Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Toronto, ON (May 25, 2026) – As temperatures rise and projects accelerate, Canada’s construction sector is entering its busiest period of the year. Often referred to as “crane season,” the summer months typically see a surge in development activity across residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects, particularly in urban centres. “With tighter timelines, increased labour demand, and higher project values, this seasonal spike not only drives economic momentum but also introduces a more complex risk environment for contractors, developers, and project stakeholders”, mentioned Gary Hirst, CEO, CHES Special Risk. Seasonal Growth Meets Operational Pressure The summer construction period is characterized by accelerated project schedules and overlapping workstreams. Builders aim to maximize favourable weather conditions, resulting in increased site activity, longer work hours, and greater coordination between multiple trades. This heightened pace can amplify common construction risks, including: Equipment damage or breakdown during high‑usage periods Site congestion leading to accidents or third‑party liability exposures Material handling and storage challenges Delays or disruptions impacting project timelines and costs In this environment, both physical damage risks and liability exposures tend to become more pronounced. Specialty insurance providers with dedicated construction expertise play a key role during this period, supporting brokers with tailored underwriting approaches...

Tronto, ON (May 21, 2022) — The Canadian Association of Managing General Agents (CAMGA) has published a new white paper, White Paper on Recommended Provincial Regulatory Standards for Property and Casualty Managing General Agents, authored by respected insurance industry expert Patrick Ballantyne. The white paper is available in both English and French and represents a significant milestone in CAMGA’s ongoing work to advance a clear, consistent, and fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for property and casualty (P&C) Managing General Agents (MGAs) across Canada. View the whitepaper here. In December 2025, CAMGA announced the appointment of Ballantyne as a consultant to support the association’s work on MGA-specific regulatory matters. He was tasked with examining the current regulatory environment for P&C MGAs in Canada and developing recommendations to inform CAMGA’s discussions with provincial regulators and industry stakeholders. “MGAs play an increasingly important role in the Canadian insurance marketplace, yet regulation has not evolved in a consistent way to reflect the unique nature of the business model,” said Ballantyne. “This paper provides practical recommendations to strengthen consumer protection, improve regulatory efficiency, and better align oversight with the operational realities of MGAs.” Key Highlights of the White Paper The paper concludes that: MGAs are a distinct...

65% of businesses that suffered a cyber attack say a supplier was involved 58% of affected businesses experienced revenue loss New York, NY (May 19, 2026) – One in three Canadian businesses (33%) experienced cyber incidents in the past 12 months which they believe leveraged Artificial Intelligence, with phishing among the most frequent methods, according to global research* from business insurer QBE. Artificial Intelligence is becoming ubiquitous in the Canadian economy, with 97% of businesses using it or looking into it, up from 94% last year. 2025 2026 Canadian businesses using AI 71% 83% Canadian businesses looking into using AI 23% 14% Efficiency and productivity are among the top motivations for deploying AI, as more than half of businesses rolling out the technology mention these objectives. Canadian businesses are deploying AI to: Increase operational efficiency 53% Increase productivity 53% Improve decision making 42% Grow revenue 41% Improve compliance and reduce risk 36% Drive innovation 36% Improve customer experience and retention 36% Build competitive advantage 36% Increase agility 35% Enable personalization at scale 28% “As new technologies such as AI become embedded in operations, effective risk management remains fundamental to ensuring sustainable and resilient growth,” said Kyle Gray, Underwriter Team Lead,...

New capability combines proprietary claims data and advanced predictive models to deliver property-level, peril-specific risk insights that help improve risk segmentation and underwriting efficiency Atlanta, GA (May 14, 2026) – LexisNexis® Risk Solutions is pleased to announce the launch of LexisNexis® Location Intelligence for Home, an AI-driven predictive model that is redefining how U.S. home insurers assess property risk. Using advanced neural network modeling, LexisNexis® Location Intelligence for Home gives U.S. home insurance carriers a decisive advantage in assessing property risk with more accuracy and efficiency at new business and renewal. There is a growing interest across the market in utilizing location intelligence, in addition to existing underwriting practices, to pinpoint potential risks before claims occur and investigate and mitigate those risks during the underwriting process. Location Intelligence is now available via LexisNexis® Smart Selection, the automated data service that delivers inspection flags and customizable business rules to better identify and segment the property risks that require a higher probability of action. Due to rising costs to repair homes, increased costly catastrophic events and greater pressure on underwriting precision, traditional property risk assessment approaches, particularly ones that rely heavily on exterior condition and loss data alone, can leave critical gaps....

Toronto, ON (May 12, 2026) – Markel International, a division of Markel Insurance, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc., is pleased to announce its partnership with hyperexponential (hx) to modernize rating, underwriting workflows and integration architecture across its Canadian business. The partnership reflects Markel’s significant investment in building a more sophisticated, AI‑native underwriting environment and further expands hyperexponential’s footprint in North American markets as the leading pricing and underwriting decision platform for commercial P&C carriers. As part of its collaboration with hyperexponential, Markel Canada has launched a purpose-built Environmental rating capability on the hx platform, enabling a more streamlined, digital experience. This investment marks a shift from fragmented, transactional pricing toward a more connected underwriting experience. By bringing data, pricing and context together in a single workflow, Markel Canada is creating an environment where underwriters have what they need at the point of decision – without friction or unnecessary hand‑offs. Establishing the hx platform as a centralized rating layer creates a scalable foundation that can support more sophisticated products, package policies and evolving portfolio needs over time. The result is greater clarity at the point of pricing today, and a platform designed to grow with the business – enabling faster, more informed...

New York, NY (May 7, 2026) – Willis, a WTW business, has released its latest Insurance Marketplace Realities report, revealing a global insurance market entering a more complex phase shaped by geopolitical volatility and the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure. Political risk is no longer confined to specific sectors, with impacts now extending across supply chains, infrastructure, and financial systems. Recent developments in the Middle East are driving notable shifts in the political risk insurance market, with rates in Gulf countries expected to increase by as much as 20-30%. By contrast, rates for both traditional political risk insurance and trade disruption insurance are expected to remain flat or increase by just 5%. These changes reflect a broader reassessment of risk. Insurers are increasingly evaluating exposures through a national security lens, while businesses are elevating political risk insurance as a core component of enterprise risk management. At the same time, geopolitical forces are driving systemic effects across global markets, influencing everything from capital flows and regulatory environments to operational continuity. “Geopolitical uncertainty is no longer a background risk. It’s a primary driver of volatility across the insurance market,” said Jackie Bolig, Head of Placement and Broking Solutions for Corporate Risk &...