Latest Canada Headlines

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

Deadly Quebec Train Crash Creates Fertile Ground for Lawsuits

Jul 11 2013 // As investigators try to piece together how a parked oil freight train broke free and demolished the heart of a small Quebec town last weekend, a barrage of litigation could soon be hitting everyone from the U.S. rail...

Guy Carpenter Facilitates Launch of Multi-Peril Crop Insurance in Australia

Jul 10 2013 // Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC, a global risk and reinsurance specialist and member of Marsh & McLennan Cos. has facilitated the launch of a Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) product for Australian grain growers for the...

Oil Tank Cars Like Those in Quebec Rail Tragedy Long Seen as Flawed

Jul 10 2013 // The oil-laden train that derailed and exploded in a small Canadian town on Saturday, possibly killing as many as 50 people, included a class of railcar whose vulnerability to leaks and deadly explosions was well known to...

Flash Flood Triggers Blackouts, Transport Chaos in Toronto: AIR Analysis

Jul 10 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports that “after days of heavy precipitation, a torrential thunderstorm on July 8th dropped an additional ten centimeters [app. 4 inches] of rain on Canada’s largest...

How a Runaway Train Devastated Canadian Town; 13 Dead, 37 Missing

Jul 9 2013 // The short length of track, nestled in a dark pine and birch forest in Quebec, is a regular overnight stop for freight trains hauling crude oil and other raw materials across North America. Normally, before retiring for the...

Five Dead, 40 Missing After Crude Oil Freight Train Explosion in Canada

Jul 7 2013 // At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raised fresh questions about shipping oil by...

Canada Seeks $1B Clean-Up Fund by Major Oil Pipelines

Jun 27 2013 // Companies operating major crude oil pipelines in Canada will be required to have C$1 billion ($954.97 million) available to fund clean ups from any spills, the Canadian government said on Wednesday. Joe Oliver,...

Calgary Flood Caused Power Outages May Last Months; Insurance Coverage Minimal

Jun 24 2013 // Power outages in the Canadian oil capital of Calgary could last for weeks or even months, city authorities said on Sunday, as record breaking flood waters moved downstream to threaten smaller communities in southeastern...

Analysts: Travelers/Dominion Deal Makes Sense, More U.S.-Canadian M&A May Follow

Jun 18 2013 // The Travelers Companies’ decision to acquire Dominion of Canada General Insurance, a unit of E-L Financial Corp., for $1.1 billion makes strategic sense, according to analysts. The acquisition now allows Travelers to...

Canada’s P&C Insurers to Expand with ‘Receivables Insurance Association’ Launch

Jun 18 2013 // The Canadian property and casualty insurance industry is expanding with the launch of the Receivables Insurance Association of Canada. “Less than 1 percent of Canadian companies currently utilize receivables...

Travelers Eyes Canada Growth with $1.1B Acquisition of The Dominion

Jun 10 2013 // The Travelers Companies Inc. said it has agreed to acquire The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. from E-L Financial Corp. Limited for approximately $1.1 billion in cash with an eye on expanding its commercial lines...

Canada’s Fairfax to Buy American Safety in $306 Million Cash Deal

Jun 3 2013 // Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., a Canadian insurer, agreed to buy American Safety Insurance Holdings Ltd. for $306 million in an all-cash deal that will bring $480 million of investable assets. American Safety...

Temporary Fix Set For Crumpled I-5 Bridge In Washington

May 28 2013 // Washington state plans to install within weeks a temporary fix for an interstate highway bridge that crumpled after being hit by a truck, tossing cars and people into a chilly river but causing only minor injuries. Gov....

S&P Applies Revised Insurance Criteria to 22 Reinsurers and Subs

May 24 2013 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has reviewed its ratings on 22 large global reinsurance groups by applying its new ratings criteria for insurers, which were published on May 7, 2013. (See...

EU Considering Action; Pope Comments after Bangladesh Building Disaster

May 2 2013 // The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400...

Ratings Recap: PVI Re, L’Union Canadienne, UK War Risks Club

Apr 12 2013 // A.M. Best Asia-Pacific Limited has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Vietnam’s PVI...

Best Affirms Aegon’s U.S. and Canadian Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable

Apr 10 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of the U.S. life/health subsidiaries of the Netherlands Aegon N.V....

Arkansas Opens Probe into Exxon Oil Spill

Apr 2 2013 // Arkansas on Tuesday launched an investigation into an Exxon Mobil pipeline rupture that spilled thousands of barrels of crude oil into a housing development last week, just as forecast rain was expected to complicate the...

Ironshore Canada Increases Capacity for Specialty Casualty Lines

Mar 20 2013 // Ironshore Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Ironshore International, has increased capacity to $30 million for its specialty casualty lines for 2013. Ironshore Canada Specialty Casualty division offers coverages to protect a...

RSA Posts $1.047 Billion 2012 Operating Profit; 5% Premium Growth

Feb 20 2013 // The UK’s RSA posted a solid operating profit of £684 million [$1.047 billion], compared to £727 million [$1.113 billion in 2011; while registering a five percent increase in net written premiums to £8.353 billion...