All it takes is a spark. From a sander. Or errant cigarette. And POW! Igniting common, flammable construction materials like wood, solvents, packaging, and gasoline and turning a work in progress to a pile of ash. It’s a powerful blow…
A client occupying a tall wood building could face higher insurance costs, a group of masonry producers claims, while one fire insurer confirms such a building deserves closer scrutiny from an underwriter. Your insurance premiums would be higher as an…
Most of Ontario is under a severe weather warning Tuesday, once again threatening flood damage in a province where insurers have already paid approximately $800 million for natural catastrophe damages. This cumulative total for the year in Ontario does not…
Ontario’s new government is promising to address property risk with a “new climate change plan,” but one of the first things it has done is table legislation scrapping a program that charges people for carbon emissions. “We know that the…
A “pocket storm” that dumped a month’s worth of rain on the City of Toronto in less than three hours Tuesday night has resulted in mostly sewer back-up and flooding claims, with few commercial losses, according to claims adjuster ClaimsPro.…
Aviva Canada is diversifying its portfolio of business to avoid exposure to deteriorating conditions in Ontario’s auto insurance market. “When you look at Aviva’s business in Canada, there’s a heavy concentration in Ontario auto,” Aviva Canada president and CEO Colm…
Each catastrophe presents a unique learning opportunity for today’s risk and insurance professional; over time, savvy risk experts will use these broad-scale “teachable moments” to better prepare their clients and employers to be more resilient in the future. Canadian Underwriter…
The financial costs of flooding in the Maritimes could increase dramatically by the end of the century under a “business-as-usual climate scenario,” even without accounting for changes people have made to the environment that could increase exposure, according to a…
Courting a new business partner and relying on your counterparty’s insurance coverage to respond to a loss? For a risk manager, it’s a good idea to engage in a form of insurance “prenup” conversation with the potential business partner, says…
With wildfire losses reaching a whopping $5.6 billion in the past 10 years, there is an urgent need for a solution that can help insurers price the risk accurately, as well as to help municipal and provincial governments know their…
A severe storm that affected parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-June resulted in more than $90 million in insured damage, according to data released by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). Strong winds and large hail – in some…
Computer systems that many retailers use to accept payment and manage inventory can pose a liability risk if they store credit card numbers, and the “ultimate” solution could be expensive. Many “point-of-sale” systems are installed on computers running Microsoft Corp.’s…