Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Toronto, ON (Sept. 10, 2026) – New estimates from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business find that 53,112 businesses are directly impacted by either U.S. tariffs, Canadian counter-tariffs, or both. Of that total, 13,160 are exporters, while 45,414 are importers. “While government has made a few important and welcome changes to the main tariff supports, the programs continue to exclude about half of the small business community,” said Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB executive vice-president, advocacy. “We have been telling government that the counter-tariffs would have a far broader impact than the U.S. tariffs. Programs that only help a few thousand businesses are unacceptable when tens of thousands need support. This week’s announcement that some Canadian goods will be outright banned from US import at the end of the month only underscores the need to get supports right ASAP.” CFIB is proposing three important measures: A dedicated Small Business Tariff Relief (SBTR) program, where impacted exporters and importers who can provide direct evidence they paid the tariffs directly, or adjusted prices to absorb part or all of the tariff, would be eligible to receive initial tariff relief up to $70,000 CAD. An SME Desk for Tariff Remissions to speed up decisions on eliminating...

The integrated platform will provide a more connected experience and help independent advisors spend less time on administration and more time supporting clients Kitchener, ON (Sept. 10, 2026) – Financial Horizons, one of Canada’s largest life and health managing general agents (MGA), is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Equisoft, a Canadian technology provider, for a centralized, fully integrated platform to enhance the capabilities of its independent advisor network. The investment is a foundational step in Financial Horizons’ multi-year technology transformation that takes a phased approach through 2027. Financial Horizons is the first major Canadian MGA to partner with Equisoft to harness the platform’s full capabilities to bring insurance and segregated funds operations together on a single system. “We know the challenges independent advisors have faced piecing together client information, and this new partnership is an important step toward creating a single client picture,” said Sean Downey, President & CEO of Financial Horizons. “As advisor and client expectations continue to evolve, we remain committed to investments that help advisors operate more efficiently today so they can spend more time with clients, strengthen relationships and continue growing their businesses for the future.” The platform will centralize systems that advisors and...

Monte Carlo, Monaco (Sept. 7, 2026) – The reinsurance market enters Rendez-Vous de Septembre and the upcoming renewal season against the backdrop of an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing risk landscape. In this environment, Swiss Re is supporting clients in identifying evolving exposures and risk accumulations through data and analytics, underwriting expertise and tailored solutions to manage this complex environment. Urs Baertschi, Chief Executive Officer Property & Casualty Reinsurance at Swiss Re, said: “The underlying need for protection continues to grow as the risk landscape evolves and becomes more interconnected. Our clients need more than reinsurance capacity from us – they need risk expertise, data and solutions that help them navigate an increasingly complex environment. We combine these capabilities to help our clients understand emerging exposures, manage volatility and build resilience.” Growing natural catastrophe risk reinforces protection needs Natural catastrophe risk remains a significant driver of reinsurance demand. Insured natural catastrophe losses continue to follow a 5–7% annual growth rate, driven by increasing exposures, rising asset values and changing hazard patterns. Swiss Re’s modelling indicates that insured losses could reach around USD 320 billion in a 2026 peak loss scenario, illustrating the value of reinsurance protection against low-frequency, high-severity events....

New AI risk framework—built with leading MSPs, cybersecurity experts, and re/insurers and brokers—enters pilot as carriers move toward affirmative AI coverage for small and mid-market businesses Atlanta, GA (Sept. 10, 2026) – SPECTRA, the cyber risk management platform behind the first and only robust certification of cyber resilience for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), is pleased to announce an AI risk framework of 20 AI deployment controls, giving MSPs, their small and mid-market business customers, and the insurers who cover them a common standard of insurability for the deployment of AI. Over the last 12 months, the MSP industry has moved quickly from viewing AI as transformative for the channel and its customers to focusing on safe, scalable deployment that generates recurring revenue for MSPs. AI was the single most prominent topic at Pax8 Beyond, GTIA ChannelCon, CRN XChange and other major channel events this summer. SPECTRA expects the shift to create an opportunity for MSPs on the scale of the cloud migration that reshaped the channel two decades ago. Operating where managed cybersecurity and insurance converge, SPECTRA has seen MSPs of all sizes accelerate their go-to-market for deploying and securing AI as customers rush adoption into their operations. At the...

As Global Disaster Losses Top $200 Billion a Year, a New Report from the Milken Institute Identifies Pathways for Greater Investment in Resilience Against Extreme Weather Events A Financial Innovations Lab project identified key building blocks of a resilient community and developed financial, policy, and partnership pathways to achieve them Washington, DC (Sept. 9, 2026) – The Milken Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit U.S. think tank, has released a new report produced in partnership with leading global professional services firm Marsh. The research, based on findings from a recent Financial Innovations Lab, comes at a time when communities worldwide find themselves facing a new and expensive reality of extreme weather events they cannot withstand. Across the world, disaster losses are now in excess of $200 billion a year for the last ten years. The LA Fires, with estimated damage between $76 billion and $131 billion in economic losses, was the most expensive natural disaster last year. The report comes amid increasing weather risks across the world with devastating effects on livelihoods and communities putting pressure on future balance sheets. Globally, uninsured losses now account for more than half of total disaster losses worldwide. Rebuild and recovery are taking longer, with cascading...