Risk
Is big really better? Can companies operating in the new global order that would seem to be defining the rules of business governing the property and casualty insurance industry afford not to buy up or get out? These were pivotal issues debated by senior leaders of North American insurance companies at a "national leadership symposium" held in San Francisco and jointly sponsored by The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers and investment banker Russell Miller Inc.
March 31, 2001
9 min read
Insurers today do not retain trial counsel. They retain counsel to prepare a case for settlement with the view that the appropriate legal resources will be available if ever needed. Unfortunately, the current working relationship of hourly billing that exists between insurers and their outside legal counselors has created an ineffective and costly process which cannot go unresolved. However, there are alternative fee solutions which can work for all parties.
The recent earthquake which shook residents of Seattle and Olympia in north Washington state has given risk managers with exposures in southwestern British Columbia more than a mild shudder. It has long been known that the highly urbanized cities of Victoria and Vancouver, plus the industrialized lowlands of southwestern B.C., face a high and unavoidable […]
11 min read
Co-operators General Insurance Co. has sold around half of its stakeholding in wholly-owned specialty auto risk insurer Echelon General Insurance Co. to a group of former senior executives of Pafco Insurance Co. who left the company after it was taken over by Allstate Insurance Co. of Canada in 1998. The exact shareholding acquired in Echelon […]
1 min read
The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) welcomes the world to Atlanta, Georgia this year. For incoming president David Mair, the annual conference will be a time to celebrate new efforts to increase RIMS' international flavor. As the world of business becomes "borderless", the profession is challenged to expand its own boundaries. And lest Canadian members think they will be swallowed up in a larger, more global society, Mair says an increased focus on what makes the Great White North special is taking shape at RIMS.
6 min read
In a relatively short period in the historical record of mankind's social development and exploration, technology advancements over recent decades have thrust us beyond what anyone three generations past could possibly have envisaged. But, with the rewards of advancement also comes risk, and similar to the charting of hidden reefs by early sea trade merchants, modern-day businesses need to identify and defend against their online technology risks - both tangible and non-tangible property.
Insurers may deal in risk, but they may not be taking “enterprise risk management” to heart in their own companies, and it is a situation that will have to change soon. Neil Parkinson, partner at KPMG LLP, told guests at a recent Canadian Insurance Accountants Association seminar that insurers need to take their own advice […]
Canada has never seen the severity like the twisters that tore through the U.S. in early May, 1999, or the frequency as in the fateful day of April 3, 1974 when 148 twisters touched down in 13 U.S. states – the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history. However, tornadoes have been reported in every province. […]
The cost of risk in Canada rose in 1999, according to a survey from the Risk and Insurance Management Society. At the same time, administration costs for risk management departments fell, giving rise to the observation that risk managers are having to do more with less. And, with the hardening of the insurance market, already evident in the 1999 results, there promises to more pressure than ever on risk mangers to stretch their resources and find creative ways to finance risk.
Coming years will see increased attention being brought to bear on the service performance of the claims management side of the insurance business, delegates who attended the recently held Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association and Canadian Independent Adjusters Association joint conference were told. The motivation for higher claims management excellence lies in the online and […]
February 28, 2001
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