RIMS 99: HOLISTIC RISKON THE HORIZON
June 1, 1999 Lowell ConnDallas, Texas was the site of the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s recent 37th annual conference and exhibition where 4500 delegates met, networked, and examined a profession undergoing large-scale transformation.
Extreme Perils
June 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorNatural disasters such as extreme weather, a volcanic eruption or an earthquake, are often quaintly referred to in the insurance world as “Acts of God”, adverse events which are seemingly unexplainable or beyond man’s control. Noticeably, the economic and insurance…
D&O profit margins decrease
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterIntense competition, increasing litigation and the rising cost of claims is decreasing profitability in directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance market, a panel of executives told the D&O Liability and Issues Symposium sponsored by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).…
Canadian insurance earnings plummet
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterJanuary ice storm losses, rate cutting and poor investment returns are the major culprits pointing to a 42% drop in property and casualty insurers’ earnings to $1.137 billion for 1998 compared with 1997’s earnings of $1.960 billion, says Paul Kovacs,…
Banks will be hard to regulate, says Cooke
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterProperty & casualty insurance is a pure risk product that must be kept separate from the financial, wealth management and investment-based services provided by life insurers and banks, George Cooke, president of Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, told a…
U.S. Insurance Market Outlook
April 1, 1999 Sean Mooney, senior vice president at Guy Carpenter & Company InForecasting the U.S. insurance industry in recent years has been a rear view mirror exercise. The rate of growth in the industry has been in the same 2% to 3% range and profitability indicators have shown little change from year…
globally Speaking
April 1, 1999 Sean van Zyl, EditorThe CICMA and CIAA 99 Joint Conference – held in Toronto in February – focused on the competitive challenges reshaping the p&c insurance industry. The overall message delivered at the event was clear: the process of industry change, mainly as…
Revenue drop grounds St. Paul
April 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterSt. Paul Companies, an insurance and reinsurance group and the parent of St. Paul Canada — has released its yearend 1998 figures posting a dramatic decrease in earnings over 1997. Net income plummeted from 1997’s US$929 million to $89.3 million…
Batten down the hatches FOR 99
March 1, 1999 Lowell Conn and Sean Van ZylReduced profitability, rising underwriting losses, increased competition and higher technology costs are likely to form the stage for the North American property and casualty insurance industry in 1999, according to the vast majority of respondents in an Insurance Information Institute (III) survey conducted at the annually held Joint Industry Forum which recently took place in New York City.
Ontario auto falls again
March 1, 1999 by Canadian UnderwriterPrivate passenger auto insurance rates in Ontario decreased during the fourth quarter of 1998 according to the latest rate information published by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). This is the 10th successive quarterly decrease since 1996. Of the…
The lights dim on
March 1, 1999 Ted Belton, director of research at RBC Underwriting ManagementThe fair-weather profit years which the property and casualty insurance industry has enjoyed since the mid-1990s is likely to run into a storm in 1999 with companies generating single digit returns on equity (ROE). Projections based on third-quarter StatsCan data…
Risk Management: It’s a Buyer’s Market
March 1, 1999 Lowell Conn and Sean van ZylDespite deteriorating conditions in the property and casualty insurance market, insurers continue to slash already low premium rates. Market observers forecast this trend to continue for at least 24 months as insurers prioritize marketshare over revenue prosperity. Simply put, the…