Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Mississauga, ON (Feb. 20, 2025) – First Onsite Property Restoration, Canada’s leading property restoration company, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a majority stake in Great Canadian Roofing & Siding. Great Canadian Roofing & Siding operates in Alberta and Saskatchewan with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Saskatoon. Over the years, the company has evolved from a roofing company into a full-service, one-stop, energy-efficient renovation specialist with a range of residential services from roofing, siding, windows and doors, stone and stucco, to insulation and thermal imaging. “Great Canadian Roofing & Siding has a strong and well-respected reputation in the markets it serves. While getting to know the company, we have been very impressed by the organization and we have high expectations for this partnership,” said Peter Corsano, EVP of Operations at First Onsite Property Restoration. Today’s acquisition enables First Onsite to support its insurance partners with enhanced service offerings. Additionally, when there’s a catastrophic weather event or property damage, First Onsite can better help its customers get back on their feet quickly. This announcement comes on the heels of a record-breaking hailstorm that hit the Calgary area in early August 2024, resulting in nearly $2.8 billion in insured...

By Stephen Applebaum and Alan Demers — The expression “Mind the gap” dates to the 1960s when it was first announced on the London Underground. The purpose was to warn passengers of the potentially dangerous gap between the train door and platform which are not perfectly aligned. It has since evolved to become a general warning about the danger of open space or gap between two points. It applies especially well to the many risks and headwinds faced by the insurance industry today. And if unattended, may be irreversible or much harder to close. The P&C industry is by design, resilient with layers of financial insulation. Reinsurance, surplus capital, low-risk and liquid investment portfolios are just some of these layers with individual state oversight to monitor financial stability. The insurance model has been tested over time during high inflationary periods and severe catastrophic events and alternating hard and soft market cycles.  However, the last three years are arguably the most challenging from fluctuating inflation and worsening climate risks. Meanwhile, there are emerging and widening gaps that both threaten and are reshaping massive segments such as real estate and homeownership. Climate Resilience Gap As made painfully obvious by the recent series...

Toronto, ON (Feb. 18, 2025) – As Canada and the United States navigate increasing trade tensions, Canadian Broker Network (CBN) today reaffirms our unwavering commitment to Canadian insurance clients. As the country’s leading network of independent insurance brokers, representing more than $3.5 billion in property-casualty premiums, CBN offers Canadian businesses and individuals a trusted insurance solution that is free from foreign control or influence. “With rising economic uncertainty and evolving risks, it’s never been more important to work with an independent, Canadian broker who understands the local landscape,” said Lorie Phair, President of CBN. “Our member brokers are not tied to corporate mandates or external investors. We are fiercely independent and deeply rooted in our communities from coast to coast, ensuring that every decision is made with our clients’ best interests in mind.” A Purely Canadian Advantage With 30 locally owned and operated brokerages represented in more than 100 offices across the country, CBN: Understands local communities, offering deep local expertise, supporting our communities and offering real choice with an array of unbiased insurance solutions to choose from. Supports the Canadian economy by hiring locally and reinvesting in Canadian communities to strengthen businesses and families. Makes local decisions to respond quickly...

Insurers making good progress supporting customers with claims and helping residents recover Toronto, ON (Feb. 14, 2025) – The tally for Calgary’s record-breaking hailstorm last August continues to rise, with total insured losses now estimated to be $3.25 billion, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). The storm is the second-costliest disaster in Canadian history for insured losses and resulted in more than 130,000 insurance claims. Despite the enormous volume of claims that resulted from the hailstorm, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports that over the past six months, insurers have made good progress helping affected residents recover and rebuild following the disaster. The majority of auto insurance claims – which represent more than half of all claims from the hailstorm – have been completed. Alberta’s insurers brought in adjusters from across the province to help expedite vehicle assessments and repairs. Total insured damage to vehicles is now estimated to be nearly $1 billion. The damage was so extensive that roughly half of all vehicles damaged were total losses, meaning that the value of the vehicle was written off and customers opted for cash payouts in lieu of repairs. Nearly 60,000 homes in the Calgary area were impacted. The...

By Joseph D’Souza, Founder & CEO, ProNavigator — 2020 was a remarkable and noteworthy year in history, especially for businesses and their employees. Many businesses found out that they can remain at near peak productivity with their employees working from home (WFH), while many others found out that they cannot. It also added wrinkles to issues around the security of intellectual property. How can companies safeguard and protect their systems from attack when security needs to be deployed across the internet for all employees while they are at home? There is another new risk for companies that they may not be aware is occurring due to WFH, and that is an acceleration in the loss of institutional knowledge. “My cat is now my official productivity consultant. He stares disapprovingly at me whenever I take a break, which is surprisingly effective.”― An anonymous Work From Home employee In a prior article, I went into more detail about what institutional knowledge is and where it resides (it is documented somewhere or it resides in someone’s head and is undocumented). In an office environment, it is very common for employees to talk with each other. This is called the Water Cooler Phenomenon and while...