What’s new: In brief (February 27, 2005)

ICBC says two Abbotsford residents have pleaded guilty to charges of providing false information to the public auto insurer. Harminder Singh Ghuman was fined $2,000 and Kesar Singh Sidhu was fined $1,500 for filing fraudulent claims following a collision in November, 2002. The two taxi drivers filed for lost wages, but it was found the hours they claimed to work did not match up with the taxi company’s records.

The unprecedented extreme weather events are confirmation of fears of global warming, says Munich Re in its “Topics Geo” annual catastrophe review. While 2004 will be remembered for the December 26th Indian Ocean Tsunami, other events show the increased frequency of extreme weather, including the record numbers of American hurricanes and Japanese typhoons, and the first hurricane to form off the coast of Brazil in observed history. “The gigantic catastrophes of the past year are an emphatic confirmation that the insurance industry must be prepared for new loss dimensions from natural catastrophes,” Munich Re says.

Utah has passed legislation to eliminate the premium tax for captive insurers and replace it with an annual fee. The amount of the fee is no yet known, but will be set by the state’s insurance commissioner based on what would be competitive with other states.