What’s New: In Brief (January 09, 2009)

Preliminary assessments place the claims costs of insurable losses related to the recent winter storms in British Columbia at Cdn$39 million. Thus far, 4,300 claims have been received, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. As a result of this series of storms, insurance companies received an unusually high number of claims within a short period of time, according to IBC. Most of the claims submitted to date relate to burst pipes, snow load/roof collapses, sewer back-up problems or wind damage. “Insurers continue to swiftly process claims for their customers,” Lindsay Olson, IBC’s vice president of British Columbia, Saskatchewan & Manitoba, said in a release. “However, it could take months to assess the full extent of the damage caused by the storms.”

Five co-operatives have become member-owners of The Co-operators Group Ltd. A total of 46 Canadian co-ops, credit union centrals and like-minded organizations are now part of the co-operative ownership. The new member-owners are Co-operative Auto Network, Farmers Co-operative Dairy Ltd., Granny’s Poultry Cooperative Ltd., Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. and United Community Services Co-op.