Winterthur sale complete under new terms
July 27, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterBermuda-based XL Capital has finalized its purchase of the Wintherur International operations of Credit Suisse Group. The all-cash deal, valued at US$405 million, is slightly less than originally announced because of the exclusion of "certain parts of the business agreed…
Guy Carpenter study links reinsurance and capital management
July 25, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterReinsurance will play an key role in capital management for insurers, says a new study from international reinsurance intermediary Guy Carpenter. The study, based on a seminar on capital management, notes that insurance companies need to manage capital more effectively…
Canadian reinsurers: AT PURGATORY’S GATE
July 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorLast year may have been a period in “hell” for global reinsurers. after seven consecutive years of declining rate adjustments spurred by weak market conditions, reinsurers were struck a double whammy of soaring catastrophic losses and a sudden reduction in retrocession capacity. action had to be taken, and was taken with treaty renewal rates rising around the globe. However, if last year was “hell”, then this year the industry must face “purgatory”, where the sins of the past will be tested against the resolve of reinsurers to implement the necessary premium rate adjustments desperately needed to regain profitability.
RIMS CONFERENCE 2001: ON THE WORLDSTAGE
July 1, 2001 Vikki Spencer“We stand on the verge of an incredible opportunity.” With these words, incoming Risk and Insurance Management Society president David Mair opened the society’s 2001 conference in Atlanta. The opportunity, he says, comes from the changing insurance market, and the…
Assurex acquires B.C. brokerage
June 12, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterOhio, U.S.-based commercial brokerage group Assurex International has acquired risk management specialist CMW Insurance Services Ltd. located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Details of the transaction were not made public. CMW Insurance specializes in the risk areas of construction, property development,…
New RIMS designation takes shape
June 11, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) has announced the formation of an advisory council to lead the development of its new “fellow” designation. Based on the Canadian-made Fellow of Risk Management, the new educational level promises to take a…
BIRTH OF THE CAT BOND
May 1, 2001 Andrew RickardTHE FUTURE OF REINSUR ANCE FINANCING
Insurers not immune to risk management
April 1, 2001 by Canadian UnderwriterInsurers may deal in risk, but they may not be taking “enterprise risk management” to heart in their own companies, and it is a situation that will have to change soon. Neil Parkinson, partner at KPMG LLP, told guests at…
DEVELOPING A PROFESSION
April 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerAt the recent Ontario Risk Management and Insurance Society (ORIMS) professional development day, a host of speakers expressed the need for expanding the knowledge and influence of risk managers in the corporate structure. With new approaches to risk financing and…
BUSINESS CONTINUITY: do you have a plan?
April 1, 2001 Karen Rutherford and Gerry Myer of the Crisis Tool GroupDo you need to show your employer that as a risk manager you are bringing value-added services to your organization? Do you need to create a sense that you are virtually indispensable? Would you like to know one process that will allow you to know more about your company than the CFO, CEO or anyone else? Ask any continuity planner and they will quickly tell you the answer – build your company’s recovery plan.
VANCOUVER’S REAL EARTHQUAKE RISK: FIRE
April 1, 2001 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe recent earthquake which shook residents of Seattle and Olympia in north Washington state has given risk managers with exposures in southwestern British Columbia more than a mild shudder. It has long been known that the highly urbanized cities of…
Defining the Cost of Risk
April 1, 2001 Vikki SpencerThe cost of risk in Canada rose in 1999, according to a survey from the Risk and Insurance Management Society. At the same time, administration costs for risk management departments fell, giving rise to the observation that risk managers are having to do more with less. And, with the hardening of the insurance market, already evident in the 1999 results, there promises to more pressure than ever on risk mangers to stretch their resources and find creative ways to finance risk.