A.M.BestTV: Rates, Catastrophes and Reinsurance Outlook Dominate A.M. Best's Canada Market Briefing

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - SEPTEMBER 05, 2014 01:45 PM (EDT)
In this ^A.M.BestTV episode, presenters and attendees at A.M. Best's Market Briefing in Toronto examine the impact of low rates, surprising property losses and A.M. Best's revised outlook for the global reinsurance industry.

Concerning the life insurance industry, Richard McMillan, managing senior financial analyst at A.M. Best, stated: "Canadian life insurers have been proactive in re-pricing their life products so as to address the current low interest rate environment. They also have been emphasizing cost containment as part of their efforts to decrease and keep the cost of their products affordable. As such, A.M. Best has a favorable view of the life insurance industry in Canada."

A.M. Best Senior Financial Analyst Jacqalene Lentz weighed in on the property/casualty industry. "Despite the unprecedented disasters and weather catastrophes," Lentz said, "the property/casualty industry in Canada is well positioned, and A.M. Best is maintaining its stable outlook on the industry." Joel Silverthorn, also a senior financial analyst at A.M. Best, added, "It says a lot about the strength of the industry as to where they were, how far they have come and what they were able to accomplish in what was probably the most catastrophic year on record."

Other people who appear in this episode include:

• Gale Guerra, Senior Financial Analyst, A.M. Best,


• Stefanie MacDonald, Publisher, Rogers Media,


• William Star, Geneva Insurance Company,


• Craig Harris, Edit Insight Ltd. and,


• James Fowler, Business Development Manager, A.M. Best

Click here to view the video program: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=canada914 .

Recent episodes of ^A.M.BestTV include:

• "First Monday": Leading Analysts Discuss Global Reinsurance Sector; Canada's Insurance Industry; Growing U.S. Vision Insurance Market: Looks at the growing concerns on the global reinsurance industry's underwriting discipline; how the Canada property/casualty and life industries have shown resilience against catastrophe losses and regulatory shifts and the potential for growth in the U.S. vision insurance industry: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=firstmonday914 .


• Growth of Craft Brewing Presents Risks and Opportunities: Insurers' report on the growth of microbreweries, which is driving new coverage needs. Insurers, owners and Best's Underwriting and Loss Control Center highlight the industry's unique mix of hazards: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=brew814 .


• Risk Model Expert Karen Clark Explains "Characteristic Events": Karen Clark, principal at Karen Clark & Company, explains why insurers and risk managers should look beyond traditional loss analysis and consider identifiable characteristics of catastrophe events: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=clark814 .


• Insurance Research Council Report: More Auto Claimants Turn to Lawyers: Despite no-fault insurance, along with insurers having a focus on settling claims amicably, a study from the Insurance Research Council shows that the percentage of claimants seeking attorney representation continues to rise: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=lawyer814 .

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

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