Canadian Market (February 01, 2010)

THREE SEPARATE WEATHER EVENTS CAUSE A TOTAL OF $637 MILLION IN INSURED DAMAGES: IBC

Three separate severe weather events occurring in Alberta and Ontario in 2009 caused insured damages totalling $637 million, according to figures released by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)

In Alberta, deadly windstorms tore through the province between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3, resulting in insurance payouts to claimants totalling Cdn$365-million.

Torrential rains in the Ottawa and Hamilton regions between July 24 and July 26 resulted in Cdn$196 million in insurance payouts.

And in mid-August 2009, a series of more than 14 tornadoes touched down in the Greater Toronto Area, causing insurance payouts in excess of Cdn$76 million.

NOVA SCOTIA MOVES AHEAD WITH INJURY CAP REVIEW

Nova Scotia’s government is moving ahead with its promised review of the province’s $2,500 minor auto injury cap.

The government has issued a nine-page discussion paper on the cap, entitled Concerning the Cap on Pain and Suffering Awards for Minor Injuries, and is calling for public input on the paper by Feb. 15, 2010.

“The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance will conduct the review over the next few months with a target completion date of spring 2010,” the discussion paper says.

The paper includes sections about the history of the cap, damage awards that are not subject to the cap and the minor injury definition.

It also has a page outlining ‘Issues With the Cap,’ which acknowledges the following: “Since the introduction of the cap, there has been a measurable decrease in average premiums for private passenger vehicles. Premiums have also been relatively stable.”

Even so, the discussion paper goes on to say, “the precise impact of the cap, if any, is difficult to determine.”

The full paper is available at: www.gov.ns.ca/finance/en/home/insurance/

ONTARIO AUTO RATES INCREASE BY 2.49% IN 2009 Q4 Ontario’s insurance regulator has approved a 2009 Q4 auto insurance rate increase of 2.49%, based on the entire market.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, for the 55.48% of the province’s auto insurance market that had rate changes approved, the average rate change was +4.49%, when weighted by market share, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) reported.

Rate changes approved in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were -10.60%, -2.43%, -1.27%, +0.55%, +5.59% and +8.77%, respectively, for the entire market.