Risk
B.C.’s public auto insurer has filed for no rate increase on its basic coverage package for 2005, citing improved investment results and lower claims.The Insurance Corp. of B.C. (ICBC) says it may also drop rates on its optional coverage, a market in which it competes with private insurers. While basic rates are filed with the […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 13, 2004
1 min read
In a new report on bond insurers, Fitch Ratings says the market is stable, owing to its predictable earnings stream and ultra-conservative risk profile, as well as its high levels of excess capital. Nonetheless, pressures exist to grow business and competition is heating up in the sector. There has also been a shift towards insuring […]
Insurers are increasingly focused on their own risk management practices in response to market turmoil as well as incoming regulatory changes. In a new study, Ernst & Young looks at best practices for insurers to evaluate, control and account for their risk exposures.E&Y postulates insurers need to look at building a “risk-adjusted performance measurement” (RAPM) […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 12, 2004
2 min read
While Europe, like most insurance markets, has seen a growth in profitability recently, the challenge remains to sustain this profitability and grow capital, according to Standard & Poor’s “report card” on European insurers.”The sector remains focused on profitability at the expense of volume, but the mantra has now shifted subtly toward profitable growth,” says Hans […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 6, 2004
Swiss Re has been granted a branch license from the Ministry of Finance in Taiwan, making it the first international reinsurer to set up a branch on the island. The branch will be located in Taipei, and provide both p&c and life & health reinsurance. The U.S. “market barometer” produced by MarketScout.com suggests rate increases […]
Ontario’s insurance regulator will have its hands full again in 2004 with changes to the auto insurance system, as illustrated by its “statement of priorities”.Auto insurance changes and regulatory harmonization feature heavily in the document, which outlines the 2004-2005 mandate for the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). Although FSCO was hard at work implementing […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 4, 2004
The world’s top executives and investment firms have very different views on the key risks to corporate revenue sources, according to a new study by FM Global and Harris Interactive.The annual “Protecting Value” study looks at risk to key revenue drivers through the eyes of 600 executives from “global 1000” corporations and investment firms.The 2004 […]
By Canadian Underwriter | July 1, 2004
Saskatchewan has switched to the same single license plate system in use in most provinces. As of June 30, drivers will be issued just one plate on new transactions, and other drivers will have the choice of whether they want to use one or two plates. Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), which oversees license plate issuance, […]
While the "magic" of last year's hard market transformed Canada's reinsurance players from pumpkins into glittering stage-coaches, the bad news is that time may now be running out. Similar to their primary company clients, reinsurers prospered during 2003 with virtually all the financial indicators pointing in the right direction - except one. After two years of almost miraculous growth in premium income - largely driven by rate increases - the Canadian reinsurance sector appears to have hit a wall. Does this mean that reinsurance pricing has lost steam, possibly signaling the turning point in the industry price cycle that so many have come to fear? Reinsurers fervently deny that price softening is setting in, purporting that reduced premium growth is a reflection of higher primary retentions as companies look to benefit from hard market pricing. Even so, a loss of business, in terms of risk transfer, will ultimately exert economic operating pressures on reinsurers in a marketplace which many regard as having too many players.
June 30, 2004
10 min read
The Canadian Independent Adjusters Association (CIAA) raised its profile earlier this year by winning special status for adjusters under the new federal privacy legislation. The move capped off 2003, one of the busiest years adjusters have ever faced, with disasters both natural and man-made in the form of Hurricane Juan, the B.C. forest fires and the debacle of auto insurance. As she assumes the association's presidency, Carol Messervey hopes to turn the high profile of the profession into a rallying point for the national association.
6 min read
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