MONTREAL – From green roofs in Toronto to Vancouver’s rain city strategy, Canadian cities are looking to become “sponges” in order to help mitigate some of the effects of extreme rainfall events. In Montreal, Mayor Valerie Plante announced last week that the city plans to develop some 30 additional “sponge parks” designed to catch and […]
By Jason Contant | October 10, 2023
4 min read
Ontario’s insurance regulator has confirmed it is considering whether or not aggregators need to be licensed. Since August, when Ontario’s financial services regulator issued a report outlining concerns about auto insurers’ compliance with take-all-comers requirements, Canada’s P&C insurance industry has been waiting for the other shoe to drop. While the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of […]
By Phil | October 6, 2023
3 min read
Cyber may be one of the fastest-growing lines of insurance business in both Canada and abroad, but it’s associated with global systemic issues, and reinsurers are pondering how to raise additional capital to help cover the potentially huge demand for capacity. “In the cyber line of business, to respond to the needs of the market, […]
By David Gambrill | October 6, 2023
4 min read
How do you mobilize a claims response when capacity and labour shortage issues are extending property restoration timelines in disaster-prone regions? Bring your recovery team closer to the repairs. At least, that’s the strategy First Onsite is taking. The restoration firm intends to mobilize quicker local residential and commercial repairs by opening a new office […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | October 5, 2023
2 min read
Aviva Canada has partnered with technology company RentHaven Inc. to offer tenants a product that provides an alternative to large upfront security and last month’s rent deposits through a surety bond. Underwritten by Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, the surety bond from Oakville, Ont.-based RentHaven replaces traditional cash deposits with the Aviva-guaranteed bond. The insurer […]
By Jason Contant | October 5, 2023
2 min read
HALIFAX – Heavy rain and strong winds are in the forecast for the three Maritime provinces this weekend. Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, saying 50 millimetres of rain or more will fall across the region between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. As well, the […]
By Jason Contant | October 5, 2023
1 min read
Self-driving cars have been a part of visions of the future for decades, and what was once only imaginary has started to become reality. Not only do self-driving cars exist, but five U.S. states (Arizona, California, Michigan, New Hampshire and Ohio) allow driverless cars to be tested on public roads without any person in the […]
By Phil | October 4, 2023
4 min read
B.C.’s summer wildfires clocked in as the costliest insured event ever recorded in the province, and the tenth costliest insured event in Canada’s history, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said. Wildfires in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions of B.C. will cost insurers over $720 million in insured damages, according to initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | October 4, 2023
2 min read
VANCOUVER – Emergency support programs for disaster evacuees in British Columbia are outdated, under-resourced, inaccessible and poorly communicated, according to a report by the province’s ombudsperson. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke’s report on the government’s response to wildfires and severe flooding in 2021 analyzed the fairness in delivering assistance programs and says there was unclear and confusing […]
By Jason Contant | October 4, 2023
3 min read
VICTORIA – New disaster management legislation has been introduced in British Columbia on the first day of the fall legislative session that will see four official parties in the chamber. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said Tuesday the legislation will deliver a modernized emergency and disaster management approach that is aligned with international best practices […]
By Jason Contant | October 3, 2023
2 min read