Claims

Colorado State downgrades 2006 hurricane predictions

Colorado State University’s hurricane forecast team has downgraded its original 2006 forecast for the Atlantic basin based on changing climate signals and below-average activity in the first third of the season.The forecasting team of Philip Klotzbach and William Gray has released a new report that calls for a total of 13 named storms to form […]

By Canadian Underwriter | September 5, 2006

2 min read

Claims

MPI reports claims costs up

Solid investment income helped Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) offset a significant rise in claims costs for the first quarter of 2006, MPI reported. For the three months ended May 31, 2006, MPI’s claims costs were up CD$17.1 million, or 11.5%, over the same period a year earlier. The corporation’s investment income grew almost as quickly, […]

August 31, 2006

1 min read

Claims

What’s New: In brief (August 31, 2006)

Robert E. (Bob) Gallagher, chairman of the board of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., passed away following a brief illness. Gallagher, 83, joined his father’s insurance agency in 1947 after graduating from Cornell, working alongside his two brothers. In 1963, he was named president and CEO of Gallagher. The company went public in 1984 and, […]

By Canadian Underwriter | August 31, 2006

2 min read

Claims

Canadian travellers warned of hurricane season

Canadians are being urged to review their travel plans and take necessary precautions when visiting regions forecasted to be affected by hurricanes.The warning comes from The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, whose announcement was made in response to the potential damage of Ernesto. MacKay told […]

By Canadian Underwriter | August 30, 2006

2 min read

Global warming to complicate control of wildland fires

A recent report published by an assembly of global fire ecologists indicates recent climate change will hinder our ability to manage wildland fire and apply prescribed fire across the landscape.The Association for Fire Ecology’s report, “San Diego Declaration on Climate Change and Fire Management,” says that considering future drought and high heat scenarios it is […]

2 min read

Aon places FM Global cat bond

FM Global privately placed its second US$300 million catastrophe bond, in response to the increasingly unusual earthquake activity in the U.S. and Canadian Pacific Northwest regions. Aon Capital Markets served as lead manager to place the most recent cat bond.FM Global says it placed its first US$300 million catastrophe bond in June 2005.”The catastrophe bond […]

1 min read

Swiss Re gets stable, A+ rating after GE acquistion

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re) (Switzerland) and its rated subsidiaries, following the company’s completed acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions.The ratings have been removed from under review, where they were placed on Nov.18 , […]

2 min read

US$5-billion underwriting loss for U.S. P/C industry in 2005

The U.S. property and casualty industry reported a US$5-billion underwriting loss and a combined ratio of 100.9% in 2005, according to a recent study by rating agency A.M. Best.The result represents a US$10.5-billion reversal from 2004’s underwriting profit, and a deterioration of 2.4 points from the industry’s 2004 combined ratio of 98.5%. “The underwriting loss […]

2 min read

Fitch notes U.S. P&C industry’s resilience in 2005

The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry “exceeded all expectations in 2005,” Fitch Ratings says in a recent report, “demonstrating considerable resiliency by reporting record net income for the second consecutive year despite enduring the highest insured catastrophe losses in recorded history.” Fitch goes on to say it “believes that if catastrophe losses return closer to historical […]

2 min read

Hurricane losses humble reinsurers, A.M. Best

The global reinsurance industry is still struggling to manage its catastrophe exposure even almost a year after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma struck, according to a recent report from A.M. Best Co.The 2006 global reinsurance report called “Reinsurers Humbled, But Most Not Broken, By Hurricane Losses,” says the U.S. hurricanes caused reinsurers across the globe […]

1 min read