If anyone harbored doubts of the political clout capable of the independent broker movement in protecting its business turf, such a notion would have been soundly thrashed by the highly effective campaign wielded against the banks in the latest round…
Despite the recent and resounding victory of independent property and casualty insurance brokers in blocking banks from branch retailing of insurance, Canada’s brokerage community faces many challenges on the road ahead. Even without the bank threat, the distribution end of…
Ontario’s collision repair industry is undergoing fundamental change — however, it is a change that spells good news for a besieged industry, insurers as well as a beleaguered consumer.
The recent acquisition of insurance wholesale broker KMS Insurance by consolidator The Hub Group emphasizes the change consolidation is bringing about throughout the broker distribution channel. Wholesale brokers and managing general agents have been brought into the market fray of soft rates and the eternal drive for cost-efficiency. Is there a future for this particular breed of broker — most of the players believe so, but each appears to be taking a different course.
The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company’s answer to the direct writing threat, Chieftian Insurance, is one of the future consumer-interaction options open to brokers, predicts Alan Hanks, vice president field operations of the new company. Hanks outlined the broad…
Since reforms in the mid-1990s, more and more corporate capital is flowing into Lloyd’s of London — much of it from some of the world’s most noted reinsurers. Could this injection of new capital forge the rebirth of the world’s most unique insurance market?
Property & casualty insurance brokers are breathing a collective sigh of relief as the federal government’s discussion paper on the future of financial institutions in Canada effectively put a moratorium on the banks’ entry into the retail insurance market. Despite…
Following a lengthy period of stagnation, pricing within the U.S. reinsurance market seems to have stabilized, with even some evidence in the market of rate increases. However, until the market’s excess capacity is depleted, buyers of reinsurance will continue to enjoy the benefits of highly competitive pricing.
Recent years have seen the emergence of ethical issues relating to multi-disciplinary professional firms such as lawyers and accountants. Questions have been raised over the role such organizations play in providing global services to companies such as insurers while maintaining confidentiality of the information handled and thereby avoiding potential conflicts of interest. A recent legal case has drawn a clearer picture of this ethical debate.
There is a patriotic undertone to this year’s Canadian Risk & Insurance Management Society (CRIMS) national conference — “Risk on the Rock” — which will be held in St. John’s Newfoundland this coming September. In addition to hosting one of Canada’s premier national conferences, the province is also celebrating its fiftieth year of Canadian confederacy.
As insurance professionals, we sell not only security, but also knowledge. Our competitive advantage is often based on what we know and how well we can apply it. This means that individually, as brokers, and collectively as an industry, learning…
The 1990s saw considerable attention drawn to the global benefits of the so-called “hot” developing economies such as South America, Asia and the former Eastern Bloc countries. Most recently, we have seen plunging stock markets and economic uncertainty resulting in these same areas. Strangely, these have a link with trends in Canadian financial supervision.