News

Weekly news roundup from Canadian Insurance Top Broker

Posted on Dec 15, 2011

IBAO announces new president; The Dominion supports Habitat for Humanity; Travelers launches cyber risk product.

Get up-to-date on the latest P&C insurance industry news, company reports and ratings, and product releases.

Road safety

With December having the second highest rate of collision fatalities in Manitoba, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is warning drivers to stay safe this season. MPI is sponsoring the “Rethink Road Safety Video” contest, which will run from December 1, 2011 to April 1, 2012. To read more, click here.

Operation Overdrive is the second Saskatchewan-wide traffic safety blitz, which targets drivers that drink and drive. Police across the province will be participating in the two-day blitz, with some operating December 15-16 and others December 16-17. The province’s first traffic blitz, Operation HandsFree, took place in November 2011 and resulted in 207 drivers being fined for using a cellphone while driving.

In the US, a team of New Jersey university researchers has learned how to disable smartphones, so drivers aren’t distracted behind the wheel. The technology uses the vehicle’s audio system to control the driver’s phone. To read more, click here.

And in more questionable distracted driving news, the new 2012 BMW includes “intelligent” electronic features that allow drivers to access Facebook and Twitter while driving. To read more, click here.

Company news 

The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has officially inducted Rick Orr as its 69th president. Orr will formally assume his role on January 1, 2012. He is currently the co-owner of Orr Insurance Brokers Inc. in Stratford, Ont.

Harmonia Corretora de Seguros Ltda (Harmonia), a brokerage firm headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is partnering with Hub International Limited, allowing Hub to extend its physical footprint outside the US and Canada. Hub and Harmonia have a long-standing business relationship stemming from both firms’ involvement in the Worldwide Broker Network (WBN).

Willis Italy, part of Willis Group Holdings, has acquired Broking Italia SRL, a long-established specialist in the Italian insurance market. Terms of the transaction were not announced. Rome-based, Broking Italia specializes in employee benefits and supplementary pension programs. 

In other Willis news, a new report published by Willis has found that a hard market is yet to come, despite heightened losses due to catastrophic events, civil unrest in the Middle East and the economic crisis in the Eurozone. The report further revealed hard market conditions are being restrained by overcapitalization and the absence of a “game changing” event that would alter market expectations and behaviour.

Community highlights 

Chubb Insurance of Canada will be making an additional $63,000 contribution to charities based on the performance of three Canadian broker teams at the international Chubb Charity Challenge held in October. The November issue of Canadian Insurance Top Broker featured a photo of Jones Brown Calgary, who won $50,000 for their charity, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The CIP Society is recognizing two recipients of the 2011 National Leadership Awards at the upcoming Annual Convocation & Awards ceremony in Toronto on January 26, 2012. Glenn Gibson from Hamilton, Ont. is this year’s award recipient in the Established Leader category, and Andrew Clark from Toronto is one of three award recipients in the Emerging Leader category.

Employees from The Dominion’s Oakville, Ont. office have volunteered to put their building skills to the test in support of Habitat for Humanity Halton. These employees, along with local independent insurance brokers from Utter Morris Insurance Brokers Ltd. and The Magnes Group, will work in shifts December 6, 7 and 8, assisting with the finishing touches on two condo units in the Burlington, Ont. community.

New products and services

Travelers Canada has launched CyberRisk, a new product dedicated to limiting client cyber exposures and managing associated risks. CyberRisk will be offered as a standalone product to complement Travelers’ suite of management liability products. Insureds can build a custom CyberRisk policy that fits their business needs based on 10 coverage options.

Willis Group Holdings has announced the global launch of its insurance placement system, WillPLACE, an online tool that helps Willis match its clients’ insurance needs with the most appropriate insurers. WillPLACE was launched as a pilot program in Italy one year ago. By the end of the first quarter of 2012, WillPLACE will have been rolled out across 14 key areas, including the UK, US and Canada.

Global update

The Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market has weathered pressure on its capital base from devastating 2011 cat losses, a prolonged soft market and low investment returns, positioning companies for a potentially difficult yet promising renewal season. Some of the key issues included: elevated global catastrophe activity, improved catastrophe pricing in certain loss-hit regions, and casualty classes that appear to have hit bottom as deteriorating investment yields hinder economic profitability.

http://www.citopbroker.com/news/weekly-news-roundup-7-3106

December 15, 2011