Claims

Cyberattack hits Canadian engineering giant with contracts for military bases, power plants

OTTAWA – A Canadian engineering giant whose work involves critical military, power and transportation infrastructure across the country has been hit with a ransomware attack. Toronto-based Black & McDonald has so far refused to publicly comment on the cyberattack, while the Department of National Defence and other clients of the company have downplayed any impact […]

By Jason Contant | March 9, 2023

4 min read

Claims

How four P&C insurers closed out 2022

Four of Canada’s publicly-traded insurance companies — Intact Financial Corporation, Definity Financial Corporation, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, and Trisura Group — reported strong underwriting performance and “very good” combined ratios for the final quarter of 2022, DBRS Morningstar says in a new commentary. The ratings company says the insurers will be well-positioned going into […]

By Alyssa DiSabatino | March 8, 2023

2 min read

Claims

Aviva Canada now offers parametric solution for severe rain

Aviva Canada now offers parametric excess rain coverage to help clients better cope with climate change, using a white label tech solution by Swiss-based parametric InsurTech company CelsiusPro. “We are pleased to have successfully completed the configuration and launch of [our parametric solution] for excess rainfall insurance for Aviva Canada,” CelsiusPro CEO Mark Rueegg commented […]

By David Gambrill | March 8, 2023

2 min read

Claims

What the industry says about regulator’s draft corporate culture guidance

Canada’s solvency regulator has refined its proposed guidance on corporate culture for P&C insurers, and it’s now consulting with the industry about its expectations. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) was scheduled to have a technical briefing on details of the guidelines with the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Consequently, IBC told […]

By Phil | March 7, 2023

3 min read

P&C advisors’ class action certified against insurer over vacation/holiday pay

P&C insurance advisors for RBC Insurance Agency Ltd. have won a certification motion for a class action lawsuit against the insurer over how their vacation and holiday pay were determined. Also, the court conditionally certified a similar class action against Aviva General Insurance Company over the calculation of vacation and overtime pay, but only if […]

5 min read

How OSFI expects insurers to manage climate-related risks

Canada’s federal solvency regulator wants, among other things, P&C insurers to develop and implement a plan to maintain operations during climate-related disasters, climate scenario analysis as a part of their stress testing, and metrics on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ (OSFI) today released the final version of its […]

3 min read

N.W.T. says lack of notice on oilsands tailings spill goes against deal with Alberta

Alberta didn’t live up to the terms of a deal it has with the Northwest Territories to inform it about threats to its shared watershed after two major oilsands tailings spills, the territory’s environment minister said Friday. Shane Thompson said the lack of communication isn’t encouraging as Alberta and the federal government work out the […]

4 min read

Major winter storm brings snow, thunder and lightning to parts of Ontario

TORONTO – A fierce winter storm has dumped heavy snow across southern Ontario, where strong winds, thunder and lightning were also reported. Environment Canada meteorologist Haizhen Sun says between 22 and 30 centimetres of snow fell on the Greater Toronto Area as of 6 a.m. today, prompting the city of Toronto to declare a “major […]

3 min read

Why commercial insurers’ biggest risk is relevancy

To ensure commercial P&C’s market relevance, insurers will need to find a way to address the “structurally changing nature of risk,” by closing protection gaps, said a recent McKinsey report. There’s been a change in commercial insurance penetration in recent years, McKinsey noted. After adjusting for rate growth, global premiums lagged significantly (-11% in […]

3 min read

How this tech is speeding up the property restoration claims process

One B.C-based startup is mobilizing the often tedious property restoration management process for adjusters and contractors through a smartphone app. RocketPlan founder and CEO Joe Tolzmann experienced the inefficiency of the restoration claims process first-hand during his time in the field. “Generally speaking, [documenting losses] is a big challenge…It’s very inefficient to get it all […]

2 min read