Claims

Why Intact predicts sustained hard market in home insurance

Natural disasters like the recent Fort McMurray flooding will likely continue driving home insurance rates up, suggests Intact Financial Corp. CEO Charles Brindamour. “Personal property is in a relatively hard market environment with mid to upper single digit rates increases. That is likely to continue and a big portion of the driver for that is […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 5, 2020

2 min read

Claims

Editor’s Note: Underwriting for the next pandemic

The social and economic impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020 is truly horrifying, saddening, and staggering. Many of us have lost loved ones, or know people who are out of work because of the potentially lethal virus moving invisibly through our environment. Bearing this in mind, it feels somewhat blasphemous to write about […]

By David Gambrill | June 5, 2020

4 min read

Claims

A provincial twist on the emergency suspension of limitation periods

While many Canadian courts continue to suspend two-year limitation periods for plaintiffs to file civil lawsuits against insurers and other defendants, Alberta’s clock has started running again as of June 1 – and for claims under the province’s Insurance Act, the clock never really stopped. In most jurisdictions in Canada, depending upon the legal statute, […]

By David Gambrill | June 4, 2020

3 min read

Claims

Nissan recalls nearly 1.9M cars for pesky hood latch

DETROIT – For the fourth time, Nissan is recalling hundreds – of thousands of midsize cars in the U.S. and Canada to fix a nagging latch problem that may allow the hood fly open while cars are moving. The latest recall covers nearly 1.9 million Altimas and includes cars from the 2013 through 2015 model […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 4, 2020

2 min read

How Lloyd’s is handling claims differently with COVID-19

In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Lloyd’s market is changing the way claims are handled when multiple syndicates write one risk. “One challenge with COVID-19 is the subscription nature of the market, whereby it is often several syndicates writing one risk. This could increase the time required to adjust a claim so Lloyd’s has […]

3 min read

How liability insurers will react to military report on long-term care homes

A recently military report on some Canadian long-term care facilities will change the way liability coverage is underwritten and could even discourage some insurers from staying in the market, a managing general agent suggests. “I think you will probably see an exodus of some capacity from the [nursing homes and long-term care homes liability] class […]

3 min read

Four vehicles were reported stolen to separate insurers, from the same driveway, on the same night in Brampton, Ont. This is just one example of alleged fraud identified shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported in a paper released Tuesday. Research shows a relationship between unemployment and increased […]

2 min read

How much insurers paid out for Fort Mac’s spring flood

Insurers paid out more $228 million in insured damage for spring flooding in Fort McMurray, Alta., that occurred a little over a month ago. Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) released the numbers this week, noting that commercial properties took the brunt of the damage, with some losses hitting personal property and automobiles. A news […]

By Adam Malik | June 2, 2020

2 min read

Large protest gatherings pose COVID 19 risks: B.C. health officials

VICTORIA – Large public gatherings, including anti-racism protests, pose health risks during a pandemic, British Columbia’s top health officials said Monday. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said people in B.C. have the right to protest and express their feelings, but warned there could be COVID-19 health consequences associated with a weekend protest in downtown […]

3 min read

Q&A: Business Continuity in the Digital Age

As an industry challenged by all of the various disasters that the world has to offer, many Canadian property and casualty insurance companies already had business continuity plans in place to keep their operations running in the face of a catastrophe. And so, many brokerages and insurance companies were able to react quickly when the […]

2 min read