Fraudsters are adapting their methods in an attempt to fly under the claims radar, and even using artificial intelligence to create false documentation and platforms for claims handling, speakers tell the Insurance Institute’s 2024 CIP Society Symposium. Auto theft has reached crisis level in Canada and internationally, with the Canadian P&C industry paying out $1.2 […]
By Jason Contant | April 17, 2024
4 min read
Often described by Canadian property and casualty risk professionals as ‘uncertain,’ ‘volatile,’ and even just plain ‘weird,’ the post-pandemic era now has a name — we’re in a poly-crisis. “Here’s a short definition of what poly-crisis means — it comes from the World Economic Forum,” said Gianfranco Lot, chief underwriting officer of P&C reinsurance at […]
By David Gambrill | April 17, 2024
3 min read
Canada’s construction sector, which accounts for 7.5% of the country’s GDP according to the Canadian Construction Association, is seeing a rise in construction claims and disputes. That’s partially due to the increasing technical sophistication of construction projects, escalating price of construction materials, and an increasingly challenging delivery environment. In 2022, Canada’s P&C insurance market collected […]
By Phil | April 16, 2024
4 min read
A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit against 16 pharmaceutical companies that are alleged to have misled consumers about the efficacy and dangers of opioid medications. The class action includes everyone in Quebec who was diagnosed with opioid use disorder after being prescribed opioid medications made by the pharmaceutical companies between 1996 […]
By Jason Contant | April 16, 2024
1 min read
An Ontario court has set aside a judgement of almost $155,000 that an auto insurer obtained against its insured for not complying with a legal obligation to participate in the insurer’s defence. In this case, the insured was not driving his car during the accident — his best friend was, with the insured’s permission. And […]
By David Gambrill | April 15, 2024
4 min read
A coroner’s inquest is underway into the deaths of two volunteer Quebec firefighters who perished during a flood rescue last May in the Charlevoix region. Coroner Andrée Kronström is hearing from witnesses at the courthouse in La Malbaie, Que., during the inquiry that will take place over several days in April and May. Kronström says […]
By Jason Contant | April 15, 2024
1 min read
As Canada looks ahead to what experts fear could be another devastating wildfire season, fire chiefs say they are worried about the dwindling number of volunteers available to combat the rising threat. Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, which represents 3,200 fire departments across the country, says his group’s data shows […]
By Jason Contant | April 12, 2024
5 min read
Cloud-based services can serve as a much-needed speed accelerator to the Canadian P&C insurance industry, eliminating friction and digitizing the customer experience, speakers said Thursday at the 2024 CIP Society Symposium in downtown Toronto. “I personally think the biggest threat to innovation in an organization is the…legacy systems that they have to maintain, because it […]
By Jason Contant | April 12, 2024
3 min read
A decision in which a woman whose psychological trauma was triggered after she viewed the dashcam footage of an auto accident she was involved in — and spotted a house in the background where she’d lived and was the victim of abuse — has been reconsidered for accident benefits by the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal. […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | April 12, 2024
4 min read
Mandatory entry-level training (MELT) for new commercial truck drivers needs to be implemented across Canada, and trucking companies must follow this up with mentorship and onboarding programs, a new report commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada recommends. Plus, safety violations identified by roadside inspections need to be better enforced, the report adds. Commercial trucking […]
By David Gambrill | April 11, 2024
3 min read