Industry

Broker regulator replaces fines with license suspensions in B.C. toll bridge matter

Following the marching orders of a decision last year by B.C. Financial Services Tribunal (FST), the Insurance Council of B.C. has issued license suspensions to two insurance brokers for their role in overriding their clients’ outstanding toll bridge debts in order to provide them with auto insurance. The two brokers each had previously received fines […]

By David Gambrill | July 12, 2019

3 min read

Industry

How long you might wait for interest rate hikes

Interest rates in Canada won’t change for the next 18 months, but what happens after that is hard to predict, a Bank of Montreal economics expert suggested Thursday. The Bank of Canada announced Wednesday it is keeping the overnight interest rate at 1.75%. Although this is 1.25 percentage points higher than two years ago, it’s […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 12, 2019

2 min read

Industry

Saskatchewan Mutual’s new CEO starts July 15

Laura Wiebe is retiring as CEO of Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Company. Her successor, senior vice president of operations Shelley Willick, takes the helm of SMI as CEO on July 15. Wiebe has been president and CEO of SMI since 2008. SMI writes insurance in its home province as well as in Alberta and Manitoba. In […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 11, 2019

1 min read

Industry

M&A activity unlocks this hot new business opportunity

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity over the past five years — which reached a total value of almost $3.5 trillion in 2018 — led to a starburst of transactional insurance last year. Transactional risk insurance covers risks related to M&A, including representations and warranties (R&W) insurance, tax indemnity insurance and contingent liability insurance. In […]

By David Gambrill | July 11, 2019

2 min read

Top court cuts down “apples” approach to tort award reduction

Adjusters and insurance defence lawyers who think the “apples-to-apples” approach to deducting future no-fault benefits from tort awards is rotten will likely find relief in a Supreme Court of Canada ruling released Thursday. Canada’s top court announced July 11 it will not hear an appeal from Ontario auto accident victim Chad Cadieux, who was catastrophically […]

4 min read

Bank of Canada holds interest rate, warns of drag from global trade tensions

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada is leaving its key interest rate unchanged in an announcement that balances domestic economic improvements with an expanding global slowdown caused by trade conflicts. The decision Wednesday kept the interest rate at 1.75 per cent for a sixth-straight meeting as Canada rebounds from a weak stretch that nearly brought […]

3 min read

How carbon monoxide poisoning affects hotel liability risk

A carbon monoxide accident at a hotel could easily lead to a liability claim in the millions, an insurance lawyer says. On Tuesday, 46 people were taken to several Winnipeg hospitals after a carbon monoxide leak affecting a three-story Super 8 motel, The Canadian Press reported. Initially, CP quoted a local firefighter as saying 15 […]

2 min read

U.K. tech company acquires Canadian broker software provider

B.C.-based Zycomp Systems Limited, a Canadian software provider widely known for its broker management system Power Broker, has been acquired by Acturis Group, a London, U.K.-based software as a service (SaaS) provider. Founded in 2000, Acturis provides technology solutions to general insurance brokers and underwriters in the U.K., Germany and internationally. Its technology is used […]

2 min read

Optional benefits priority ruling could create “administrative nightmare” for auto insurers

An insurance defence lawyer is warning of a potential “administrative nightmare” for insurers in light of a recent Court of Appeal for Ontario decision on priority disputes involving optional benefits. Continental Casualty Company v. Chubb in Ontario is now becoming referred to as the “optional benefits” case. Essentially, it allows an insurer paying optional accident […]

3 min read

Two problems insurtech could solve for existing players

Attracting talent and putting legacy data to good use are two of the ways insurtech can help the industry, a claims professional says. Chris Hampshire, vice president of carrier practice at claims services provider Gallagher Bassett Services Inc., was asked during a recent episode of A.M. Best TV whether insurtech can make the industry more […]

2 min read