Claims

Those Broker Agreements….

The cheerful thump of music became louder as Fred Wilson and I walked towards our city’s major league stadium on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon. My boss Fred, the manager of my insurance company’s downtown branch, threw me a quick smile. “Pretty nice day for a baseball game, eh, Dave?” We flashed our tickets, […]

June 30, 2007

7 min read

Claims

What’s New: In Brief (June 29, 2007)

Swiss Re has created what it says are the first catastrophe bond indices on the market, A.M. Best has reported, giving the market better information on returns related to risk.Richard Pennay, in the structuring department at Swiss Re Capital Markets, told A.M. Best that Swiss Re had introduced the indices to provide more transparency in […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 29, 2007

2 min read

Claims

Court affirms distinctions between ‘other insurance’ policies

There is a distinction to be made between primary, excess and/or umbrella policies when other insurance policies are called upon to respond in situations when primary coverage has been exhausted, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled recently.In McKenzie v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, a policyholder, Michael McKenzie, was involved in a serious boating […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 28, 2007

3 min read

Claims

Insured damages creep past Cdn$1 billion in UK floods

Initial estimates by Risk Management Solutions (RMS) suggest insured losses from recent floods that continue to batter the United Kingdom could exceed 500 million [Cdn$1.06 billion]. The rainfall situation, caused by a stationary east coast depression that draws moisture from the North Sea, is similar to the Norwich flood of 1912, an RMS statement says.It […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 28, 2007

1 min read

What’s New: In Brief (June 27, 2007)

B.C. over the past five years has averaged two deaths and 161 injuries in 574 crashes on Canada Day, costing ICBC and customers Cdn$4.4 million in claims costs. Year after year, speeding is the top contributing factor in all fatal collisions, B.C. Solicitor-General John Les said in a release. By simply slowing down, we can […]

1 min read

Ontario Court of Appeal upholds denial of coverage to driver who was unaware of license suspension

In cases in which insureds are not aware that their drivers licenses have been suspended, trial judges do not have discretion under s. 129 of Ontarios Insurance Act to overturn the insurers denial of auto insurance coverage, Ontario Appeal Court has ruled.In Guy Williams v. York Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, the Appeal Court effectively […]

2 min read

IBC urges Manitobans to check policies after weekend tornadoes

**CLARIFICATION: The following story is an amended and clarified version of a story posted on Canadian Underwriter on June 25** The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is urging Manitobans to check their homeowners policies, and contact their insurance representative, after a weekend in which at least eight tornadoes destroyed homes and buildings across southern Manitoba.Tornadoes […]

1 min read

Cat models must be better at recognizing uncertainty

Catastrophe modelers must do a better job of expecting the unexpected, according to speakers at a European conference, as reported by A.M. Best.I think we need to move to this new age the Age of Recognized Uncertainty, A.M. Best quotes Peter Taylor, a project director at Lighthill Risk Network, as saying. He was speaking at […]

2 min read

Asbestos inhalation risk emerges post-Katrina

The widespread demolition and renovation activities still under way in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 may release asbestos fibers into the air, posing a potential additional health risk, the U.S. Government and Accountability Office (GAO) wrote in a recent report.The report, conducted at the Comptroller General’s initiative, addresses the actions of the […]

2 min read

IBC urges Manitobans to check policies for tornado coverage

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is urging Manitobans to check their homeowners policies for tornado coverage, after a weekend in which at least eight tornadoes destroyed homes and buildings across southern Manitoba.Tornadoes packing winds in excess of 400 km-h touched down in Southern Manitoba June 23-24, destroying homes, farms and blowing a number of […]

1 min read