Risk
Hub International Ltd. (TSX: HBG) has acquired all of the stock of wholesale brokerage Cross Border Underwriting Services Inc. (CBUS) from managing general agent (MGA) KRG Insurance Brokers Inc. for an undisclosed amount. CBUS will fall under Hub Group (Ontario) Inc., a statement released by the broker network consolidator says.CBUS, which provides coverage placement for […]
By Canadian Underwriter | August 4, 2003
1 min read
Industry
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.’s (TSX: FFH) net earnings rose more than five-fold to $246.2 million for the second quarter of this year compared with the $47 million reported for the same period last year. This equates to earnings of $17.15 a share for the latest quarter against the $2.95 a share shown for the same […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 31, 2003
Toronto-based Northbridge Financial Corp. (TSX: NB) – the listed property and casualty primary insurance arm of the Fairfax group – increased net earnings by 250% to $57.5 million for the second quarter of this year compared with the $16.4 million shown for the same period in 2002. The latest earnings equal $1.16 a share versus […]
2 min read
Claims
Responding to the amendment bill announced this week by the New Brunswick government to the province’s Insurance Act – which primarily presents insurers with an August 15 ultimatum to file for lower auto insurance rates or face immediate across-the board reductions – insurers have objected to the “bureaucratic process” which has slowed the filing applications […]
3 min read
Insurance costs are hammering Canada's rapidly growing construction industry as rates go through the roof and capacity caves in. Builders are harder hit than many other commercial policyholders because underwriters are skittish about large-loss exposures. Many in the construction industry want rate relief and the return of stable markets.
By Craig Harris | July 31, 2003
9 min read
As the final image on the large-screen television faded away, the golf professional clicked a switch and the lights in the small room came on. “Okay, people,” he said with a smile. “These were the fundamentals of how to get up and down from a greenside bunker.” He quickly passed out two sheets of paper […]
July 31, 2003
The problems facing the North American property and casualty insurance industry are clear - and many of the solutions are just as obvious. As mutual insurers met in Niagara-on-the-Lake recently for the NAMIC P&C Management Conference, familiar messages were heard: the need for underwriting discipline in the face of investment losses and claims growth, the desire for more available and affordable reinsurance, and the need to lessen the government regulatory burden on companies. Interestingly, Ontario's mutual insurers may provide some of the answers to these problems.
By Vikki Spencer | July 31, 2003
6 min read
Home
Damage to vehicles as a result of hailstorms that struck Manitoba in mid-July has reached $2.5 million, the province’s public insurer reports. Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) has received about 1,400 claims to date. Generally vehicle damage claims from the hail range from $2,500 to $3,000 each. Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation (MCIC) received 310 claims with […]
With out of control losses on auto having dominated the attention of insurance companies over the past year, a new menace in the form of commercial liability risks has slipped under insurers' underwriting radar. Adverse reserve development in the liability line was almost $250 million last year. At a time when insurers are struggling with the auto product and trying to regain profitability in a weakened investment environment, they can ill afford to be shoring up liability reserves. But, as the U.S. style of litigation creeps northward, already seen in the growing acceptance of class action lawsuits and contingency fees in Canada, it is clear commercial liability insurers have more than prior years' losses to worry about. While the industry has its eye on auto, a "bad apple" may have slipped into the barrel in the form of commercial liability, with the potential to wreak havoc on a weakened industry.
11 min read
A familiar face in unfamiliar times. Brokers face perhaps their most challenging market ever, trying to sell rate increases and find coverage for exposures insurers are leery to touch. Auto insurance has become a political hot potato in almost every province, on the back of consumer outrage at rising rates and lack of availability. The struggle to get the CSIO portal off the ground continues, and the ever-present threat of the big banks loom again. This landscape, however, offers opportunity for brokers, says incoming IBAC president Ken Orr.
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