Claims

Gallagher reaches agreement, must pay $27 million through fund

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Illinois Attorney General and Illinois’s director of insurance have reached an agreement regarding the industry-wide contingent commission investigations.Upon pleading no liability or wrongdoing, Gallagher is not required to issue an apology. Based on terms of the agreement Gallagher must develop a $27 million fund for select retail clients, although […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 19, 2005

1 min read

Claims

Insurance industry recognized through new ICLR project

Today, at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) annual general meeting, discussions reflected on a new program that exemplifies the role of the insurance industry and property preservation. The program, Designed… for safer living, was created to improve disaster resilience in Canadian homes and secure the recognition of the leadership role that the insurance […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 18, 2005

1 min read

Claims

Atlantic to incur high hurricane season

An above-normal hurricane season is expected to supervene last year’s record season, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hurricane forecasters. Predictions for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season indicate 12 to 15 tropical storms, seven to nine of which are expected to escalate into hurricanes three to five of these may result in major […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 17, 2005

1 min read

Claims

U.S. homeowners under-insured against hurricane losses

With more than 68 million people living in hurricane-prone areas of the U.S., many homeowners are inadequately insured, warns the Insurance Information Institute (III) as the 2005 hurricane season is set to begin in June. Last year, the eastern seaboard of the U.S. was struck by five hurricanes in close succession, causing significant insured losses.A […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 16, 2005

1 min read

R&S Canada 1-Q’s underwriting jumps on personal lines (May 15, 2005)

Royal & SunAlliance Canada produced an underwriting profit of $14 million for the first quarter of this year, signaling a significant turnaround in overall profitability from 2004’s first quarter underwriting gain of $1 million. The insurer saw its underwriting on personal lines recover from a $1 million loss a year ago to its current $10 […]

1 min read

Optimum General sees 1-Q earnings boon (May 12, 2005)

Quebec-based Optimum General Inc. (TSX: OGI.SV.A) lifted net income for the first quarter of this year by more than four times to $1.1 million compared with $259,000 reported for the same period in 2004. This equates to earnings for the latest reporting period of 9c a share versus the 2c a share made for the […]

1 min read

Pethealth reports mixed 1-Q results

Pethealth Inc. (TSX: PTZ) produced a net loss of $68,505, equal to 1c a share, for the first quarter of this year compared with a loss of $75,881 (1c a share) for the same period in 2004. The company says its earnings would be significantly better but for a 7.5% appreciation of the Canadian dollar […]

1 min read

European reinsurers’ earnings prove resilient to storm losses

Europe’s top six reinsurance companies saw profitability rise over 2004 despite the unprecedented insured cost of natural catastrophe losses incurred over the same period, observes reinsurance and risk intermediary Benfield. The reinsurers in question primarily benefited from higher primary company retentions of catastrophe storm-related risks, Benfield says.The reinsurance companies also enjoyed higher realized gains for […]

1 min read

Suncor’s oil sands loss could cost reinsurers $1 billion

In a notice addressed to property and casualty insurers, federal regulator The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) cautions that the insured loss relating to a fire that broke out in early January of this year at Suncor’s oil sands plant located in northern Alberta could result in some companies reserves falling below […]

2 min read

Odyssey Re 1-Q earnings plummet (May 02, 2005)

The Fairfax group’s reinsurance operation, Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ORH) saw net income for the first quarter of this year fall by 38.5% to US$36.2 million compared with the US$59 million reported for the same period in 2004. This equates to earnings of 53c a share for latest reporting period versus 85c a share […]

2 min read