Even with increased take-up rates for flood insurance coverage, insured damages from last week’s flash flood in Toronto remain entirely manageable for the insurance industry, Morningstar DBRS said in a new commentary. Still, for a single weather event, the insured damages are ‘significant,’ the credit rating agency says. “While no official damage loss numbers […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 22, 2024
2 min read
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) such as Cat bonds aren’t ideal for raising capital to cover large-scale secondary peril events in Canada, such as the recent rainstorms that flooded Ontario, says an ILS expert. But they can help the P&C insurance industry raise capital for a major earthquake in Canada. Canadian Underwriter talked to ILS expert Chin […]
By David Gambrill | July 22, 2024
3 min read
Travelers can recover a $255,800 ransomware payment it made on behalf of a cybercrime victim, in a case where the government seized several millions of dollars’ worth of assets a cybercriminal received in 2020-21. Travelers paid for the losses of two of its insureds as a result of a North American-wide cyber-fraud operation that bilked […]
By David Gambrill | July 19, 2024
3 min read
VANCOUVER — Nandini Villeneuve and other residents of the Saranagati Hare Krishna village were in a meeting with emergency staff from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District late Wednesday when it was announced that a wildfire bearing down on the religious community had worsened. “It kind of just took off and then we were told that the meeting […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 19, 2024
4 min read
LABRADOR CITY, Nfld. – Ground crews were preparing on Tuesday to begin their attack against a roaring wildfire near Labrador City that forced thousands of people to evacuate last week, officials said. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said crews were on the ground doing preliminary work around the perimeter of the fire, while water […]
By Jason Contant | July 18, 2024
3 min read
Insurance companies have seen a magnified risk of litigation against them, in part because they are becoming exposed to higher regulatory standards of care towards clients and society at large. Thoughtful claims advocacy for clients helps to cut down that risk, says a Canadian P&C insurance industry exec. Kate Della Mora is the CEO of […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 18, 2024
3 min read
VERNON, B.C. – Vernon Fire Chief David Lind likens the Interior B.C. city’s new artificial-intelligence-driven wildfire detection system to a fire alarm in the forest. The system involves cameras and scores of air sensors scattered among trees and other high points, collecting data that is fed into an AI system for analysis. Its creator, Vancouver-based […]
By Jason Contant | July 17, 2024
4 min read
The industry can expect insured losses to surpass $1 billion after more than a months’ worth of rain (100mm) dropped atop Toronto in the span of a few hours on Tuesday. The storm resembled one that walloped the city with over $1 billion in losses nearly 11 years ago to the date — though there […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | July 17, 2024
5 min read
TORONTO – A major highway, several thoroughfares and a key transit hub were flooded in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon after torrential rain hit the city, while power outages were reported in multiple areas. Toronto police said part of the Don Valley Parkway, which runs from the north part of the city into the downtown area, […]
By Jason Contant | July 16, 2024
2 min read
MONTREAL – The Canadian Coast Guard says it’s still investigating the source of a motor oil spill the length of several city blocks in the St. Lawrence River near the Montreal east-end neighbourhood of Pointe-aux-Trembles. The federal agency said Sunday it was still recovering the oil and decontaminating the seagrass beds and shoreline after a […]
By Jason Contant | July 15, 2024
1 min read