Risk

XN Risk Canada expands services

XN Risk Insurance Services Inc.’s has expanded its management liability insurance offering for development stage to mid-tier, privately held companies in Canada. As a result of this growth XN Risk will begin writing employment practices liability on a “stand-alone” basis for clients with up to 500 employees. Previously XN Risk only serviced clients with an […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 23, 2005

1 min read

Risk

IFRIMA releases position paper regarding the role of a broker

A brokers role may vary greatly from company to company, according to a position paper released today by the International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA).IFRIMA believes that the current business model established by brokers and insurers does not give enough flexibility regarding the differences inherent between brokerage services for small, medium and […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 19, 2005

2 min read

Risk

What’s New: In brief (May 19, 2005)

In a bid to expand services in Southern U.S., Hub International Ltd. opened a new office in New Orleans. Hub International Gulf South’s office of producers formerly members of Marsh & McLennan will provide Louisiana and nearby states with a full range of brokerage services. The next initiative will be amalgamating Hub’s producer team and […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 19, 2005

1 min read

Risk

Chief risk officer position, a universal mainstay

Chief risk officers (CROs) are multiplying in the financial services sector and expected to grow exponentially in other industries. According to a recent survey of 137 global risk managers conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), mounting regulatory pressures and a daunting array of business threats are generating the need for enterprise risk assessment. Representing […]

By Canadian Underwriter | May 17, 2005

1 min read

MSA/Baron 2004 report confirms down cycle (May 05, 2005)

Despite the higher profitability achieved by Canadian property and casualty insurers for 2004, the industry is unlikely to maintain this earnings momentum through this year and into 2006, according to the recently released fourth quarter 2004 "MSA/Baron Outlook Report". The report expects that developing pricing weakness in commercial lines, combined with the auto rate rollbacks […]

2 min read

Kingsway achieves record 1-Q underwriting profit (May 05, 2005)

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX: KFS) brought home an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 22.6% for the first quarter of 2005, showing a 5.7 percentage point gain on its 16.9% return achieved for the same period last year. The specialty risk insurer’s net earnings for the first quarter of this year rose by 52% […]

2 min read

Study shows new growth in specialty third-party managed programs

A survey of the U.S. general insurance marketplace by specialty reinsurance brokerage Guy Carpenter & Co. Inc. points to renewed growth in specialty risk program business handled by third-party program administrators. In addition to rising demand by insurers for this type of business, the survey suggests that this segment of the industry has attracted the […]

1 min read

SEC issues salvo of finite transaction subpoenas against insurers

Hannover Reinsurance Co. and General Electric Co. are among the latest targets of the U.S.’s Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in its investigation into finite reinsurance transactions. The SEC’s interest in the use of finite reinsurance by insurers was sparked earlier this year when both the commission and New York’s attorney general Eliot Spitzer revealed that […]

2 min read

AIG runs into further accounting problems

American International Group Inc. (AIG) has hit another hurdle in attempts to deal with accounting irregularities that will require the insurer to restate five years of its financial results. AIG says that a review of its books by auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP may not be completed until the end of May this year, thus producing the […]

1 min read

Auto Insurance: Will it Bite Back?

The 2004 financial returns of Canadian insurers were boosted to an unprecedented level of profitability by mainly a strong underwriting recovery in the notorious auto line. And, the first quarter 2005 financial results of companies suggest that auto business continues to offer a healthy operating margin. However, as premiums have "peaked" - partly due to enforced rate reductions by the provincial governments but also the result of heightened market competition - the question on many insurance CEOs minds is not "if" the claims experience of the $29 billion annual auto line will deteriorate, but rather "when".

April 30, 2005

11 min read