Industry
Intact’s proposed $1-billion acquisition of The Guarantee and the managing general agent Frank Cowan is intended to bolster the company’s strength in specialty lines – primarily in the areas of surety, public entities, and high-net worth clients, company executives said in an investors’ call Thursday. “Overall, it would be difficult to find a better strategic […]
By David Gambrill | August 16, 2019
3 min read
Risk managers using colour-coded heat maps may be pressed by their bosses for more specific information on their exposures, a new risk management expert at KPMG Canada suggests. Heat maps are a way for risk managers to report risks to stakeholders within the organization, Deloitte explains in a report. With a heat map, a risk […]
By Greg Meckbach | August 15, 2019
2 min read
Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer, Intact Financial Corp. has agreed to buy The Guarantee Company of North America and MGA Frank Cowan Company Limited for about $1 billion from Princeton Holdings. Princeton will continue to own retail brokerage Cowan Insurance Group as well as other businesses, including Cowan Asset Management and Fountain Street Finance. […]
If a blockbuster insurer merger gets announced tomorrow, it probably won’t involve Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., which has grown steadily through insurer acquisitions over the past 34 years. “We are not looking to add in a significant way from an acquisition perspective at this time,” Fairfax president Paul Rivett said during a recent earnings […]
By Greg Meckbach | August 14, 2019
In this day and age, the way best way to buy insurance is the same way you select a movie to watch on Netflix, right? Elmira, Ont.-based broker Tim Waters doesn’t seem to think so. “This isn’t a product that should be bought from a computer,” said Waters, executive vice president of Programmed Insurance Brokers […]
JOHN’S, N.L. – The lengthy search for a downed float plane and its three missing passengers has been suspended, and officers who took part in the rescue effort have left the Labrador lake where the plane crashed last month, the RCMP said Tuesday. On-site search efforts concluded Aug. 8 and divers have left Mistastin Lake, […]
Direct writer Sonnet, launched three years ago by Economical Insurance, has doubled in size in one year. “We are getting a broader base of customers. It’s not just millennials,” Rowan Saunders, president and CEO of Waterloo, Ont.-based Economical, told Canadian Underwriter Monday. Economical reported Aug. 1 that Sonnet generated gross written premiums of $50.6 million during […]
By Greg Meckbach | August 13, 2019
TORONTO – A deputy judge is calling for passage of clear laws on which innocent party should bear responsibility for financial losses related to cyberfraud. In calling for legislation, Ontario Deputy Judge Shane Kelford said it’s clear the law has yet to catch up with a growing problem. “In reviewing legal commentary on computer fraud, […]
Thinking of investing in artificial intelligence so you can automate tasks that are wasting workers’ time? Many brokerages have processes that could be improved through machine learning, suggested Christopher Wynder, director of product marketing for capture and original equipment manufacturing at OpenText Corp. But before spending money on IT transformation, you need to ask what […]
By Greg Meckbach | August 12, 2019
The hardening commercial insurance market has resulted in double-digit price increases for some of Fairfax Financial’s insurers, with rates in some lines increasing by nearly a third. “Price increases are significant, some lines up as much as 30%,” said Paul Rivett, president of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., on a recent conference call. Rivett was […]
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