Canada ‘much closer’ to national flood program: IBC
April 2, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe industry is making progress on getting a national flood insurance program, but a key challenge is getting all provinces, territories and Ottawa to agree on how it should work, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s CEO suggested Tuesday. Unlike Britain…
Hub acquires personal and commercial lines brokerage in Alberta
April 2, 2019 by Jason ContantHub International announced Tuesday it has acquired Del Fisher Insurance, an independent brokerage offering personal and commercial lines. Based in Calgary, Del Fisher Insurance has provided personal and commercial insurance solutions, including home, auto, business and contract bonding to area…
Who knew that book readers could be at such risk?
April 2, 2019 by David GambrillA book lover who claimed to have sustained a concussion and a back injury while tripping over a pile of stacked books in a B.C. bookstore had his liability case dismissed for a lack of evidence. The insurer for the…
Do your insureds understand a “material change in risk”?
March 29, 2019 by Jason ContantIt’s not necessary for an insurer to prove that an insured knew a change in risk was “material” to the carrier, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled. In May 2014, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company voided a homeowner’s policy…
How harassment lawsuit ruling affects insurers
March 28, 2019 by Greg MeckbachDespite a recent ruling that harassment is not a free-standing tort in Ontario, corporate clients and their brokers still need to view harassment accusations as a serious liability risk. In Merrifield v. The Attorney General, released in 2017, Justice Mary Vallee…
What’s holding back Lloyd’s price increases
March 28, 2019 by Greg MeckbachProperty risk could get harder to place in the Lloyd’s market this year. “Difficult decisions regarding existing accounts, or indeed the appropriateness of new accounts, will continue to have to be made during 2019,” the Corporation of Lloyd’s said of…
How sports hazing and abuse affects insurers
March 26, 2019 by Jason ContantThere seems to be no shortage of hazing and abuse incidents in the news lately. Earlier this month, a Miami University student was allegedly hit “with a paddle with spikes and grooves,” forced to drink large amounts of alcohol and…
How the cat season so far compares to 2018
March 26, 2019 by Jason ContantIt seems that the Canadian catastrophe season is off to a strong start, with five events so far this quarter compared to the normal one. “I will say that we have had an anomalous start to the year,” said Laura…
How mistake on last digit of postal code can affect auto rate
March 25, 2019 by Greg MeckbachWhen Kinga Surma moved eight kilometres to a new home, her auto insurance rate went up by $80 a month. “I wasn’t moving very far away,” Surma, Progressive Conservative MPP for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre, told the Ontario…
What the blazes is going on with barn fires?
March 22, 2019 by David GambrillIf Ontario insurers want to reduce the risk of huge barn fires, they might want to consider advocating for the removal of an existing exemption for mandatory fire inspections of farms that is contained in the province’s Fire Code. As…
New insurance coverage for shared travel accommodations
March 21, 2019 by Jason ContantHas your client booked travel accommodations through platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway and Trip Advisor? If so, they are now able to get insurance coverage for trip cancellations and interruptions. CAA Travel Insurance announced Wednesday it has added a new feature…
How climate change affects Canada’s hurricane risk
March 21, 2019 Ryan P. Mulligan, Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, Queen's University - THE CANADIAN PRESSThis article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. When tropical cyclone Idai made landfall near Beira, Mozambique…