New automotive technologies are great, until your clients learn to punk them. Drivers of cars with various auto assist systems are more likely to multitask and quickly learn to work around driver-attention safeguards, according to a pair of recent month-long studies of driver behaviours conducted by the U.S.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and […]
By Phil | September 26, 2024
3 min read
More rain? Let’s hope not. So far, it’s looking like Canada will get a pass from Hurricane Helene, which upgraded from tropical storm status earlier today and is forecast to make landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 3 or 4 storm. Current tracking shows the storm remaining at hurricane strength as it enters […]
By Phil | September 25, 2024
3 min read
In 2017, a law student started a conversation with a classmate who appeared depressed. “I asked her, ‘What’s going on?’ She explained she had been the victim of a house fire. She had been living in a hotel for two months and needed to go through that for another four months while her home was […]
By Phil | September 24, 2024
3 min read
Capacity evolution within markets for errors and omissions (E&O) and professional liability coverages means the P&C industry must apply a risk-based approach, as opposed to a class-of-business approach, to pricing and segmentation. “We [partnered] with our claims team…as well as our actuarial team…reviewing our portfolio over the last [several] years to understand where the segments […]
By Phil | September 23, 2024
3 min read
While surveys show brokerage owners want to pass businesses on to family members, or to current employees, the economics can make that difficult. And sentiment over a family business can quickly be abandoned if an owner thinks a sale to family will place them in significant debt. “When large consolidators, mid-sized consolidators, or groups that […]
By Phil | September 20, 2024
3 min read
Many benefits attach to evolving your technology strategy and investing in digital solutions – including better connectivity, a more modern user experiences, and advanced capabilities. Having the right management system is business-critical, and yet many brokers delay launching new technologies despite the benefits. That’s because change management is hard, largely because people don’t like change. […]
By Phil | September 19, 2024
4 min read
New things are exciting. They’re also untested. Which is why brokers must put considerable research into coverage for prototype buildings and construction materials. Calling buildings or components ‘prototypes’ in this context doesn’t mean they’re untried, but rather that they’re not yet widely used in Canada. The term covers anything from new building designs and construction […]
By Phil | September 18, 2024
3 min read
On Sept. 5, convenience stores across Ontario began selling beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails. Many store owners have praised the move, saying it may be the catalyst that saves their business, according to several news outlets. But in addition to new lines of alcoholic beverages, those store owners found themselves stocking a less desirable commodity […]
By Phil | September 13, 2024
3 min read
Claims adjusters dealing with complex, higher-value art and antiques claims must treat appraisals cautiously, since the people doing the valuations reflect a broad spectrum of professional standards and expertise. It’s important to understand that, technically, anyone in Canada can issue an appraisal. Personal property appraisers who deal with art, antiques, and collectibles are essentially unregulated. […]
By Phil | September 12, 2024
4 min read
Both the COVID-19 pandemic and rising rates of violence, exemplified in the July 13 assassination attempt on a presidential candidate during a Pennsylvania rally, are changing how insurers parse risk profiles for live events. “Things that never used to be a concern are now a concern,” Benjamin Rossington, entertainment and sports account manager at Hub […]
By Phil | September 6, 2024
3 min read
Canadian property and casualty insurers writing directors and officers (D&O) policies are seeing a convergence between mounting cyber claim losses and lawsuits against companies’ directors for failing to implement cyber security controls. Canada has seen more than 150,000 reported cases of fraud since January 2021, leading to roughly $600 million in losses, according to the […]
By Phil | September 5, 2024
3 min read