Why this auto insurer will stop discount for autonomous emergency braking
July 27, 2021 by Greg MeckbachNova Scotia motorists who purchase autonomous emergency braking systems will no longer qualify for a discount with one insurer as of October. In Nova Scotia, Aviva General Insurance Company has a 15% discount, to bodily injury and accident benefits insurance…
Truck fire in Nova Scotia turns propane cylinders into projectiles
June 25, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSDEBERT, N.S. – A cleanup is underway in Debert, N.S., after a transport truck carrying over 1,000 propane cylinders caught fire. Nobody was injured in Sunday’s blaze on the Plains Road, which turned a large number of the nine-kilogram cylinders…
How these two auto insurers rate Gender X differently
May 27, 2020 by Greg MeckbachPembridge Insurance Company plans to start rating motorists who identify themselves as ‘Gender X’ in Nova Scotia, charging Gender X motorists the same as women, the province’s regulator announced Tuesday. Through its Pembridge unit, Allstate writes home and auto insurance…
Dry conditions in Nova Scotia fuelling three large wildfires
May 27, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – Provincial officials in Nova Scotia are warning about the potential for forest fires in dry, humid conditions as firefighters battle three significant wildfires across the province. The fires burning Tuesday follow a weekend blaze near Porters Lake east…
Residents evacuated for forest fire near Halifax allowed to return home
May 25, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSPORTERS LAKE, N.S. – Residents of more than 500 homes that were threatened by a forest fire in an area east of Halifax are being allowed to return now that officials have lifted an evacuation order. Halifax Fire tweeted late…
How Intact changed its approach to minor driving convictions in Nova Scotia
February 19, 2020 by Greg MeckbachFor Intact clients in Nova Scotia, the difference in premiums paid by drivers with a conviction-free discount and those with a minor conviction or two is about to increase. In addition, the company will be removing some automatic emergency braking…
Aviva to start using credit info as auto rating factor in this province
February 13, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAviva Insurance Company of Canada and Traders General Insurance Company have permission to use consumers’ credit information as an auto rating factor, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board announced Monday. Insurers are specifically prohibited from using credit information as…
Why Sonnet asked for a 50% auto rate increase in Nova Scotia in 2020
January 10, 2020 by Greg MeckbachOnline direct writer Sonnet has been under-charging auto clients in Nova Scotia who have fewer than 20 years’ experience or less, but that is about to change. As a result of rate changes approved Thursday, the premium increase will be…
How Intact is changing usage-based auto insurance in one province
October 21, 2019 by Greg MeckbachIntact Insurance is making some key changes to its usage-based insurance (UBI) product for motorists in Nova Scotia. Essentially, the company is requiring continual monitoring of an insured’s driving behaviour rather than having the same discount apply until the end…
Post-Dorian claims adjustment: has the industry resolved its capacity issues?
September 10, 2019 by Greg MeckbachMore than 100,000 Atlantic Canada homes and businesses were still without power three days after Dorian hit Nova Scotia, but the latest hurricane to hit Canada’s east coast should be easier for the industry to handle than the May 4…
Tropical storm to hit Atlantic Canada by Thursday
August 27, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – Environment Canada is warning residents of the Maritimes to brace for a tropical storm later this week. Tropical storm Erin is expected to form later today off the Carolinas and then track northeastward toward Nova Scotia, where heavy…
Ground imaging shows large sinkhole chain near Nova Scotia town
August 26, 2019 Keith Doucette - THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – Preliminary results of an imaging survey near a Nova Scotia town where a sinkhole swallowed part of a park last summer show an extensive belt of hundreds of additional sinkholes stretching for kilometres. Amy Tizzard, a geologist with…