Two firms complete Ontario acquisitions
March 8, 2024 Philip PoradoBrokerLink announced its acquisition of Owen Sound, Ont.-based Hanbidge & Bowman Ltd. Insurance Professionals. The deal was effective Mar. 1, the company said said in a Mar. 5 press release. Hanbidge and Bowman Insurance was established in 1947 and provides…
Is FSRA planning to license aggregators?
October 6, 2023 Philip PoradoOntario’s insurance regulator has confirmed it is considering whether or not aggregators need to be licensed. Since August, when Ontario’s financial services regulator issued a report outlining concerns about auto insurers’ compliance with take-all-comers requirements, Canada’s P&C insurance industry has…
Why AB claim doesn’t clear minor injury guideline hurdle
August 15, 2023 Philip PoradoAn applicant who failed to demonstrate her injuries weren’t minor cannot receive benefits beyond the minor injury guideline (MIG), an adjudicator determined in an Aug. 14 Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) decision (Reid v. Aviva General Insurance, 2023 ONLAT 20-015102/AABS – A). The MIG…
What FSRA found when it examined take-all-comers compliance
August 4, 2023 Philip PoradoOntario’s auto insurance regulator has used the phrase “systemic non-compliance” to describe how the province’s 12 largest auto insurance companies are approaching Ontario’s take-all-comers requirement. According to a Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) report, released Friday, market behaviour…
Where Ontario’s 2022 fire-related deaths ranked
January 13, 2023 Philip PoradoOntario’s 133 fire-related deaths during 2022 were the highest in more than 20 years, the province’s Fire Marshal Jon Pegg said in a Jan. 3 tweet. In comparison, 2021 saw 124 fire-related deaths. There were 115 fire-related deaths in 2020…
Lawsuit arising from 1982 vehicle accident dismissed in 2021
December 20, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA negligence lawsuit against a plaintiff’s lawyer by an Ontario claimant who was injured in a 1982 motor vehicle accident has been thrown out of court. The claimant settled his accident benefits and tort claims in 1999, when he was…
Ontario clients can operate these large trucks with no formal course
December 8, 2021 by Greg MeckbachTwo years after flagging the issue, Ontario’s auditor general says the transportation ministry has made “little to no progress” in mandating formal training for drivers of all large commercial vehicles. In Ontario, Class A licensed commercial operators need a formal…
NDP motion calls for Ontario truck insurance relief
April 30, 2021 John G. SmithOntario NDP MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk-James Bay) has officially introduced a motion calling on the provincial government to tackle rising insurance costs faced by owner-operators. “Today is a victory for all the truckers in northern Ontario and across the province…
Ontario budget highlights property flood risk
March 25, 2021 by Greg MeckbachInsurers are applauding the Ontario government for its commitment to improve flood mapping and to provide more money for municipal water infrastructure, measures that the industry hopes will reduce the risk of water damage to insured properties. In a press…
The good news and bad news about Ontario auto
September 24, 2020 by Greg MeckbachOntario auto insurance rates were 3.7% lower in the second quarter of 2020, than in the same period in 2019, but were still higher than in the three months ending March 30, 2020, data released Tuesday by LowestRates.ca suggests. “COVID…
Why regulation holds auto insurers back from using advanced modelling
August 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAuto insurers could potentially use artificial intelligence to improve risk segmentation but some of the newer modelling techniques may not be a good fit with the way rates are currently regulated, a data science expert for one insurer suggests. Ontario’s…
New boiler inspection rules coming to Ontario agriculture
July 28, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAn exemption from inspection rules for boilers and pressure vessels in Ontario’s agricultural sector is coming to an end. Starting next year, boilers and pressure vessels will have to get a certificate of inspection from the province’s Technical Standards and…