The beginning of 2023 saw a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Canada’s P&C brokerage space as brokers’ interest in deal-making appeared to decline. At the time, the inflationary environment and higher cost of capital to make deals were mentioned as contributing factors. But by mid-2023, M&A activity picked up again, and it’s […]
By Jason Contant | September 26, 2024
3 min read
With current brokerage valuation multiples sometimes as high as 15 to 20 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), buying a business is challenging for anyone without access to significant capital. So, how do brokerages finance their deals? “Aside from borrowing from banks, raising capital from insurers or private equity (PE) still continues […]
By Jason Contant | September 25, 2024
3 min read
Although preliminary reports suggest auto theft in Canada is decreasing in 2024, another issue of concern is emerging for auto insurers: a surge in fraudulent credit applications. Automotive application fraud is up 54% year-over-year in Canada, largely driven by falsified credit applications and the continued prevalence of identity theft, consumer credit reporting agency Equifax Canada […]
By Jason Contant | September 24, 2024
2 min read
Ontario’s financial services regulator is consulting on new guidance related to auto insurance rating and underwriting regulation. FSRA says the proposed guidance will help by “reducing regulatory lag and streamlining processes, so that premiums can be more closely matched to claims trends.” “This guidance marks an important milestone in FSRA’s Automobile Insurance Rating and Underwriting […]
By Jason Contant | September 23, 2024
3 min read
Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company president and CEO Jeff Goy (pictured top right) will be retiring after a 35-year career with the insurer, including nearly 11 years as president and CEO. Effective Jan. 1, 2025, Evan Johnston (pictured left), the company’s executive vice president of strategy and related businesses, will serve as the 10th president in […]
By Jason Contant | September 19, 2024
2 min read
July’s CrowdStrike flawed software update that affected an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices shouldn’t trigger the next cyber hard market or lead to significant rate increases, a cybersecurity expert said during a recent webinar. “I don’t think this one’s going to accelerate a hard market,” said James Burns, head of cyber strategy at CFC. “It […]
By Jason Contant | September 17, 2024
3 min read
Some specialty lines markets such as cyber are facing difficulties identifying new buyers and growing the customer base, says Dan Trueman, chief underwriting officer at insurance provider CFC. For example, cyber insurance customers who have had the product explained to them, understand it, and value it are more likely to continue buying it, Trueman says. […]
By Jason Contant | September 16, 2024
2 min read
Clear market demand was behind U.S. carrier PURE Insurance’s entry into the Canadian affluent homeowners’ insurance market and plans to enter the auto insurance space next year, the head of the insurer’s Canadian branch told Canadian Underwriter in an interview Tuesday. “From a broker perspective, what we hear from our brokers is there’s definitely a […]
By Jason Contant | September 11, 2024
3 min read
Although direct insured losses from the CrowdStrike software update error weren’t as large as expected, threat actors did try capitalizing on the resulting ‘blue screen of death’ errors to maximize damage, a CFC executive said during a recent webinar. On the morning of July 19, endpoint security company CrowdStrike released an update to its Falcon […]
By Jason Contant | September 10, 2024
3 min read
U.S. property and casualty insurer PURE Insurance has expanded into Canada with home insurance for affluent homeowners whose properties are worth between $2 million and $100 million. Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) announced its first international expansion outside of the U.S. on Monday with the launch of a Toronto office that will begin offering home […]
By Jason Contant | September 9, 2024
3 min read
QBE Canada has appointed Caroline Fenn to a newly created role of multinational underwriting manager, reflecting its desire to attract clients needing multinational insurance placement solutions, the company announced Thursday. QBE Insurance Group is a global international insurer and reinsurer that operates under a Lloyd’s underwriting licence and does business exclusively through partnerships with insurance […]
By Jason Contant | September 5, 2024
1 min read