Industry

The firm that wants to launch ride hailing in B.C. this winter

VANCOUVER – Ride-hailing company Kater Technologies says it has officially applied for a licence that would allow it to operate in every region of British Columbia. A statement from the company says B.C. is one of the last areas of North America without ride-hailing and the province now has an opportunity to introduce the service […]

By Greg Meckbach | September 10, 2019

2 min read

Industry

What distracted driving conviction can mean on renewal

For your Ontario auto clients, distracted driving convictions carry a greater risk of higher rates on renewal. “Now that distracted driving is with many carriers a major conviction, I think we can translate that for brokers [so] that they quickly understand what that is going to mean for customers when they get their renewal,” said […]

By Greg Meckbach | September 6, 2019

3 min read

Industry

Court sides with insurer in disputed marine cargo claim

A large Canadian manufacturing multinational has lost a legal battle, although not necessarily the war, with Chubb Insurance Company of Canada over a marine coverage dispute. It started in 2013 when Cambridge, Ont.-based ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. sold machinery to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. in India. ATS’s subsidiary, IWK (Thailand) Ltd., shipped a tube-filling […]

By Greg Meckbach | September 4, 2019

2 min read

Industry

Hurricane Dorian’s projected path into Canada

Hurricane Dorian is tracking to hit Atlantic Canada as a post-tropical storm Sunday, about a week after post-tropical storm Erin inflicted heavy rainfall over southwestern Nova Scotia. “When post-tropical storm Erin recently travelled through the Atlantic region, we didn’t see a significant spike in claims activity, largely due to the reduced severity and path of […]

By David Gambrill | September 3, 2019

3 min read

What the industry can do to get out of the hard market cycle

Although regulation is one significant factor in the current hardening market conditions, that doesn’t mean the insurance industry should cry “woe is me” and wait for things to get better on their own. Instead, a pro-active approach is needed, experts say. Some things the industry can’t control, such as the increased costs to fix newer […]

By Adam Malik | August 30, 2019

3 min read

How Spotify’s business model describes the future of insurance

Forget everything you know about insurance. That’s what the insurance product of the future will look like, says Tim Attia, CEO and co-founder of New York City-based Slice Labs. “Insurance will have to be like Spotify,” Attia said, referring to the audio streaming service. “You just register and you’re protected. You can’t come to the […]

By Jason Contant | August 29, 2019

4 min read

Sign of the times: Why this bank bailed out of P&C reinsurance

Buffeted by severe weather claims, the Bank of Montreal has decided to exit the property and casualty reinsurance side of the business, BMO announced during a conference call Tuesday. “In Q4 of last year, we said we were reviewing ways to lower variability in our reinsurance business,” BMO Financial Group CEO Darryl White told investors […]

3 min read

Ground imaging shows large sinkhole chain near Nova Scotia town

HALIFAX – Preliminary results of an imaging survey near a Nova Scotia town where a sinkhole swallowed part of a park last summer show an extensive belt of hundreds of additional sinkholes stretching for kilometres. Amy Tizzard, a geologist with the provincial Department of Energy and Mines, said the new imaging around Oxford, N.S., clearly […]

By Greg Meckbach | August 26, 2019

4 min read

Thoughts on industry consolidation from a retiring CEO

Consolidation in the insurance industry is reducing consumer choice and putting more pressure on employees, Steve Smith, president and CEO of Cambridge, Ont.-based Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc., said during his second last week on the job. “To me it’s kind of a sad thing,” Smith said of industry consolidation – without naming names – […]

By Greg Meckbach | August 26, 2019

3 min read