Fast-paced electric vehicle (EV) sales could sharply change the auto insurance pricing dynamic, says a new report from Morningstar DBRS. “More than 15 countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada, have initiated climate policies mandating 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) new vehicle sales targets for light-duty vehicles by 2035 or earlier,” the ratings agency notes. […]
By Phil | April 23, 2024
3 min read
Susanne Langan first noticed the Burgess Creek wildfire from her home in British Columbia’s Cariboo region on Saturday afternoon as a distant, thin column of smoke. But as winds picked up that night, the flames became more aggressive. “I could see lots of trees going up like Roman candles.… There was certainly lots of smoke […]
By Jason Contant | April 23, 2024
4 min read
Globally, the property and casualty insurance industry may be underestimating the vulnerability of property that uses technology to adapt to climate change, a speaker told attendees at the 38th Swiss Re Outlook breakfast held in Toronto last Tuesday. Also, property underwriters should watch for the influence of social inflation on claims costs, driven in part […]
By David Gambrill | April 22, 2024
3 min read
The Town of Hay River has been through a lot over the last couple of years, having first contended with serious flooding in 2022 and then devastating wildfires in 2023. With the memories of those crises still fresh in the minds of residents, and another flood and fire season rapidly approaching, local leaders have been […]
By Jason Contant | April 22, 2024
4 min read
Varying assumptions underlying the reporting of combined ratios by Canadian P&C insurers — a longstanding measure of company profitability — have, under IFRS-17 rules, undermined the intent of the new accounting standards, industry executives say. The issue bubbled to the surface at the Insurance Bureau’s 27th annual Financial Affairs Symposium in Toronto Wednesday. “The most […]
By David Gambrill | April 19, 2024
5 min read
As part of a partnership with Wawanesa Insurance, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) will set up a new ICLR Climate Resilience Centre in Winnipeg. Wawanesa is providing office space and operating funds for the new centre. The centre will be headed by Emilia Cameron, ICLR’s manager, climate resilient communities. The non-profit organization, founded […]
By Phil | April 19, 2024
3 min read
A survey from a clean energy think-tank says Alberta has done little to implement its plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The Pembina Institute has examined the measures included in the province’s plan released one year ago. It says it found no evidence the government has begun the sort of public consultations required to […]
By Jason Contant | April 19, 2024
1 min read
Although the federal government committed to forge ahead with its long-awaited flood insurance backstop Tuesday, Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry notes the 2024 federal budget was light on details – and funding. The insurance industry has been negotiating with the federal government for seven years to implement a flood insurance backstop to cover high-risk […]
By David Gambrill | April 18, 2024
4 min read
The word ‘soft’ doesn’t spring to mind when describing the current insurance market for Canada’s healthcare providers. But four years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers are becoming more comfortable looking at, and writing, healthcare business. “We’re having little problem placing coverage for best-in-class healthcare risks in general,” says Mona Krolak, a senior […]
By Phil | April 17, 2024
3 min read
Enterprise’s 2024 spring carnival was a sorely needed opportunity for celebration in a community that has been through more than most over the last few months. “It was just great fun,” said Sandra McMaster, who became the community’s new mayor in mid-February. “We had great support. We had a lot of our neighbours show up […]
By Jason Contant | April 17, 2024
4 min read