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High Impact Ahead

May 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, Editor

With the growth of property and casualty insurance industry earnings having plummeted to almost a 20-year low on the back of poor investment returns and intense rate competition — which saw last year’s annual rate of premium growth clock in…

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On The Move (March 01, 2000)

March 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

Queensway Financial Holdings Limited has announced the appointment of H. Anthony Arrell and Patrick Hodgson to Queensway’s board of directors. Arrell is the chairman and chief executive officer of Burgundy Asset Management Limited. Hodgson is the president of Cinnamon Investments…

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Developing niche lines of business: The garage sale closed

March 1, 2000 by Lowell Conn

When the “garage sale” begins and market players undercut one another, nowhere is the reverberations felt any stronger than the specialty lines business. Niche operators want the message to be clear: “Stay out of out of our business”. More to…

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U.S. Insurers look beyond the ratio

March 1, 2000 Lowell Conn & Sean van Zyl

U.S. insurers are fortifying themselves for lower profitability and a higher operating ratio in the coming year, a survey revealed at the 2000 Property & Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum recently in New York City. Industry chiefs insist that, despite heightened merger and acquisition in the year ahead, the overcapitalized insurance environment could soon be swept away by an abundance of cost-absorptive changes.

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Catastrophe frequency expected to rise in 2000

February 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

Natural disasters worldwide last year, and the likelihood of a continued increase in catastrophe frequency, are likely to lead to insurance and reinsurance rate increases, industry rater A.M. Best Co. says. According to initial estimates, 52,000 people died worldwide as…

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A RISKY PROPOSITION

February 1, 2000 Ron Lepofksy, president, PTI Telecommunications

Going online means exposing your company to an array of security risks and hazards. These security risks are typically examined in a piecemeal fashion, but technology is emerging to examine this risk on an enterprise level. One thing is for sure, it’s time to assess your risk, and carry through with plans to mitigate it.

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Up In Smoke

February 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, Editor

The fact that one of Hollywood’s recent creations “The Insider”, which is based on behind-the-scenes dirty tricks employed by opposing parties in the U.S. anti-tobacco wars, achieved such box office success clearly indicates rising public interest in tarring cigarette manufacturers…

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Commercial Risk Under JIT

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The “just-in-time” (JIT) efficiency supply process has over recent years become more than just a popular fad among manufacturers, it has become an engraved business philosophy having produced significant operating savings to companies. However, when evaluating commercial coverages, insurers need to carefully weigh up all the risk factors associated with JIT.

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RIMS releases benchmarks

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The cost of risk has risen in the U.S. but dropped in Canada, according to the recently released Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) 1999 Benchmark Survey. The annual report, co-authored by Ernst & Young, polled 737 American and 79…

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Investments plague Canadian and U.S. insurers

January 1, 2000 by Canadian Underwriter

The 1999 third quarter returns for both Canadian and U.S. property and casualty insurers show little improvement in net earnings, with the return on investment of both sectors now hovering at around the 7% mark. The real problem child surfacing…

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Alternative Dispute Resolution: “Virtual Settlement” online

January 1, 2000 Gary Winston, Director and General Manager of Canadian Operation

Pressed with rising claim costs and cutthroat pricing, insurers are having to look for cost-effective ways to reduce operating costs. Technology is expected to play a significant role in this respect in coming years, however an area offering enormous short-term scope is electronic settlement of casualty losses. Virtual settlement has finally come to Canada.

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Strong Winds are Blowing

January 1, 2000 Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophi

With the 1999 hurricane season recently closing with the last minute arrival of Hurricane Lenny causing considerably and unexpected damage in the Caribbean, the timing of the recently jointly held Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and Insurance Bureau of…