Canadian/U.S. insurance markets bounce back
September 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorAfter several years of growth decline, the Canadian and U.S. property and casualty insurance markets appear to have turned a corner for the better based on results for the first quarter of this year. Industry economists and market analysts are…
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.
BAIG acquires U.S. aviation group
September 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterU.K. insurer The British Aviation Insurance Group Ltd. (BAIG) has acquired U.S. specialty underwriter Associated Underwriters Inc. (AAU) for an undisclosed amount. BAIG focuses on global aviation risks while AAU acts as a syndicate manager in the aviation and satellite…
Royal & SunAlliance’s underwriting performance dips
September 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterIn a year dubbed “tough” and “challenging”, Royal & SunAlliance’s (RSA) Canadian operation has posted largely disappointing figures for the 1999 financial year. Net income dropped from $172 million in 1997 to $123 million in 1998, and then a further…
News (September 01, 2000)
September 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterAt thae recent Insurance Marketing Communications Association summer meeting in Hilton Head, S.C., Ted Belton (pictured) was honored with the prestigious Golden Torch Award for his 51 years of research and communication on a wide variety of insurance topics. Most…
Walkerton: a risk management nightmare
September 1, 2000 William Blakeney, senior partner at Blakeney Henneberry BakshThe dramatic incident that took place in Walkerton, Ontario during the final two weeks of May, 2000 will go down in history as a tragic example of the suffering and disruption that can occur when municipal and provincial agencies fail to act on system safeguards. The events that led up to the contamination of Walkerton’s water supply present valuable lessons in risk management as well as serious considerations for insurers underwriting municipal risks.
Alternative Risk Transfer: CAPTIVES GAIN GROUND
September 1, 2000 Sean van Zyl, EditorGrowth in the formation of captives for self-insurance and the facilitation of alternative risk transfer (ART) transactions is expected to rise by 5% per annum through to the end of 2005, according to rating agency A.M. Best Company. Specifically, the…
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
CNA Re closes Canadian offices
August 1, 2000 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Chicago-based CNA Group is the latest of reinsurance players to be placed on the injury list as a result of losses on Canadian business. CNA Re, which writes its business in Canada through a wholly-owned U.S. registered subsidiary, Niagara…
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…
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…
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…