Risk Managers Sing the Hard Market Blues
March 1, 2003 Vikki SpencerRisk managers are suffering from a case of the blues. Premium hikes, vanishing capacity, tighter terms and increased expectations from insurers are creating havoc for risk professionals. As they descend on Chicago for this year’s Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Conference, the air is filled with apprehension over when the bleeding will stop. Consensus is, while some price and capacity stabilization has occurred, by and large risk managers need to buckle in for a bumpy 2003.
Profile: Walk the Talk
March 1, 2003 Vikki SpencerRisk managers are facing the worst of times. The hard market is in full swing, scandals have shaken corporate America and the terrorist threat continues to loom. But this is also the best of times, says incoming Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) president Lance Ewing. Risk managers have the chance to show their creativity, to assert their role as the “corporate conscience”, and to help each other weather the rough winds.
Cost of risk puts pressure on small companies
February 21, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe cost of risk, including insurance, is about US$2.45 for every US$1,000 of revenue, says a new study from Marsh Inc. The study of U.S. companies also found that this cost varies dramatically depending on the size of the business,…
Recognition of risk management growing, survey shows
February 18, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterFinancial institutions are showing an increased understanding of the need for enterprise-wide risk management (EWRM), says a survey of financial institutions from The Risk Management Association (RMA) and First Manhattan Consulting Group.Among 30 U.S.-based financial institutions, the study found that…
Unplugged: ASPs lighten IT burden
February 1, 2003 Chris Shannahan, vice president, Fair, Isaac and Co.Today insurers spend an average 4% to 8% of their annual budgets on technology – a relatively small investment compared to that of other industries. In the past year, with insurance companies being hard hit by unexpected terrorist-related claims, increasing reinsurance costs, and decreasing income from investments, beleaguered carriers are demanding more returns from their precious IT dollars. Many insurers are opting for the flexibility and agility offered by hosted ASPs (application service providers), a form of IT and application outsourcing.
Views (February 01, 2003)
February 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is already seeing dividends in its battle against auto theft, with the recovery of 17 vehicles that had been stolen and taken to China. Through a new international relationship with the Chinese Intelligence Bureau…
A.M. Best affirms ratings of Gerling primary cos. (February 01, 2003)
February 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterRating agency A.M. Best has affirmed its “A- (excellent)” financial rating of Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs AG (GKA) and its primary insurance subsidiaries of Gerling Canada Insurance Co. and Gerling America Insurance Co. A.M. Best cites Gerling’s leading position in industrial…
Assurex Global grows in Canada
January 30, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterInternational broker Assurex Global has expanded in Canada with the addition of a Vancouver-based brokerage. Shaw Sabey & Associates Ltd. is one of the largest privately-held brokerages in B.C. and deals in a range of insurance and risk management products…
France, Germany face almost $1.5 billion loss from windstorm
January 8, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterWindstorm Calvann, which swept across France and Germany late last week, has produced Eur900 million in insured damages (Cdn$1.47 billion), according to preliminary estimates from Risk Management Solutions Inc.The California-based catastrophe risk management solutions provider says the January 2 storm…
A.M. Best affirms ratings of Gerling primary cos. (January 07, 2003)
January 7, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterRating agency A.M. Best has affirmed its “A- (excellent)” financial rating of Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs AG (GKA) and its primary insurance subsidiaries of Gerling Canada Insurance Co. and Gerling America Insurance Co.A.M. Best cites Gerling’s leading position in industrial insurance…
Unearthing Historical Environmental Liability Policies
January 1, 2003 Jim Hamilton, director of marketing, and William Russell, CEO atFor decades it has been routine business practice in Canada to purchase occurrence-based general liability insurance policies. In recent years governmental authorities have begun to require the clean up of environmental pollution resulting from corporate activities that occurred long ago.…
OSFI ready to roll out risk ratings
January 1, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterThe federal insurance supervisor will soon begin sharing its new “risk ratings” with insurers for the 2002 year. At a recent luncheon of the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association (CIAA) in Toronto, speaker John Fernandes, director of regulatory and supervisory practices…