CORRECTION (March 01, 1999)

K&K Insurance, along with General Star Management Company, recently sponsored an insurance forum in Cleveland, Ohio and invited several industry leaders to participate. The attendees focused their discussions on the insurance-related issues, challenges and opportunities that face companies involved in the sports, leisure and entertainment industry today, with special emphasis on the amusement industry. “The forum was a tremendous success in that we got a lot of interaction and feedback on a wide range of topics,” says John Gaskil, marketing director for wholesale brokerage operations at K&K. “It was a fairly open agenda that was designed to bring to the table major issues of our industry today.”

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has released the new Shopping for a Car Insurance guide, a 40-page booklet which includes auto insurance rate profiles, a consumer claims satisfaction chart and a list of Ontario’s auto insurers. The guide also explains how car insurance works, what insurance coverage is mandatory and what is optional, how rates are set, and gives tips on insurance discounts. The claims satisfaction chart — Ontario’s first — indicates that overall, consumers are satisfied with the way auto insurers handled their claims. The guide’s satisfaction chart and list of insurers will be updated annually and the rate profiles updated quarterly.

The new Alberta chapter of the Canadian Coalition Against Insurance Fraud was recently launched at a seminar aimed at educating police, fire and insurance representatives on arson investigative techniques. The weeklong seminar, co- sponsored by the Coalition and the Calgary Police Service, covered a number of topics including arson motives, forensic accounting, search and seizure laws and origin and cause determination. The Canadian Coalition Against Insurance Fraud was founded in June 1994 to help develop, foster and implement solutions to prevent and detect insurance fraud through a variety of initiatives including public awareness, strengthened detection and investigation, improved business practices and legislative and regulatory change.

British Columbia’s provincial automobile insurance system, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) is providing incentives to safe drivers and safety conscious buyers. The ICBC has earmarked roughly $50 million to provide a dividend to drivers free of responsibility claims for more than four and fourteen years. The dividend ranges anywhere between $24 to $70. At the recent World Congress on Whiplash Associated Disorders in Vancouver, ICBC president Thom Thompson announced new car buyers will receive a $100 incentive to purchase specified models of Saabs and Volvos — both with advanced seating that reduces whiplash injuries. “We are sending a message to automobile manufacturers that we will reward them and their customers if they invest in vehicle safety,” says Thompson. The financial incentive is believed to be the first of its kind offered by an insurance company.

John Thompson, deputy superintendent of regulation at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Insitutions Canada and immediate past-chairman of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and Joao Elisio Ferraz de Campos, chairman of the Brazilian Insurance Federation (FENASEG) were recent recipients of the first Americas Insurance Awards, presented at the Miami Insurance Rendezvous, sponsored by the International Insurance Council (IIC). The awards were created to honor industry leaders from the western hemisphere for distinguished service that advanced the growth and development of the international insurance industry. Hanley Clark, current chairman of the IAIS, says Thompson was influential in building rapport among world insurance supervisors. “Not only has he been an outstanding regulator in his native Canada, but as past chairman of the IAIS has been a world leader whose character and dedication set an example to be emulated by regulators around the world,” says Clark.

In our January issue, in CU’s enthusiasm to report the latest news, we reported that Bill 59’s update, Bill 90, was passed in December. In fact, the Bill was to undergo second reading and be passed when the legislative session was prorogued on December 17. The IBC’s Stan Griffin, in an email to editor Sean van Zyl, notes the government intends to re-introduce the Bill during the next session in spring. CU regrets the error.