Latest Canada Headlines

All the headlines from our Canada Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Best Affirms Fairfax Financial and Most Subs Ratings

May 4 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” and the unsecured debt and preferred equity ratings of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. Best also affirmed the financial strength rating...

Montana High Court Hears Hutterite Labor Case

Apr 27 2012 // The Montana Supreme Court did not immediately rule after hearing competing arguments from a Hutterite colony and the state on whether Montana’s requirement that employers carry workers’ compensation insurance...

ACE Appoints Hollenberg to Head Canada Operations; Brosnan for P/C

Apr 24 2012 // The ACE Group has announced new leadership appointments in its Canadian operations.Andrew Hollenberg, Regional Senior Vice President, Accident & Health (A&H) and Life for ACE Europe, has been appointed Country...

Fireman’s Fund Partners with Allianz to Expand Entertainment into Canada

Apr 12 2012 // Novato, Calif.-based Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. in partnership with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty have created an experienced underwriting team to further expand its entertainment division and...

Fireman’s Fund, Allianz Global Expand Entertainment Division into Canada

Apr 11 2012 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. in partnership with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, an Allianz affiliate company in Canada, has added an underwriting team to further expand its entertainment division and...

Applied Systems to Open Canada Data Center

Apr 10 2012 // Insurance software company Applied Systems announced plans to open a Canadian data center in the third quarter of 2012, in order to provide “additional data storage for the growing number of insurance brokers who...

Melting Arctic May Redraw Global Geopolitical Map

Apr 3 2012 // This year’s frenzy of oil and gas exploration in newly accessible Arctic waters could be the harbinger of even starker changes to come.If, as many scientists predict, currently inaccessible sea lanes across the top...

Ratings Recap – Notes, Pref. Shares: Swiss Re, Fairfax, AXIS, Munich Re

Mar 22 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a debt rating of “a+” to the recently issued CHF 320 million [$350 million] 7.25 percent perpetual subordinated notes with a stock settlement issued by Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.,...

A. J. Gallagher Acquires Canadian Broker BenefitLink Resource Group

Mar 19 2012 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of BenefitLink Resource Group, Inc., in Calgary, Canada.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The bulletin said BenefitLink was established in 2001, as an...

Best Affirms RSA Canada, Subs and Holding Company Ratings

Mar 13 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada (RSA Canada) and...

$27.2 Billion Lawsuit Against Big Tobacco Starts in Montreal

Mar 12 2012 // Canada’s three biggest tobacco companies, all with multinational parents, face C$27 billion (US$27.20 billion) in damages and penalties as the largest civil lawsuit in the country’s history gets underway on...

Best Affirms RSA and Operating Subsidiaries Ratings; Outlook Stable

Feb 23 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of the main UK operating subsidiaries of the...

Business Moves

Feb 6 2012 // Arthur J. Gallagher, RileyArthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired Riley & Associates Inc. in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Riley & Associates Inc. is a...

Kaufman Financial Acquires London’s Chesterfield Group, Texas MGA

Jan 27 2012 // The H.W. Kaufman Financial Group, parent company of wholesale broker and underwriting manager Burns & Wilcox, has purchased Chesterfield Group Ltd., a London-based insurance broker and underwriting organization with...

New Global Risks Create Need for Expanded Directors & Officers Liability Program

Jan 23 2012 // The risk of lawsuits against senior executives has long been a major concern for businesses in the United States. But in the last few years it has become a much more serious global exposure as well.The international legal...

November Storms in Southern Alberta Caused $195 Million Insured Loss

Dec 29 2011 // Windstorms that hit southern Alberta in November have caused at least C$200 million [US$195] in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. However, the estimate is preliminary, based on data from Property...

Ratings Recap: Aviva Canada, IRB-Brasil

Dec 16 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has placed under review with negative implications the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A ‘(Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of Aviva Insurance Company of Canada...

S&P Sees ‘Highs and Lows’ for Canadian P/C Insurers

Dec 13 2011 // As 2011 winds down, Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurers can “list some notable lows and highs during the year, including unusually large catastrophe losses from wildfires in Slave Lake, Alta., and...

Canada Pulls Out of Kyoto Climate Change Protocol; First Country To Do So

Dec 13 2011 // On Monday Canada became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty.Environment Minister Peter Kent broke the...

Willis Re Canada Appoints Bradshaw as Board Chairman

Nov 23 2011 // Willis Re Canada marked the completion of its first full year of operations in the country with the announcement of the appointment of Jim Bradshaw as Chairman of the Willis Re Canada Board.He is also the CEO of Willis Re...