Claims

WHO pushes international sharing of H5N1 vaccines

In an attempt to better prepare all countries in the case of an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reached an agreement that encourages international cooperation to ensure equal access to H5N1 vaccines and other pandemic vaccines. The World Health Assembly (WHA) wrapped up its sixtieth session yesterday, after adopting the resolution, Sharing […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 24, 2007

1 min read

Claims

SCOR to take WTC settlement to arbitration

SCOR Reinsurance has served notice that it intends to take to arbitration a recent US$2-billion settlement that was designed to bring an end to the six-year legal battle between seven insurers and the leaseholder of the World Trade Centre over the value of the insurance policies covering the centre.New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Insurance […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 24, 2007

2 min read

Claims

What’s New: In Brief (May 22, 2007)

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has designed a trigger mechanism and performed the risk analysis for a Swiss Re securitization of typhoon risk in Japan. A Cayman Islands special purpose vehicle, Akibare Ltd. has provided collateralized coverage of $120 million over five years for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. We believe that this transaction illustrates how […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 22, 2007

1 min read

Claims

NOAA predicting above-average 2007 hurricane season

There is a 75% chance the 2007 hurricane season will be above normal, according to the NOAA [National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration].An average season is one in which there are 11 storms, six of which become hurricanes and two of which become major [Category 3-5] hurricanes. For the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, scientists predict 13 […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 22, 2007

2 min read

Reinsurers wary of “naive,” short-term capital providers

Traditional or legacy reinsurers, those who have been in the business a long time, are confronting a recent sea change in reinsurance philosophy, according to the senior vice president and chief agent in Canada for the Toa Reinsurance Company of America, David Wilmot.I see a perfect storm, in which the industry, relying as it is […]

2 min read

Canadian reinsurers’ 2006 income highest in past four years

Canadian reinsurers in 2006 collectively posted their highest net income in the past four years, according to data collected by the Reinsurance Research Council (RRC).The RRC data was presented by a panelist speaking at a Property Casualty Underwriter Club (PCUC) luncheon meeting in Toronto.In a presentation to the PCUC luncheon, Aon Re Canada Inc. senior […]

1 min read

ICLR selects Co-Operators’ Bardswick as chairman

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) has appointed Kathy Bardswick, CEO of The Co-Operators Group, as its new chairman, effective immediately.Bardswick will replace David Wilmot, who recently announced his intention to retire from the ICLR and his role as senior vice president and chief agent for Canada of Toa Re, following a reinsurance career […]

1 min read

75% chance of Category 3-5 hurricane hitting U.S. coastline in 2007

The 2007 hurricane season is likely going to be very active, with landfall probabilities well above their long-period averages.This is largely due to the rapid dissipation of El Nino conditions, according to researchers at the Colorado State Universitys Department of Atmospheric Sciences.The researchers say the probability of at least one major (Category 3-5) hurricane reaching […]

1 min read

Retrocessional rates still high after 2004-05 hurricanes

Reinsurers are still feeling the pinch of high rates and tight capacity after disastrous losses between 2004 and 2005. In 2005 and 2006, pricing in the retro market did become extreme, David Priebe, head of specialty operations for reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co, said in a release. We saw a lot of reinsurers move […]

1 min read

Alberta’s auto grid, city rates not up for discussion, brokers told

Albertas auto insurance rate grid is not up for discussion, and the particular grid rates for the cities of Edmonton and Calgary will not change as a result of the Alberta Automobile Insurance Rate Boards premium review, now underway, the provinces superintendent of insurance, Dennis Gartner, told the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IBAA) in […]

2 min read