Legal / Regulation

Ridesharing anticipated in B.C. by “end of 2017,” province unveils measures to help taxi industry modernize

The government of British Columbia announced on Tuesday a series of improvements for the taxi industry in anticipation of “ride-sharing services coming to British Columbia by the holiday season at the end of 2017,” including improving certain insurance products, potentially saving taxi drivers up to 25% in premiums. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said […]

By Canadian Underwriter | March 8, 2017

4 min read

Court appoints committees to represent Economical mutual and non-mutual policyholders

An Ontario court has appointed two committees to negotiate the allocation of benefits from a demutualization of Economical Insurance, the Waterloo, Ont.-based insurance carrier announced Friday. No federally regulated P&C insurers have demutualized yet. Canada did not have regulations allowing for federally regulated P&C insurers to demutualize until the summer of 2015. In December, 2015, […]

By Canadian Underwriter | February 24, 2017

3 min read

Legal / Regulation

Ontario Securities Commission, U.K. regulator sign co-operation agreement on fintech businesses

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have signed a new agreement under which fintech businesses in both jurisdictions will be able to seek support from their financial regulators as they look to operate in the other’s market. Signed on Wednesday, the Co-operation Agreement allows the FCA and the […]

By Canadian Underwriter | February 23, 2017

2 min read

Legal / Regulation

Confront risks of financial technologies to reap benefits: FINTRAC

OTTAWA – The head of Canada’s financial intelligence unit warns that regulators must grapple with the challenges of emerging financial technologies, some of which he says have been exploited by terrorism and organized crime. But while it’s necessary to safeguard consumers and the country’s financial stability from the risks posed by some of these innovations, […]

By Jason Contant | February 22, 2017

3 min read

Nearly half of global insurers expect to acquire new technologies through M&A in the next three years: Willis Towers Watson survey

Nearly three-quarters of global insurers (74%) believe that their sector has failed to show leadership in digital innovation, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) released on Thursday. The report, titled New horizons: How diverse growth strategies can advance digitalisation in the insurance industry, involved a survey of 200 senior-level executives within […]

4 min read

New York cyber rules could raise loss exposures for U.S. insurers: Fitch

The implementation of the New York Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) new cybersecurity regulations has the potential to underscore premium growth in cybersecurity insurance and directors and officers (D&O) insurance, but could also raise loss potential for insurers, Fitch Ratings said earlier this week. The rules, which come into effect on March 1, will cover […]

3 min read

U.S. Congress committee warned that autonomous vehicles could ‘pose an avenue for terrorism’

The industry and regulators need to “think very broadly” around the cyber security of autonomous vehicles, and having autonomous cars operate in such a way that human drivers must be ready to take control can actually increase the risk of collision, experts warned a House of Representatives committee Tuesday. “Transportation is one of the areas […]

4 min read

CEOs “particularly” anxious about data breaches: PwC survey

Nearly one in four chief executive officers surveyed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers “strongly agree” that how their firms manage people’s data will “differentiate” their companies. “CEOs are particularly anxious that breaches in data security and ethics, and IT outages and disruptions could impair public trust in their industry,” PwC said of the findings from its 20th CEO […]

2 min read

Personal, commercial drone market revenue expected to increase 34% to reach US$6 billion+ in 2017: Gartner

Production of drones for personal and commercial use is growing rapidly, with global market revenue expected to increase 34% to reach more than US$6 billion in 2017 and more than US$11.2 billion by 2020, according to a new forecast from Gartner, Inc. Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company based in Stamford, Conn., added […]

3 min read

Self-driving car prototypes need less human help, data show

LOS ANGELES – Self-driving car prototypes appear to be getting better at negotiating California streets and highways without a human backup driver intervening, according to data made public Wednesday by California transportation regulators. The data reflect safety-related incidents reported by 11 companies that have been testing more than 100 vehicles on public roads, primarily in […]

By Jason Contant | February 2, 2017

3 min read