Risk
Hot on the heels of a throne speech demanding insurers reduce auto insurance rates in New Brunswick, the provincial Conservative government is striking a committee to review the potential for a public auto insurance system.MLA Elizabeth Weir has been asked by Premier Bernard Lord to head up the “Select Committee on Public Auto Insurance”, which […]
By Canadian Underwriter | August 6, 2003
1 min read
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
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
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
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
In the words of the International Insurance Society's (IIS) president Patrick Kenny, "there's a new chapter being written in the history of the insurance industry". The post-9/11 era has created a volatile risk environment on several levels, from the political, social to economical - all of which have bearing on how insurers perceive and deal with the risks of today and tomorrow. Not surprisingly, the 600 attendees and speakers from around the world that partook in this year's IIS seminar, which was recently held in New York City, identified "recovery from adverse market conditions" as being the top priority facing the insurance industry in the year ahead.
By Sean van Zyl, Editor | July 31, 2003
5 min read
On the eve of Ontario's launch of new regulations to reform the auto insurance system, leaders of the property and casualty insurance industry met to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the dilemmas facing them. While auto dominated much of the debate, there was a clear understanding that the industry's woes are manifold. Across all lines of business, from the reinsurance sector to the primary market, companies and indeed their clients are paying the price for too many years of soft pricing and poor industry performance.
Although pricing of catastrophe covers began rising in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, it is important to note that these rate increases only brought premium levels to a point last seen almost a decade ago. Should the Canadian insurance industry see a normal "cat burden" for 2003, then the combination of primary and reinsurance rate increases should be enough to allow reinsurers to see improved combined ratios at yearend. But, whether the market's result will be good enough remains to be seen. Swiss Re's annual cat study highlights the major factors likely to come into play in evaluating and pricing exposures.
By Catherine Fagan, assistant vice president atSwiss Reinsurance Co. Canada | July 31, 2003
7 min read
Following recent political events surrounding auto insurance in New Brunswick is a bit like getting hooked on one of the more inane soap-operas on television: each line delivered by a character is a clich, and the only reason to keep watching is to see just how stupid the story can get. In fact, seeing the […]
4 min read
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) has lowered the financial strength rating on Swiss Reinsurance Co. and its operating subsidiaries to “AA” from “AA+”. The rating agency’s outlook on the reinsurer is stable.S&P says the rating downgrade resulted from Swiss Re’s “relative underperformance in its non-life underwriting profitability”. The rating agency has attached a higher […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 30, 2003
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