Canadian property and casualty underwriting results afloat, but conservative leverage — combined with signs of a market price hardening — now look to provide some additional comfort to the market. However, a comparison of business strategies applied by companies in Canada and their counterparts south of the border suggests that the former will have to place greater emphasis on reducing operating expenses.
INDEPENDENCE or INTERDEPENDENCE?
October 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorDespite the recent and resounding victory of independent property and casualty insurance brokers in blocking banks from branch retailing of insurance, Canada’s brokerage community faces many challenges on the road ahead. Even without the bank threat, the distribution end of…
Provincial Regulatory Harmonization: Cutting the RED TAPE of classes
October 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterIs a new subsidiary, new product or policy form on the horizon for your company? If so, better be prepared for slippery target dates. Lengthy delays in licensing can occur when companies or their brokers develop new products which don’t…
Lindsey Morden raise revenues, drop earnings
October 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterA dramatic rise in revenue — attributed to the inclusion of extensive international acquisitions in 1998 — and a corresponding decline in net earnings characterisze the second quarter results released by Lindsey Morden Group Inc., parent company of adjusters Cunningham…
Queensway tumbles in second quarter
October 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterQueensway Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSE: QFH), recently the subject of a management purge by new U.S.-based majority stakeholders, has released its second quarter figures posting a significant loss over last year’s figures. For the first six months of 1999, the…
Canada/U.S. data shows similar ails
October 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterCanadian and U.S. property and casualty insurance results for the first half of 1999 show a marked decline in earnings, primarily due to weak investment returns and sluggish premium growth. Both the Canadian and U.S. industries witnessed a rise in…
LONDON calling
September 1, 1999 Glenn McGillivray, head of corporate communication at Swiss ReinSince reforms in the mid-1990s, more and more corporate capital is flowing into Lloyd’s of London — much of it from some of the world’s most noted reinsurers. Could this injection of new capital forge the rebirth of the world’s most unique insurance market?
Canada absorbs cat, U.S. takes steps
September 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterFoods that hit New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the week of July 26 have formed one of the largest insured losses to hit Atlantic Canada this decade. Close to 900 claims have been submitted to date and insurers predict damages…
U.S. Reinsurance Market PRICING STABILIZES
September 1, 1999 Sean Mooney, senior vice president at Guy Carpenter & Company InFollowing a lengthy period of stagnation, pricing within the U.S. reinsurance market seems to have stabilized, with even some evidence in the market of rate increases. However, until the market’s excess capacity is depleted, buyers of reinsurance will continue to enjoy the benefits of highly competitive pricing.
the drive for Safer Roads
September 1, 1999 Lowell ConnCanadian automobile insurers wrote a combined $9.3 billion in earned premiums in 1998 while incurring losses of $7.0 billion. This 77.45 loss ratio ranks second only to accident & sickness as the worst loss experience category among all property &…
Y2K: rollingthe dice
September 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorWith year 2000 reinsurance treaty negotiationscurrently in full swing, there is a desperate hope among the players that rates will return to moresensible levels. However, faced with increasedcompetition, both locally and globally, reinsurersanticipate a long road ahead before the soft…