Chasing the Hurricane
June 1, 2006 Gregory Kopp, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Wind Engineering, University of WesteFull-scale measurements, combined with laboratory testing of hurricanes, improve housing structures so that they can withstand nature’s most powerful storms
RMS launches new windstorm model
May 30, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterRisk Management Solutions (RMS) recently launched a new platform for quantifying wind-related risk. Meteorological modeling has been extended to include a comprehensive suite of wind events enabling loss calculations both from large-scale Extra-Tropical winter-storms, such as windstorms Anatol, Lothar and…
Thousands of claims follow U.S. Midwest tornadoes
March 16, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterTornadoes that recently hit a number of Midwest states have already resulted in thousands of insurance claims.Preliminary numbers indicate approximately 100 storms struck Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, causing less than 12 deaths. The National Weather Service has not…
Annus horribilis
January 1, 2006 Glenn McGillivray, Managing director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction2005: A Record-Breaking Year for Disasters
Clean up ensues following southern Ontario storms
August 22, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterA series of storms, including two tornadoes, recently wreaked havoc on southern Ontario destroying homes, flipping cars, downing power lines and more. Environment Canada reports the F-2 (a “Strong” rating on the Fujita scale) tornadoes traveled with winds ranging between…
Insurers may be flooded with storm damage claims from Alberta
June 23, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterFlooding is no longer the only force damaging residences in Alberta. Environment Canada has now released reports of several tornado sightings near Vauxhall, Taber and Coalhurst with at least one of them touching down. In addition, heavy windstorms and golf-ball-sized…
Tornadoes and tsunami’s threaten Canadian residents
June 15, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterEnvironment Canada recently issued two tornado warnings for southwestern Ontario due to a report from a Ontario Provincial Police officer referencing a tornado touching down northeast of Fergus, Ontario and further reports that a tornado touched down in Elmvale.A funnel…
2004 “a year of freakish weather”: Aon
March 13, 2005 by Canadian Underwriter2004 will stand out as one of the most active years for violent weather events, according to Aon’s “2004 Global Climate and Catastrophe Report”.The report, produced by Aon Re Global and Aon’s Impact Forecasting subsidiary, chronicles a year of “freakish…
Homeowners and Natural Hazards
January 1, 2005 Paul KovacsHow well do Canadian homeowners understand insurance coverage for natural hazards? Would they like their insurance companies to send them information about hazard safety? Do homeowners approve of insurance companies funding loss prevention research? These are questions the Institute for…
Colorado storms expected to leave US$145 price tag
June 22, 2004 by Canadian UnderwriterHailstorms which swept through the Denver area in early June should cost insurers more than US$145 million, predicts the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA).The storms struck June 8-9, bringing hail and severe weather to the state, including a tornado…
70 Years of Insurance
April 1, 2004 Vikki SpencerWhen Norman Jardine published the first edition of Canadian Underwriter in 1934, “in the interests of fire and casualty insurance in Canada”, the world was a very different place. The population stood at about 10.5 million, the country was weathering…
Isabel could cost U.S. insurers US$1 billion
September 22, 2003 by Canadian UnderwriterIn the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel, as property & casualty insurance adjusters move into affected areas of the U.S. to assess damage, payouts could reach as high as US$1 billion, says the Insurance Information Institute (III).Hurricane Isabel cut a swath…