Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Genesis ranks highest overall for tech innovation for fourth consecutive year; Hyundai ranks highest among mass market brands for fifth consecutive year Troy, MI (Aug. 29, 2024) – Are vehicle owners becoming overwhelmed with technology features that don’t solve a problem, don’t work, are difficult to use or are just too limited in functionality? The results of the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) StudySM, suggest that could be the case. The study, which focuses on the user experience with advanced vehicle technologies as they come to market, finds that while owners offer praise for some advanced features, others are found to be lackluster. New Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies, like smart climate control, have quickly won popularity with those owners who have used it, yet recognition technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint reader and interior gesture controls fall out of favor as they unsuccessfully try to solve a problem that owners didn’t know they had. For example, not only do owners say that interior gesture controls can be problematic (43.4 problems per 100 vehicles), but 21% of these owners also say this technology lacks functionality, according to newly added diagnostic questions in this year’s study. These performance metrics,...

Coalition Re to offer Active Cyber Reinsurance via two products supported by Aspen-led capacity San Francisco, CA (Sept. 9, 2024) — Coalition, the world’s first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, is pleased to announce the creation of its reinsurance intermediary, Coalition Re, to provide capacity for cyber reinsurance treaties and expand on its mission to protect more unprotected businesses. Coalition Re provides capacity for non-proportional cyber reinsurance treaties, as well as a white-labeled cyber insurance product with up to 100% quota share support for cedants seeking to offer cyber insurance as an endorsement to an existing insurance product offering. Both are available globally and supported by a robust panel of capacity providers led by Aspen, a leading specialty insurer and reinsurer. “In reinsurance, there is often a breakdown of information where reinsurers know less about policyholders than the primary insurers. Combine that with a lack of cyber expertise and proper data usage among reinsurers, and the result is inaccurately priced reinsurance contracts and a misconception around how to measure cyber accumulation exposure,” said Shawn Ram, Head of Insurance at Coalition. “Coalition Re is a new type of reinsurance provider whereby we equip carriers with...

New York, NY (Sept. 5, 2024) – A new whitepaper from Marsh McLennan, the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, and Zurich Insurance Group, a leading global multi-line insurer and provider of resilience services, highlights the critical need for greater public sector involvement to strengthen societal resilience in the event a catastrophic cyber event occurs. The whitepaper, Closing the cyber risk protection gap, emphasises the urgent need for innovative solutions to close the gap between risk and insurance – particularly for small and medium-size businesses that are often uninsured or underinsured – as rapidly-evolving cyber threats are outpacing the capacity of traditional insurance and risk management solutions to fully mitigate them. It highlights mass malware and mass cloud outage as examples of cyber incidents that are currently considered insurable up to a certain level of financial loss, and events such as critical infrastructure failure, which are generally considered uninsurable. John Doyle, President & Chief Executive Officer, Marsh McLennan, said: “The severe threat presented by cyber risks requires collective action to bridge the protection gap. The insurance industry and the public sector must fully understand the spectrum of insurable and currently non-insurable cyber events....

Earnix’s Ready for Guidewire accelerator will enable operational efficiencies and streamlined strategic growth Boston, MA (Aug. 27, 2024) – Earnix, the leading global provider of intelligent decisioning SaaS solutions for financial services, is pleased to announce that a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, Co-operators General Insurance Company (Co-operators) has successfully implemented the Earnix Enterprise Rating Engine as its production rating solution for homeowners’ insurance. Now, Co-operators is excited to use Earnix’s Ready for Guidewire accelerator to help further realize the benefits of a single pricing and rating platform by significantly streamlining  delivery of future lines of business. “Agility is critical to stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing market – the right tools and solutions can significantly impact our success in doing so,” said Amélie Beauregard, Vice President, Home and Auto Pricing at Co-operators. “We came on as an early adopter of Earnix’s Guidewire accelerator and have already seen gains in our speed to market driven by new operational efficiency. We look forward to seeing further enhancements from Earnix as we refine our approach.” Co-operators has been a longstanding Earnix customer since 2015. After eight years of successfully leveraging Earnix for modeling and analytical pricing, this implementation, which includes the enhanced...

With a new season comes new beginnings: McFarlan Rowlands Insurance Brokers Inc. announces acquisition of Excalibur Insurance Group London, ON (Sept. 6, 2024) – McFarlan Rowlands Insurance Brokers Inc., a division of McDougall Insurance Brokers Ltd., is pleased to announce that Excalibur Insurance Group has merged with McFarlan Rowlands Insurance Brokers, effective September 1st. “We’re thrilled to join forces with such a highly reputable brokerage and are looking forward to a prosperous future together,” said McFarlan Rowlands in its announcement of the merger on social media. The transaction represents a major stride for McFarlan Rowlands toward growing its business in Western Ontario. “We are excited to welcome the team and clients of Excalibur Insurance to the McDougall family,” said Ross McDougall, CEO of McDougall Insurance Brokers. “We’ve always held the Excalibur organization in high regard, and [we] know that between them and McFarlan Rowlands we will be able to deliver on unparalleled insurance service for our clients in Western Ontario.” “Excalibur Insurance believes in community and customer service before anything else,” said Jeff Roy, President & CEO of Excalibur Insurance. “By joining with McFarlan and McDougall, we know we are joining a team that values those same things – and...