CatIQ releases updated toll of April ice storm damage
May 10, 2018 by Jason ContantThe mid-April ice storm in southern Ontario and Quebec cost insurers more than $190 million, Catastrophe Indices and Quantification (CatIQ) said Thursday. CatIQ has reported more than 15,000 insurance claims, including 1,800 car collisions, due to the storm. Strong winds,…
Ontario ice storm estimated to cost insurers up to $164 million
May 6, 2018 by Greg MeckbachThe historic ice storm in Ontario and Quebec in mid-April could cost the insurance industry more than $150 million in damage claims, Verisk Analytics Inc.’s Property Claim Services unit reported Thursday. PCS’s preliminary estimate of a catastrophe event April 14-16…
Court’s response to common impaired driving defence
May 6, 2018 by Greg MeckbachThe driver of a vehicle involved in a major accident near Hamilton has not succeeded in using the “bolus” drinking defence to have her impaired driving conviction overturned. Bolus drinking is when a driver claims to have driven several drinks…
Why open reinsurance markets are best for Canada
April 30, 2018 by Greg MeckbachWith the lion’s share of Canadian insurers’ reinsurance coming from outside of Canada, protectionism in the insurance space would not be good for consumers, a lawyer told Canadian Underwriter last week. Some nations – including Thailand, India, China – have…
Early April storm in Ontario, Quebec causes $85 million in insured damage
April 30, 2018 by Jason ContantA windstorm in early April is estimated to have cost insurers more than $85 million, mostly from home insurance claims in Ontario, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). The April 4-5 storm brought severe rain and freezing rain,…
2 reasons why it’s hard to model crop risk in Canada
April 27, 2018 by Jason ContantFluctuating loss ratios and an evolving mix of crops in Canada are two factors contributing to the difficulty in modelling crop risk in the country, AIR Worldwide said recently. Rebecca Arias, the catastrophe modelling firm’s product marketing manager, wrote in…
Ontario ice storm catches the eye of global reinsurance brokerage
April 20, 2018 by Greg MeckbachSevere weather earlier this week in Ontario has caught the attention of reinsurance providers. Impact Forecasting LLC, a unit of reinsurance brokerage Aon Benfield, noted Friday that winter weather starting April 13 “left considerable damage across southern sections of Canada’s…
Will work automation result in job losses in Canada?
April 19, 2018 by Jason ContantA new survey from Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has found that half of Canadian employers believe that work automation will result in job losses, a finding echoed recently by a Canadian property and casualty insurance executive. In November 2017, RSA…
Major flood of B.C.’s Fraser River could cause billions in economic losses: ICLR speaker
April 18, 2018 by Jason ContantA major flood of British Columbia’s Fraser River or a coastal flood between now and 2100 could trigger economic losses of between $20 billion and $30 billion, a recent flood strategy report found. Released in 2016, Phase 1 of the…
Which insurance carriers are no longer using Z-codes to denote coverage
April 18, 2018 by Greg MeckbachMore than a dozen Canadian property and casualty insurers are using standardized codes to denote coverages, endorsements and discounts in broker’s databases. Thirteen insurer members of the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations ‘are now 100% standards-compliant,” meaning they are…
When policy exclusion wording intersects with fraud
April 17, 2018 by Greg MeckbachThe Court of Appeal for Ontario has decided, in a divided ruling, that title insurance coverage would be “nullified” if one title insurer had its way on a claim. In 2014, Karl Nodel agreed to lend a person $1.1 million.…
Insurers consider weekend storm in Ontario Cat event
April 16, 2018 by Greg MeckbachRecent severe weather in Ontario, with six inches of ice pellets and winds exceeding gale force in some areas, will most likely be a CAT event, insurance companies report. But with rainfall warnings persisting Monday, one insurer reported more than…