BUSINESS DISRUPTION: Risk Management for SMEs
September 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorEstimates suggest that roughly 65% of Canadian small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) engaged in manufacturing currently do not have equipment breakdown coverage, according to research by the Boiler Insurance and Inspection Company of Canada (BI&I). Clearly the owners of…
GOING FOR THE NICHE APPLE
September 1, 2000 Mike Wills, leader of Royal & SunAlliance's Specialty SolutionsGlobalisation has created an expanded market in Canada for specialty niche lines of business. Products such as alternative risk financing or equipment maintenance management which have historically been unavailable in Canada either because the market was too small to support such activity, or large insurers were reluctant to break new ground, are now washing up on Canadian shores.
Fire Protection: Complacency Burns!
September 1, 2000 Gary Richardson, fire chief of the City of OttawOne of the biggest causes of property loss is fire. However, this is a threat which appears to garner less than serious attention in terms of mitigation efforts by both risk managers and insurers. Building fire system inspections carried out by the Ottawa Fire Department last year revealed an exceptionally high level of deficiencies to early warning responses, largely as a result of complacency.
Coming Events (August 01, 2000)
August 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterAnnouncements in Coming Events are run free of charge as a service to the industry. Items should be submitted by the first of the month prior to the month in which the announcement is to appear. Strategy Institute P&C E-Strategy…
Professional Development: STAYING THE COURSE
August 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerRegulatory harmonization, multi-licensing, mergers and consolidations. In a world of rapid change, ongoing education has become a key survival tool of the new insurance landscape. Whether driven by consumers, regulators or employers, the trend is moving toward increasingly higher levels…
Empowering leadership in the “technology millennium”
August 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorReforming company management structures to deal with the rapidly evolving marketplaces of financial services formed the central focus of the International Insurance Association Inc.’s (IIA) 36th annual conference, which was recently held in Vancouver. The prime drivers of change impacting…
Sweet but Deadly, Lessons From Walkerton
August 1, 2000 David CarrAging infrastructure, cut budgets and a blind political eye. With increasing pressure to cut taxes, Canada’s federal and provincial governments have for decades reduced investment and maintenance expenditure in public infrastructure. Repeatedly, reports have been issued of the resulting dangerous…
Rate Setting: is this a regulator’s job?
August 1, 2000 Bill Star, president of Kingsway General Insurance CompanyWhen reviewing the role of insurance commissioners in Canada and the U.S., one must wonder why they became involved in rate approvals. The original role of the insurance commissioner was apolitical, to make sure that companies were properly capitalized, were…
Exploring management myths
August 1, 2000 AxiomSitting at the head table in the hotel’s convention room, I felt a quick stab of uncertainty. I had agreed to be a guest speaker at this broker management seminar staged by our provincial brokers’ association. As my company’s senior…
Better Insuring With Information
August 1, 2000 David Yeo, Ph.D., senior business solutions specialist of data mThere’s an old saying “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” But, in the insurance business today, this adage no longer holds true–what you don’t know can definitely hurt your organization’s bottom-line. The danger comes in not knowing some of…
Counting the Costs of claims service
August 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerThe old adage ‘you have to spend money to make money’ should be taken to heart by today’s insurance companies, say the industry’s claims managers. Canada’s top insurers agree that customer service is the name of the game, and claims handling the key to keeping customers on board. Companies that sacrifice customer service in the name of cost saving are in danger of paying the price in the long run.
Putting a face to Lloyd’s
August 1, 2000 Vikki SpencerFollowing major restructuring in the mid-1990s, including the influx of corporate capital, Lloyd’s is embarking on a campaign to rejuvenate its image. Part of the strategy is the recent announcement that Lloyd’s would allow itself to be supervised by the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority, says Julian James, Lloyd’s North American director