Claims

Market turmoil ‘exacerbating’ rate erosion in specialty p&c lines

Pricing in the property and casualty commercial specialty lines continues to soften in spite of damages wrought by Hurricane Ike and recent market turmoil, attendees of an A.M. Best Webinar heard.Anthony Markel, vice chairman of the Markel Insurance Group, sat on the panel of speakers participating in the Webinar, ‘Insurance Producers and Today’s Specialty Insurance […]

By Canadian Underwriter | October 30, 2008

1 min read

Claims

Will market dislocations, 2008 hurricanes be enough to turn the cycle?

“Has the pricing cycle turned?” Benfield asks in a new report. And, if so, “For how long and by how much?” In its October 2008 Global Reinsurance report, ‘Capital ConsequencesBillion Dollar Question,’ Benfield has a detailed analysis of many factors that, taken individually, are not large enough in and of themselves to swing a market […]

By Canadian Underwriter | October 30, 2008

2 min read

Claims

U.S. experiences most expensive Q3 property losses in a decade

U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated US$11.5 billion for Q3 property losses, marking the fourth-largest insured property loss in a Q3 since 1998, according to ISO’s Property Claims Services.PCS estimates the 11 catastrophes of Q3 2008 generated 1.7 million claims. Of the 11 catastrophes, six were caused by severe […]

By Canadian Underwriter | October 29, 2008

1 min read

Claims

Cascadia earthquake damage may be less than initially assumed

Updated earthquake research by the United States Geological Survey is reporting that expected damage to buildings as a result of a Pacific Northwest earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Region (which also affects B.C.) could be lower than initially assumed.The research includes the use of “Next-Generation Attenuation (NGA) Equations,” which predict how ground motion decays with […]

By Canadian Underwriter | October 20, 2008

2 min read

Cat bond issuance decreases in soft market

The issuance of catastrophe bonds has decreased to US$2.73 billion in the first nine months of 2008, compared to US$5.38 billion in the same period of 2007, BestWire reported.The dip can primarily be attributed to the softening of the reinsurance market, Emmanuel Modu, managing director and global head of structured finance of A.M. Best, said […]

1 min read

The Travelers’ 2008 Q3 hurricane, investment losses worth more than US$700 million

The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE:TRV) has estimated its 2008 Q3 after-tax losses to be approximately US$690 million, net of reinsurance, for catastrophe losses related to Hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Dolly.The company said its loss estimates for Hurricane Ike reflected catastrophe losses in eight states, including Travelers’ estimated share of assessments from the Texas Windstorm Insurance […]

1 min read

PartnerRe predicts its 2008 Q3 combined ratio will be 95-96%

**CLARIFICATION** PartnerRe was earlier reported to have predicted an industry combined ratio of between 95-96%, when in fact the company was predicting its own combined ratio. PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) predicts its 2008 Q3 combined ratio (COR) will be 95-96%, and its COR for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008 will be 91-92%.In addition, […]

2 min read

Loss ratios increase for Saskatchewan hail, auto insurers

Saskatchewan non-life insurers saw their loss ratios increase 6.4% in 2007, according to statistics recently released by the provincial insurance regulator.In total, Saskatchewan’s non-life insurance industry showed a loss ratio of 64.8% in 2007, up from 60.9% in 2006.Hail insurance (94.4%) and auto accident insurance (94.4%) represented the non-life insurance lines with the highest loss […]

1 min read

Canadians homes and businesses estimated to be underinsured by Cdn$11 billion

About 80% of Canadian houses today are undervalued by 27%, which hasn’t changed since 1995, according to Peter Wells, president of Marshall & Swift/Boeck (M&S/B), a provider of building cost technologies.In addition, 60% of commercial buildings are undervalued by 40%.In total, that would amount to Cdn$11 billion in lost premium for (re)insurers, based on the […]

2 min read

CIAA – Annual General Meeting

The Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA) held its annual general meeting in Prince Edward Island Sept. 11-14, 2008. Delegates golfed, attended the Ballad of Stompin’ Tom in Charlottetown, had a lobster and steak dinner at the Stanhope Bay and Beach Resort and took a trip to the historical Dalvay by the Sea, where Reno Daigle […]

September 30, 2008

1 min read