Industry
The Canadian property and casualty insurance industry increased net profit for the first quarter of this year by more than 4.3 times to $589.6 million compared with the $136.9 million reported for the same period in 2003, according to financial data collected by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Services (OSFI). First quarter industry […]
May 31, 2004
2 min read
Risk
While the focus of Canadian insurers in the technology application arena has been primarily on "front-end" interface with brokers, new developments in terms of electronic underwriting tools and risk modeling are slowly beginning to surface as companies have been forced to review their existing legacy-based mainframe systems in order to achieve real-time processing. This has created the opportunity to build "risk filters" into the mainframe architecture with the ability to integrate data from third-party information providers. But, the move by Canadian insurers toward automated underwriting has been slow and cautious relative to advancements made in the U.S. marketplace, possibly due to emerging controversy surrounding the use of policyholders' individual information - such as credit standing - in setting the price of coverage.
By Sean van Zyl, Editor | May 31, 2004
10 min read
The insurance industry's focus on crime prevention has shifted to organized criminal networks. Intricate, often sophisticated rings have moved rapidly into lucrative areas like staged collisions and auto theft. Insurers say the daunting spread of organized crime requires a concerted industry-wide response and partnerships with police, judicial and government agencies. But, can insurers keep up with the criminals?
By Craig Harris | May 31, 2004
Investment analysts and insurer CEOs speaking at this year's National Insurance Leadership Symposium, which was recently held in San Francisco, share a cautious sense of optimism regarding the current financial state of the North American property and casualty insurance industry. However, many of the speakers were concerned that the "cost of the past", combined with insurers' habitual mistake of abandoning underwriting discipline, could undermine the industry's objectives of achieving long-term sustainable profitability and stable market pricing.
8 min read
The property and casualty insurance industry's mantra of late has become, "how can we stop the cycle"? At this year's RIMS Conference in San Diego, commercial clients urged insurers to find a way to avoid the startling price increases of the past two and a half years, and temper the behemoth known as the "insurance cycle". Insurers say this can be done, but caution that everyone - carriers, buyers and legislators - must be part of the solution.
By Vikki Spencer | May 31, 2004
7 min read
Introduced in Canada in 2000, automated rental car systems changed the way insurers and rental car companies do business. The new technology promised to cut costs and boost customer service and has done so quite successfully. Now, four years later, innovations in technology have helped the replacement rental process evolve into a sophisticated relationship between […]
By Tim MacNair | May 31, 2004
4 min read
Canadian commercial insurance buyers have had little to celebrate with the record rate increases and tight terms faced over the past two or more years. Now, with reinsurers and insurers reporting stronger results, risk managers' expectations of better pricing are starting to surface. However, insurers and brokers warn, risk managers who look for the loose underwriting standards and coverage giveaways of the past, do so at their own peril.
5 min read
Each month of this special 70th anniversary year, Canadian Underwriter will look back at a pivotal period in the industry's history. These are the people, events and issues that have shaped Canadian Underwriter and the insurance industry for seven decades.
3 min read
Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry – inclusive of the primary and reinsurance sectors – appears to suffer from a condition of “rich man, poor man syndrome”, a condition which the insured public whether they fall in the personal lines or the commercial classes of business does not seem to have much sympathy for. As […]
By Sean van Zyl, Managing Editor | May 31, 2004
In an unprecedented move, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has filed charges against two former Pilot Insurance Co. executives for “directly or indirectly furnishing false, misleading or incomplete information” to the insurance regulator. Former Pilot CEO Stu Kistruck and CFO Colin Simpson each face the same charge, along with another charge relating to […]
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