Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Toronto, ON (June 5, 2024) – BrokerLink is excited to announce its largest Ontario acquisition to date and its first foray into two new provinces, as it welcomes The Standard Insurance Brokers Ltd. (The Standard), effective June 1, 2024. This partnership expands BrokerLink’s services throughout Northern Ontario and introduces the brokerage to thousands of new customers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Established in 1897, The Standard has offered customers in Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan peace of mind by providing tailored insurance solutions for their home, auto, business, farm, recreational vehicles, life and group benefits and more. The brokerage is also well known for its expertise in specialty insurance programs, including tourist resorts, RV campgrounds, aerial crop spraying and professional liability for architects and engineers. The Standard has grown significantly in three provinces over the past century, and has offices located in Kenora, Dryden, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Fort Frances, Winnipeg, Flin Flon and Creighton. “We are champions for our customers and passionate about supporting the communities where we live and work,” says Gord McCool, President of The Standard. “Focusing on our people, customers and community is paramount to us, and we found that BrokerLink shares these values. This...

Verisk & APCIA’s estimate of $21.1 billion in underwriting losses in 2023 shows the industry facing continued challenges from natural catastrophe events, inflation Jersey City, NJ (June 1, 2024) – Verisk, a leading global data analytics and technology provider, and The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), the primary national trade association for home, auto, and business insurers, have remarked on full-year 2023 losses for the insurance industry, which they estimate to be USD$21.1 billion. According to key financial indicators for private U.S. property/casualty insurers, 2023 followed similar trends in underwriting losses to those seen in a difficult 2022. While the estimated industry net underwriting loss of $21.1 billion is lower than the $24.8 billion reported in the previous year, net income is at the lowest level it has been in more than 10 years. In 2023, it declined to $35.7 billion, compared to $44 billion in the preceding year, representing a 19 percent decrease. Incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses for 2023 increased by 10.1 percent, while earned premiums grew by 9.9 percent. The combined ratio, a crucial measure of profitability for insurers, barely changed at 101.6 percent in 2023 versus 102.4 percent in 2022. The preliminary results, as...

Markham, ON (June 1, 2024) – Historically, enterprises across highly regulated industries have been more hesitant than others to adopt emerging technologies, with concerns around data security and compliance being top of mind. But as customer demands for flexibility and real-time information mount, the speed of technology adoption and innovation have accelerated. To keep pace, it is essential that enterprises adopt technologies that maximize the value of their data and harness the power of AI. This is where a hybrid cloud by design strategy comes into play. Built for performance To modernize and run today’s data and compute intensive workloads, it is critical that enterprises identify technology partners that are committed to helping solve their unique business challenges. And, for regulated industries, assembling individually optimized processors, systems and software uniquely tailored for their requirements only works until workload varieties increase – then you hit a wall. To address this, Intel is announcing that IBM has been named an Intel Foundry Accelerator Cloud Alliance partner, marking a step forward in the collaboration between our two companies to drive innovation and accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies. This alliance is set to offer clients a secured and scalable pathway to integrate their...

AI expected to transform retail investing, increase banking fraud and drive new insurance market; climate change expected to further increase insurance costs for commercial real estate: Deloitte 2024 Financial Services Industry Predictions reports highlight trends that have the potential to impact innovation and growth as well as risk and resiliency New York, NY (May 30, 2024) – Deloitte is pleased to announce the release of its 2024 Financial Services Industry Predictions report, which outlines some of the most significant emerging trends across the financial services industry over the next three to five years. Among the most significant trends, the report highlights the impact AI could have on transforming retail investing, enabling deepfakes and fraud in banking and driving new insurance offerings. Climate change is also predicted to continue to increase insurance costs for commercial real estate property owners and impact profitability of insurers. “The seismic shifts we will see in financial services as a result of emerging technology and innovation will likely be transformative and provide new opportunities for growth,” said Jim Eckenrode, managing director, Deloitte Center for Financial Services, Deloitte Services LP. “At the same time, financial services organizations will face new risks and resiliency challenges, including market volatility, impact...

More than half of Canadian CEOs say they are hiring for positions that did not exist last year due to generative AI, but struggle to fill key technology roles. 72% of Canadian CEOs reveal they will take on more risk than their competition to outcompete. 62% of Canadian CEOs say the productivity gains from automation are so great they are willing to accept more risk. Markham, ON (May 29, 2024) – A study by the IBM Institute for Business Value has found that AI is fueling new job creation and risk-taking among surveyed Canadian CEOs as they prioritize generative AI to maintain and enhance their competitive edge in the global market while simultaneously transforming their workforce to meet new demands. Canada was one of 30 countries included in this annual global IBM study of 3,000 CEOs. Key themes dominating the Canadian findings include the willingness of CEOs to accept more risk in an increasingly competitive landscape driven by generative AI. In fact, 64% of Canadian CEOs believe that competitive advantage depends on having the most advanced generative AI capabilities, higher than the global average of 59%. Additionally, 62% of Canadian CEOs say the productivity gains from automation are so great...