Risk
Canadian p&c insurers have earmarked $2 million to invest in strategies to win back public confidence following recent years of consumer backlash against the industry, says the outgoing chair of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).State Farm Insurance Cos. senior vice president Robert Cooke, in his final address as chair at the IBC’s annual general […]
By Canadian Underwriter | December 1, 2004
2 min read
Stepping away from big-city insurer Kingsway General and into the agriculturally-based world of mutual insurers might have been a culture shock to some. But for Steve Smith, CEO of the Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan (FMRP), it was more like coming home. Now, with a combination of street smarts and respect for the mutual tradition, he […]
By Vikki Spencer | November 30, 2004
7 min read
Auto insurance regulators and product distributors are increasingly in favor of introducing customization into what has been a traditionally standard offering. Choice, however, implies a clear set of options and a knowledgeable consumer. Will Ontario's experiment provide meaningful and transparent choice in auto insurance coverage?
November 30, 2004
9 min read
Following fast on the heels of this year's four major Atlantic hurricanes - Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne - "Hurricane Spitzer" has sent the insurance industry reeling once more. At the sixth annual North American Insurance Conference (NAIC), speakers agreed that all of these forces of nature should, in the best case, pull the industry away from the temptations of competition and incite a continuation of insurance pricing discipline.
6 min read
"Cyclicality" in international insurance markets is said by some commentators to be inevitable. Whilst their argument has some obvious truth to it - risk premiums will always fluctuate somewhat according to the fundamentals of supply and demand - several factors today are mitigating the severity of future price swings. One of these is a supply factor: the much-welcomed disappearance of under-priced retrocession coverage. Its global extinction is already having a very important price-sustaining influence, as premium rates continue to ease in many insurance markets.
By Adrian Leonard | November 30, 2004
5 min read
Canadian insurers and brokers are responding to the U.S. controversy over broker commissions with a new “consumer code of rights and responsibilities”. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) released the code, along with guidelines for disclosure of broker commissions, fast on the heels of the investigation by […]
Although the new Executive Risk Services Ltd. is a managing general agent (MGA) focused on the directors’ and officers’ (D&O) market, its CEO says the company is also committed to helping organizations practice better risk management. Executive Risk has been up and running for more than a month, writing D&O cover backed fully by Lloyd’s […]
The 49th Annual Toronto Insurance Conference Black Tie Dinner welcomed special guest speaker Ron MacLean, famed CBC sports commentator. McLean entertained the audience at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel with stories about his work with Don “Grapes” Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada, as well as his experiences hosting CBC’s Olympic coverage. The evening also saw […]
3 min read
From "bust to boom" is how many insurer CEOs regard the financial landscape of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry over the past two years. And, with 2004 likely to be the peak year of profitability for the primary insurance sector, many insurer CEOs expect that the coming 12 months will see an overall weakening of the bottom-line as claims frequency and costs - particularly that of the auto product - begin to escalate after two years of a declining trend. Lost consumer confidence, and the negative political and media attention generated in the wake of the dramatic coverage price adjustments implemented by companies over the past two years, will likely remain a challenge in 2005, particularly in light of the controversy sparked by the Spitzer investigation into broker remuneration arrangements, predict insurer CEOs in CU's latest "primary insurer strategies" annual market review.
By Sean van Zyl, Editor | November 30, 2004
17 min read
Risk managers employed by corporations which may have some involvement in research and development (R&D) activities could unknowingly face a significantly uninsured exposure on their business interruption (BI) coverages. Typically, R&D is regarded as an area of the business that supports the development of the company’s products or technology. BI losses in this regard are […]
By Richard Davidson | November 30, 2004
4 min read
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