Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Toronto, ON (Aug. 12, 2025) – SSRU is excited to announce a broadening of its partnership with Markel effective July 1, 2025, through the introduction of Property Capacity. This complements Markel’s existing Casualty line capacity with SSRU and brings SSRU’s Property Product available capacity to CAD/USD 47.5M. David Crozier, Chief Agent of Markel commented: “We have enjoyed a growing partnership with Stephen and his team at Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriters for a number of years, and value their dedication to customer service, underwriter expertise and discipline, and thoughtful approach to risk. We are very excited to extend that partnership further, growing our relationship in a new line of business.” Heather Jamieson, SVP of Property at SSRU commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Markel to our Property panel. This strategic alignment increases our capacity offering and facilitates greater syndication, ensuring our customers continue to benefit from stable, long-term capacity in severity-driven occupancies.We look forward to growing our successful partnership in the years ahead.” Stephen Stewart, President and CEO of SSRU commented: “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Markel into commercial property.  With their impressive balance sheet strength, deep understanding of the Canadian market and outstanding claims capabilities, Markel continues...

New $20M Capacity addresses severe convective storm and named wind storm risk as clean energy projects continue to scale San Francisco, CA (Aug. 28, 2024) – kWh Analytics, the market leader in Climate Insurance, is pleased to announce the expansion of its insurance solutions with new Excess Natural Catastrophe coverage through its licensed insurance entity, Solar Energy Insurance Services, Inc., specifically addressing the growing need for severe convective storm protection in the renewable energy market. This new offering complements kWh Analytics’ existing property capacity, which provides 100% operational and construction coverage for solar, wind, and battery energy storage assets. The Excess Natural Catastrophe layer will provide up to $20M in additional capacity specifically covering damage from severe convective storms and named windstorms in non-coastal regions. “Our loss database reveals that hail accounts for 73% of total solar industry losses by damage amount,” said Jason Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics. “As renewable projects grow in size and tax-equity investors and lenders require higher insurance limits, we’re addressing a critical market gap with this specialized excess layer solution.” A cornerstone of kWh Analytics’ approach is rewarding resilience through its underwriting process. Projects that implement protective measures such as hail stow capabilities, reinforced...

Now is the time for insurers to embrace tech-driven transformation to unlock efficiency, innovation, and long-term profitable growth — By Denise Garth & Glenn Westlake, Majesco — Insurers have operated for decades under traditional models shaped by outdated assumptions around products, pricing, distribution channels, and customer engagement. However, shifts in customer expectations, competitive dynamics, risk profiles, and technology have revealed the inadequacy of the legacy systems they have been utilizing. Today’s insurers face mounting pressure from rising expenses and loss ratios, diminishing profitability, and growing challenges in retaining talent and meeting the demands of customers and even agents. Most operating models were crafted over decades around a myriad of constraints and business assumptions and challenges. These constraints include redundant systems, manual workarounds necessitated by legacy technology, and teams locked into their current culture that limits what they can do. The operating model evolved to support this legacy construct, as – rather than rebuilding foundational systems – insurers have typically layered new technologies over old infrastructures, resulting in inefficient, unprofitable operations with a layered, complex technology foundation that has increased costs rather than decreasing them. Insurers need to change the economics for loss ratios, expense ratios, risk selection, and risk prevention....

Nearly 1 in 4 CFOs expect their finance teams to adopt digital currency within two years, according to Deloitte’s latest CFO Signals™ survey New York, NY (July 31, 2025) – Surveyed corporate finance leaders are signaling a meaningful shift in their approach to digital assets, with growing openness to integrating cryptocurrency into their operations. According to Deloitte’s “Q2 2025 North American Signals™” survey of 200 CFOs, only 1% of CFOs do not envision using stablecoin in the long-term. More immediately, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) said their treasury department is likely to accept cryptocurrency as payment or purchase it as an investment within the next two years. That percentage is higher (39%) for CFOs working at companies with $10 billion in revenues and up. Despite some concerns about investing in non-stable cryptocurrency—price volatility, among others—CFOs are evaluating how digital currency could both enhance broader investment strategies and streamline cross-border transactions. When asked to name the business functions they envision using non-stable crypto currency in the long term, 52% of CFOs cited supply chain management. That was the top response. “CFOs are thinking beyond any ‘crypto hype’ and focusing on the practical implications of digital assets,” said Steve Gallucci, US. and...

Toronto, ON (Aug. 21, 2025) – For many homeowners, the allure of saving money and adding a personal touch can quickly turn into a costly lesson in what not to do. A recent survey by LowestRates.ca reveals that 59% of Ontario homeowners have undergone small DIY projects like painting or re-tiling, inspired by binge-worthy renovation shows and detailed YouTube tutorials which have helped turn DIY into a cultural phenomenon. But the report, Is DIY too risky?, uncovers a critical oversight: only 47% notify their insurer after completing major upgrades, leaving many exposed to potential coverage gaps. For many homeowners, the decision to DIY or hire a contractor depends on the project’s complexity and their own levels of skill and ambition. Small renovations such as redoing floors, painting or tiling might be manageable, which is why these projects that don’t require permits or licensed professionals; they also tend to be covered under your home insurance policy. On the other hand, tasks such as drywalling or plumbing – or anything that involves structural changes or electrical systems – tend to require professional expertise for a reason. The risks can be severe if something goes wrong with a larger renovation project: an accident that...

Applied Systems Canada Achieves CSIO’s Commercial Lines Certification for Eight Business Segments Across Applied Epic and Applied Policy Works Toronto, ON (Aug. 19, 2025) – CSIO is pleased to announce that Applied Systems Canada has achieved Commercial Lines (CL) Data Standards Certification for eight business segments across their Applied Epic Brokerage Management System (BMS), and Applied Policy Works: Education, Farming, Health Services, Hospitality, Manufacturing/Processing, Member Organization, Warehousing and Wholesale Services. With this achievement, Applied further enables the delivery of real-time quotes to brokers through an Application Programming Interface (API), as they also previously earned Certification for Business & Professional Services, Contractors, Retail and Real Estate Services. Applied’s brokerage partners can obtain commercial quotes within seconds from insurers who have integrated an API for the supported business segments. When working with insurers and BMS vendors who program CL Data Standards, brokers benefit from seamless and precise data exchange and have the ability to quote and bind directly in their BMS. This creates a consistent and streamlined process that saves brokers time and increases productivity. “We take pride in leading the industry by elevating broker connectivity and providing advanced digital experiences for our customers,” said Steve Whitelaw, Senior Vice President and General...