What’s New: In Brief (March 13, 2008)

ING Insurance Company of Canada has announced the continuation of its full partnership in the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada’s (IBAC) Broker Identity Program.”We continue to recognize the invaluable branding the Broker Identity Program brings the insurance broker profession,” said Derek Iles, president of ING Insurance. “The protective embrace exhibited by the BIPPER is a symbol of the value proposition offered by brokers: protection and piece of mind. “The broker distribution channel is one that provides un-challengeable value to consumers of insurance in virtually every community across this country. We continue to support its goals.”

More than half of the world’s population lives within 60 kilometres of a coastline and as a result face serious threats of coastal erosion, warns an article posted on Lloyd’s Web site.Mass migration to coastal areas has caused beaches to become subject to pressures from sources such as industrial development, urban expansion, exploitation of marine resources and tourism. Often the development happens too quickly for the earth to “recover.” “The environmental effects are sometimes unclear until long after contractors and consultants have moved on,” Kees d’Angremond, a coastal engineering consultant, told Lloyd’s. “Short job times mean fewer critical engineers with less time observing how the environment is being affected.”The catastrophic risks of tsunamis, extreme storms and long-term sea level rise may be increased as a result, reported Lloyd’s.