With Canada’s property and casualty industry facing a record number of auto theft claims, insurers have introduced a variety of incentives and disincentives to encourage drivers to take theft-prevention measures — and now it’s showing up in a new ‘High Theft Rate’ auto rating variable. Definity has just introduced the High Theft Rate rating variable […]
By David Gambrill | July 20, 2023
2 min read
Editor’s Note: On Friday July 21, 2023, Canadian Underwriter sent out an e-newsletter with an incorrect subject heading, implying that Zenith pulled out of auto insurance in Alberta. In fact, Zenith has only cancelled a contract with a brokerage that wrote auto for Zenith, and is still writing auto insurance business in Alberta. Canadian Underwriter […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 20, 2023
3 min read
VANCOUVER – British Columbia hasn’t yet hit the “peak” of its wildfire season, but it has already broken the record for the total area burned in a year, the province’s minister of emergency management said. Officials are now eyeing the prospect of drought-driven conditions rolling into 2024, setting the stage for a similarly disastrous fire […]
By Jason Contant | July 20, 2023
5 min read
MONTREAL – Climate change will likely bring more weather conditions to Ontario and Quebec that are favourable to the development of tornadoes, but it’s still unclear whether Central Canada will actually be hit by more of them, experts say. Severe thunderstorms – and at least two tornadoes – damaged homes, knocked down power lines and […]
By Jason Contant | July 19, 2023
3 min read
FS Insurance Brokers (FSIB), a B.C. insurance broker that has common ownership with a strata property management company, has won a limited injunction against a new rule proposed by the province’s broker regulator, pending judicial review of the new rule. The Insurance Council of B.C.’s new rule appears to be aimed at FS Insurance Brokers’ […]
By David Gambrill | July 19, 2023
3 min read
As smoke from almost 900 of Canada’s wildfires descends upon the United States, resurrecting media reports about air quality, Canadian property and casualty insurers have an eye on a different type of exposure — property damage claims due to wildfire smoke. Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations at Insurance Bureau of […]
By David Gambrill | July 18, 2023
4 min read
The storm that hit Montreal on Thursday, downing trees and power lines and causing localized flooding, has been declared a catastrophe, Laura Twidle, president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) told Canadian Underwriter. A ‘catastrophe’ is an event that has caused more than $30 million in insured damage. The storm system swept […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 18, 2023
2 min read
British Columbia’s disastrous wildfire season has set a new record for the total area burned in a year, with almost 14,000 square kilometres scorched and hundreds of fires burning across the province. The B.C. Wildfire Service website says 13,935 square kilometres have been burned since April 1, surpassing the previous record of 13,543 square kilometres […]
By Jason Contant | July 18, 2023
2 min read
The BC Wildfire Service says an “aggressive” fire that exploded in size over the weekend has cut off a highway on the central coast, while more than a dozen new blazes have been sparked since Sunday. The service says Highway 20 east of Bella Coola was closed Sunday evening as the fire that was discovered […]
By Jason Contant | July 17, 2023
2 min read
After the Canadian P&C insurance industry paid out a record $1 billion for auto theft in 2022, some insurers are tackling the issue by offering discounts for consumers installing a tracking system or applying surcharges for those who don’t equip an anti-theft device. Since the beginning of the year, six different insurer partners of Ontario-based […]
By Jason Contant | July 17, 2023
4 min read