Risk News 2009

Dec 27th - For A Good Cause - Charities and non-profit organizations are not immune to lawsuits, and underwriters and brokers would do well to review D&O policies for this sector. (external)

Dec 24th - Happy Holidays from HUNTERS

Dec 23rd - Supreme Court creates new defence for defamation: will it change a company's exposure to reputational risk? (external)

Dec 21st - IMAX decision in Ontario lowers threshold for proceeding with a civil action for secondary market liability (external)

Dec 14th - Commercial [Insurance] Rates Inch Upward: Towers Perrin (external)

Dec 11th - Ontario government green lights HST (external) NOTE:  Taxes on insurance premiums do NOT go up

Dec 7th - Proposed New Canadian Product Safety Law Aims
to Raise Safety Standards (torys.com)

Dec 3rd - Private Client - Flu Cases Could Spur Homeowners' Claims (external)

Nov 25th - Madoff Victims’ Suits Likely To Impact Fiduciary Liability Insurers, Says Expert (external)

Nov 19th - Fiduciary Liabilities: Are You Covered? - With lawsuits piling up against pension plan sponsors, individual fiduciaries would do well to protect themselves against financial risks, experts say. (cfo.com)

Nov 12th - In memory of Geoffrey Hunter 1948-2009

Nov 2nd - Ontario Revises Rules to Cut Auto Insurance Costs (external)

Nov 2nd - Getting Your Portfolio Company D&O Insurance Right (The First Time Around) (external)

Oct 26th - Cellphone ban begins for Ontario drivers; violators could face $500 fine (external)

Oct 21st - Damage to economy may delay hardening of commercial [insurance] market until at least 2011 (external)

Oct 16th - The New Business Corporations Act: Quebec Company Law Gets a Major Overhaul (external)

Oct 7th - Recession does not result in commercial rate increases in 2009 Q3 (external)

Oct 6th - WHO says H1N1 vaccine safe, urges mass take-up (external) click here for Ontario up-dates

Oct 5th - Environmental Liability - Real Estate Loss Scenarios (external)

Sept 18th - Insurance May Ease Monetary Sting for Bloggers Sued Over Posts (external)

Sept 16th - Canada needs different Employer Practice Liability (EPL) commercial insurance policies than U.S.: RIMS panel (external)

Sept 8th - Canada: Directors´ Entitlement To Indemnification: Recent Developments  (external)

Sept 3rd - Ontario court awards record auto injury amount of Cdn$18.4 million (external)

Aug 28th - Tornado Clean-Up, Damage Tally, Continues in Ontario (external)

Aug 27th - Workplace fraud increases by 69% (external)

Aug 21st - Industry Gauges Tornado’s Aftermath in Ontario (external)

Aug 17th - Superfund litigation declines (external)

Aug 13th - Do you follow the 85 rules of risk management? Risk Report 2009 from Canadian Insurance (external)

Aug 5th - Germany imposes deductible on insured directors, officers (external)

Aug 4th - Private Client - Insurance Bureau of Canada urges Ontarians to protect themselves and their belongings from severe weather (external)

Jul 30th - Lloyd's Report Warns of Corporate Fears of 'External Risks' - The report reveals that there may be great disparity between what companies think threatens them and what their exposure to a particular risk may actually be. (external)

Jul 28th - Private Client - Issues in [art] Authentication: Provenance, Catalogues Raisonné and Definitive Experts (external)

Jul 20th - 2009 Securities Class Actions Filings Decline Significantly, According to Mid-Year Report by Stanford Law School and Cornerstone Research (external)

Jul 20th - German legislation could spur new D&O liability coverage (external)

Jul 17th - 10 most dangerous foods to eat on the road (msn money)

July 9th -After it Hits the Fan (external)   

July 7th - Avoiding M&A Insurance Problems (external)

June 30th - Canada aims to give H1N1 flu vaccines in October (external)

June 26th - Canadian companies lagging in IFRS conversion process (external)

June 19th - Lower Premiums Cut Total Cost of Risk for Commercial Insureds by 9.4% [for 2008] (external)

June 17th - Expected flood of lawsuits against public companies by secondary market investors isn't happening (external)

June 16th - Ontario court creates "half-a-loaf" solution for additional insureds in slip and fall cases  (external)

June 9th - Primary and excess D&O coverage terms may differ in event of bankruptcy or restructuring  (external)

June 3rd - Failures loom in P&C insurance sector - Property and casualty firms [in Canada] suffering from wilting investment portfolios, face steep rise in underwriting losses (G&M)

June 3rd - Financial-institution D&O bearing brunt of financial turmoil (external)

June 2nd - Canadian commercial real estate firms are world leaders in planning for disease outbreak (G&M)

June 2nd - Guarding against the unseen - Guarding against intangible risks -- reputation risk and the protection of intellectual property, for example -- served as a hot topic at the 2009 Risk and Insurance Management Society Conference in Orlando, Florida. (external)

May 27th - ID Theft Use of Credit Cards Leaps (external)

May 21st - Shift Toward State Rules on Product Liability - In a sweeping order Wednesday, President Barack Obama called for a rollback of Bush administration regulations designed to protect companies from product-liability lawsuits in state courts. (external)

May 19th - To Catch a Thief: Recovering Assets After an Embezzlement (external)

May 15th - Crisis Poses New Risks to Directors - A prudent choice is to hire counsel or a sophisticated broker to help navigate the different D&O-coverage options (businessweek.com)

May 2009 - Business Interruption: Are You Covered for the Next Disaster? (external)

May 8th - Swine flu spreads to corporate reporting - The panic has subsided over the past week but swine flu has already made a permanent mark on corporate reporting. Harkening back to 2003 and the SARS outbreak, the current scare has been mentioned in dozens of 10Qs and other filings. (external)

May 5th - Insurance Coverage For Swine Flu Claims (external)

May 2009 - Insurance Coverage During the Economic Crisis (external)

Apr 2009 - Competing Interests in D&O  (external)

Apr 27th - CDC Swine Influenza Page- Public Health Agency of Canada

Apr 21st - Higher premiums expected as insurers retrench (G&M)

Apr 21st - Insurers Offer Rewards for Going Green (wsj.com)

Apr 16th - State of fear - Italy’s earthquake reverberates on America’s fault-lined coast (economist.com)

Apr 6th - New guidelines, worried directors (G&M)

Apr 6th - Say-on-pay policies need regulatory teeth (G&M)

Apr 2nd - U.S. Securities Class Actions Jumped 29% In 2008 (external)

Apr 1st - Outlook: [Canada's Insurance] Markets to harden further in 2009 (external and no April Fools)

Apr 1st - A Tale of Two Markets - Are your D&O premiums about to soar? That depends on which industry you're in. (cfo.com)

Mar 2009 - Pension plans and liability in an uncertain economy:
are directors and officers at risk? (external)

Mar 2009 - HBR - Six Ways Companies Mismanage Risk (external)

Mar 28th - Stealing from the hand that feeds - From pilfering an office stapler to making off with confidential customer lists, economic woes are driving more people to steal on the job. (G&M)

Mar 26th - Lloyd's CEO: Insurance Rates To Rise As Customers Cut Coverage (external)

Mar 19th - Kidnapped - Bosses are taken hostage in France - ...relatively common practice in France, but in light of recent global economic unrest, security experts are concerned the trend could spread to other countries (economist.com)

Mar 13th - Directors and Officers Pinched on Insurance (financial-planning.com)

Mar 13th - Increase in insurance litigation heads to Australia and Asia (external)

Mar 12th - Ontario passes bill making it easier to apologize without fear of lawsuit (external)

Mar 12th - Facebook Not So Private? Ontario Court Finds Facebook Profile Discoverable (external)

Mar 11th - Shielding Yourself Against Fraud - The lawyer who helped get HealthSouth ex-CEO Richard Scrushy acquitted of fraud charges says all CFOs should safeguard themselves against a likely rise in corporate investigations. (cfo.com)

Mar 11th - Value of 2008 Securities Class Action Settlements Cut by Half from 2007 Levels, According to New Report by Cornerstone Research, Future Damages Expected To Rise Due To Financial Crisis (external)

Mar 3rd - Private Client - Metal Thieves Eye Copper, Gold and Aluminum for Scrap Value - Bronze Grave Markers and Home Air Conditioners Targeted (external)

Mar 2nd - A cybersecurity blanket for your business (G&M)

Feb 2009 - Finding lost insurance policies: Valuable Tips for Policyholders (external)

Feb 27th - On the road to IFRS in 2011: Disclosure and other legal issues for Canadian companies to consider (stikeman.com)

Feb 27th - Comment on Delaware Decision and the Possible Need to Consider [Personal] Director Indemnity Agreements (carters.ca)

Feb 26th - A “Routine” Pre-Employment Background Check? There’s No Such Thing (external)

Feb 23rd - Lean times boost white-collar crimes (external)

Feb 20th - Private Client - Credit Scoring Requires Consent (external)

Feb 13th - Directors' and Officers' Liability: Recent Developments of Importance (external)

Feb 11th - Private Client - Ontario regulator reminds insurers of prohibition on use of credit scoring for determining auto rates (external)

Feb 9th - Internet chatter drawing lawsuits (external)

Feb 4th - Experts Predict Increase in Disputes Related to Venture-Backed Merger Deals (external)

Feb 3rd - 2008 Litigation Trends in Canada Study - commissioned by Fasken Martineau

Feb 3rd - Corporate Canada under pressure, reevaluating compensation plans; Potential workforce demographic bottleneck ahead - Salary Budgets are Being Trimmed or Slashed, Bonuses are Down for Most, Equity-Based Incentives are Underwater, Management Challenged To Meet Diverse Shareholder Expectations - What To Do? (external)

Feb 2nd - So what happens to your insurance policy if your carrier goes under? (external)

Feb 2nd - Data Breaches Cost Businesses More (external)

Feb 1st - How much [florida condo] directors' liability insurance is enough? (external)

Jan 30th - Renewable Energy Coverage: Insuring Wind Power Risks (external)

Jan 24th - Stock options return to spotlight amid recent controversies over investments (external)

Jan 23rd - The Perils of a 'Down Round' Financing (businessweek)

Jan 20th - The ins and Outs of Wrongful Dismissal for Charities and Non-Profits (external)

Jan 16th - Private Client - Insurance Bureau of Canada to [Toronto] homeowners under blackout: Stay safe, check your coverage (external)

Jan 13th - BMO buying AIG Life of Canada for $375M (external) - NOTE: Property Casualty Operation not affected

Jan 13th - U.S. Litigation Rose 9% in 2008 Amid Increase in Lawsuits Over Antitrust, Employment and Product Safety (external)

Jan 12th - Advisen Forecasts Prolonged Hard Market (external)

Jan 9th - Aviation insurance market to harden further in 2009: Report (external)

Jan 9th - In Today's Financial Markets Crisis, More, Not Less, Insurance Protection Is In Order (external)

Jan 8th - 2008 Leaves Pensions Underfunded - Stock Losses Leave $400 Billion Deficit; Shoring Up Funds May Be Costly (external)

Jan 7th - MarketScout sees end of soft [insurance] market (external)

Jan 7th - Maximizing the [insurance] Recovery of Madoff-Related Losses (external)

Jan 5th - Insurance Outlook: Higher Prices by Year's End (cfo.com)

Jan 1st - Rethinking Risk - Companies have never been more motivated to revisit risk management, but improvements will come slowly. (cfo.com)