Industry
Direct writer Sonnet accounted for about 5% of Economical Insurance‘s premiums in 2018, the Waterloo, Ont. mutual reported Thursday. “While Sonnet requires additional scale to achieve profitability, we now have sufficient insights and experience to improve performance, and we have confidence in the numerous actions we have already taken,” Economical Insurance CEO Rowan Saunders said […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 22, 2019
2 min read
OTTAWA – The head of the Bank of Canada says his trend-setting interest rate is low enough, at its below-inflation level of 1.75 per cent, that it’s delivering stimulative effects to the economy. But even in the stronger economy, governor Stephen Poloz said Thursday that the benchmark rate’s upward journey to its likely destination range […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 21, 2019
3 min read
Speed is one of the main benefits of parametric insurance compared to traditional forms of insurance, with the underwriting process taking just several days to two weeks, speakers from AXA Global Parametrics in France said Tuesday. Parametrics is index-based insurance, meaning the insurance payout is automatically triggered by a parameter or set of parameters that […]
By Jason Contant | February 20, 2019
A tough Lloyd’s market and California’s worst-ever wildfire led to an underwriting loss for Brit Plc, which Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired in 2015. Fairfax officials faced pointed questions during its recent earnings call from one analyst who suggested Brit’s return on capital has been less than 10%. “It is primarily catastrophes,” replied Fairfax […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 20, 2019
While Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is not ruling out the possibility of buying small specialty insurance players, don’t expect the firm to buy any big insurers any time soon. Toronto-based Fairfax, whose holdings include Northbridge Insurance, bought the majority of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG in 2017. “After we completed the acquisition of Allied […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 19, 2019
An insurer’s popularity among consumers can differ by brand alone, a recent J.D. Power survey indicates. “There are differences when it comes to products, when it comes to distribution, when it comes to your marketing messaging,” Tom Super, director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power, said in a recent interview. J.D. Power released last […]
Your clients have a lot to learn about trip cancellation insurance. Almost two-thirds of Canadians either don’t buy or are unsure if they have trip cancellation insurance before leaving on holiday, according to a recent study of 960 Canadians by Kanetix.ca. Assuming that trip cancellation coverage costs no more than 10% of a trip, that’s […]
By David Gambrill | February 19, 2019
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia will save millions as a result of new auto injury lawsuit rules for the province, which will likely cut costs for other carriers as well, the provincial government says. ICBC, which is losing over $1 billion a year, has a monopoly on basic mandatory auto insurance in the province. But […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 15, 2019
A huge hike in auto rates does not mean your client has to be disgruntled. “There are things that insurers can do to soften the blow when [auto] insurance rate actions need to be taken,” Tom Super, director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power, said Friday in an interview. For example, a broker or […]
Amalgamation with another insurer and going into run-off were among the options considered by Economical Insurance directors before the Waterloo, Ont. carrier started the demutualization process in 2015. Mutual policyholders of Economical are scheduled to vote March 20 on a proposal to demutualize, the details of which are in a recently-released policyholder circular. As it […]
By Greg Meckbach | February 14, 2019
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