State of the Union - Insurance 2018/19

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
I'm creating a thread to let everyone know what's happening in my industry so you know how it will affect you for shopping insurance. The views and opinions are that of my own and not any which reflects the company I work for. Here is an extensive list of insurance providers in Ontario for trucking companies. Not sure this is covering 100% of the marketplace, but pretty damn close. There may be some mutual companies or direct writers that I don't know about. Please reflect and share your thoughts or ideas on what I have below....
I have categorized by their current appetite for new client such as;
  • Passive - they will seldom provide a quote for new clients.
  • Active - they will write quality business if it meets their underwriting guidelines but not trying to grow.
  • Aggressive - they are laying out some hot prices and looking to grow
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Aviva – Aviva came in strong into the game of long-haul trucking back in 2013. Their team has some talent from other trucking insurers. Claims team not necessarily up to speed – but as long as the broker can coach them along – they are not bad. Due to loss ‘nuisance losses’ they increased the minimum deductible to $10,000 (really – if you have a fleet of 20+ - you should be carrying that deductible anyways).

  • 5 Years in Business
  • CVOR under 35% (not conditional either)
  • Good Loss Ratio
  • Over 20 Power Units
  • Currently a “passive” market
AIG – AIG (formally Chartis) has been the most aggressive market (best prices) if you have a clean and well run operation. Their claims team is good and underwriting specialization is an understatement. Recently they have corrected their book of business resulting in 30% – 40% rate increases amongst their largest brokers yet have still retained 80% of the accounts due to their underpricing compared to the rest of the market.
  • 5 Years in Business
  • 30+ trucks
  • Unlimited US Exposure
  • Acceptable SMS/CVOR (not “Conditional”)
  • Currently an “Aggressive” market
Blue Sky – an MGA (google it) which is now backed by a private captive & Travelers (previously AIG). This company is reserved in who they allow to come in. Not only from a profitability standpoint, but also a personal standpoint. They will not take ‘fly by nighters’ and only looking for the ‘best in class’. Almost a ‘by invite only’. They will continue to grow, just so long as they are profitable. Only writing business for select brokers; Dalton Timmis (primarily), Cowan, Palmer & Associates & Stoneridge Insurance.

  • Currently a “Active” market
Co-Operators – recently Co-Op have entered into the game of trucking (for now). They have very little underwriting and are quick to ‘quote and bind’. You might as well ride that wave while you can – if you live/run a day to day business and not concerned about longterm costs. Guaranteed they are looking to sell to another insurer and are padding the books to make themselves look better. They typically like local radius operations – not much for long haul. Call your local agent – you may need to send them a copy of your policy so they know what to put in place. I think most agents of Co-Operators have no idea about trucking insurance.

  • Currently an “Aggressive” market
CHUBB – If you are a fleet that can afford a $100,000 - $250,000 deductible this is the market for you. Their minimum requirement is at least 100 units, but realistically… if you can afford a deductible that large, you should have ownership in a captive not ‘renting’ insurance annually. Chances are if you are running a company like this you’re not scouring this forum for advice on insurance so screw you…..



Echelon – Recently came into the trucking market. Could be a short term play – we’ll see. Recently they were sold to Co-Operators (!!!!). The underwriting talent comes from top tiers of Intact. Over 50+ years between 3 individuals. They’ve seen 90% of accounts in Ontario, if you were a past Intact client and on the radar (paying $200,000+ for insurance) you should be asking your broker to send your business their way. Only 6 brokers have access to Echelon right now; McDougall, Dalton Timmis, Stoneridge, JDIMI, Bryson, McDougall. They will target 10 – 50 power units. Pricing is very aggressive compared to rest of market. They are okay with high US exposure.

  • Currently an “Aggressive” market
Economical – last year they had exited the business. Cancelled 95% of their clients – even longterm relationships that had very good results. Now they are knocking on the doors of trucking brokers asking for business again. They will only write operations 10+ units and the operation needs to show stability and controls. Economical is “de-mutualizing” which means they are going public. Likely this is a last stunt (or maybe not) to pad their books and go IPO. Again, ride the wave while you can – if you’re that kind of consumer.

  • Currently a “passive/aggressive” market (sounds like my wife)
The Guarantee (GCNA) – They had started a trucking program back in 2014 and steadily gained traction since then. They are one of the only profitable trucking insurers in the group. Their top talent comes from Zurich and other trucking specialist markets. Their Risk Control is one of the best in the industries and this market likes to build long-term relationships. They want their clients to continually work with them to get better – not a bad idea in a perfect world, not always practical.

  • 5 years in business, 20 – 50 trucks (they will write as low as 15)
  • Currently an “Aggressive” market
Intact – Has been writing trucking business for many years since the acquisition of Jevco & AXA. They have the ability to write operations but are very selective (like everyone else). This may sound offside, but it seems they only write business for Brampton brokers and Brampton run operations. I’m not sure why that is, just my perception over the 6+ years I’ve been continually doing this.
  • 1 – 100+ trucks
  • Business for at least 3 years
  • No US limits
  • Currently an “Active” market
Lynx – this company is an MGA, they underwrite with Scottish & York who is fully owned by Aviva. They entered the market 3 years back and since had disrupted the market. Extremely difficult to deal with due to limited knowledge on underwriting & claims handling. The company is exiting a large portion of the class (will only write small operations now) due to their poor losses and clearly uncontrolled underwriting guidelines (they had a couple operations go from 10 trucks to 70-80 in 1 year).

  • 1-9 trucks
  • Unlimited US exposure
  • Currently a “passive” market
Northbridge – previously known as “Markel”, these guys are in it ‘for the long haul’ (pause for laugh). They a good company with top talent from the top/down. Your business is safe with Northbridge, you can set your clock to their renewal prices which is nice. The downside is that often they are more expensive, especially if you’re a high US exposure carrier. They have the ability to write any operation in trucking. They have insured Challenger Motor Freight for over 20+ years.
  • Currently an “Active” market
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Old Republic – also a longtime trucking market. OR is reliable and consistent to their approach to underwriting. Their claims team is top caliber, like Northbridge’s. Recently they had gone through some changes on their management team and their underwriting ‘overrides’ (or ability to change pricing from what their computers spit out) have been extremely limited. All underwriting is done from a US headquarters and relationship is seldomly considered when calculating pricing. However, they still seem to maintain a competitive price point for their market. They have no growth plans or targets in 2019.
  • Currently a “passive” Market
Royal Sun & Alliance – recently (since 2015) RSA had gotten into the trucking market. They have already backed away from writing almost all business in trucking. They will still entertain the local carrier as long as you’re within a 500KM radius and not too far into the US. Their claims team needs some pushing along, but typically response times are good.
  • Currently a “passive” market
Sovereign General – Another company owned by Co-Operators, Sov Gen is selective in who they insure. They will write operations up to 20% US exposure and carriers that haul tanker, garbage or pharmaceuticals. If you run a clean operation and limit how far you go, check these guys outs. Talented underwriters, not sure on their claims team (no personal experience).
  • Currently an “Active” market
Travelers – Since they acquired Dominion of Canada (Canada’s oldest insurance company), they have expanded their appetite and taken on a huge piece of ‘program business’ (more on that later). Due to poor losses in their dump truck class, they are selective on risks they take on. Their appetite is also very strange, almost stagnant currently. If you run a local operation they have some of the best prices in the market.
  • 160 KM radius (typically)
  • 1 – 100+ trucks
  • Minimum US exposure (preferred)
  • Currently a “passive” market
TRU (Economical) – this is another market disruptor. They were another MGA, operating with Economical Insurance and recently (as of Dec 31 2018), will have stopped writing business....

See recent email; Dear Broker partner,

We are sad to announce that TRU will discontinue writing transportation business effective Dec 31, 2018. Economical has advised that as part of their de-mutualization process, they want to de-empathize transportation as a business line due to its risk profile.......

Wawanesa – they were from what I was told on the Humbolt crash which will cap their limits of $5,000,000. Only have been writing trucking for about 1.5 years and extremely limited knowledge on a claims & underwriting standpoint. They will only write operations up to 160 KM radius, no US exposure. And 5 or more trucks.
  • Currently an “Aggressive” market
Zurich – these guys have cleaned up their book of business by dumping almost all their truck clients in 2014. They are now looking to write business so you may possibly see some market disruption in 2019 from Zurich. They look for companies that have a back office, not you and your buddy in your garage. One of the largest insurance companies in the world, Zurich doesn’t care about your $200,000 premium – you are not even on the map globally for them. So if you’re not profitable, consider yourself shopping the following year.
  • Nothing writing in trucking as of this posting….. stay tuned!
 

bubba-one

Site Supporter
15
Great report, thanks for the info, I didn't see Cherokee on the list if youhave any info on them, let us know. " Insurance" it's like going to Vegas and playing a game of poker, not sure who's going to stay, who's going to fold, and who's making a comeback.
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Great report, thanks for the info, I didn't see Cherokee on the list if youhave any info on them, let us know. " Insurance" it's like going to Vegas and playing a game of poker, not sure who's going to stay, who's going to fold, and who's making a comeback.
Hi Bubba - I haven't had direct contact with them. The only broker with a contract is Ives Insurance. Here's what I do know;
Owned by Matty Moroun
contact # 586-210-3654 (I tried calling before for a loss run and never once got a live person on the phone)
They WOULD only write operations of at least 10 trucks. Not sure if they are looking to write trucking operations at this time.
 

bubba-one

Site Supporter
15
Thanks Trkinsure, I did get a quote thru Ives a couple years back, just din't seem to be a good fit. I just wasn't sure if they were a real active player in the Southern Ontario market, or mostly doing US carriers.
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Just wanted to post an update - TRU was recently purchased by Burns and Wilcox. They are offering Cargo & CGL to those clients who are currently with TRU and haven’t gone through the cancellation process.... but until they can find an insurer to take on the Auto liability - they won’t be able to offer that coverage.
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Hello all - email from INTACT INSURANCE today... this comes into effect with fleet & non-fleet accounts;

* Effective immediately, our Per Occurrence Deductible on all New Business and Renewals will be $10,000. Regardless if Auto, Cargo/GL is $5,000, the per occurrence will still be $10,000.

Mid-Term Changes, effective immediately, if the Per Occurrence Deductible is currently $5,000, once a truck is added increasing the deductible to $10,000, the Per Occurrence will also be changed to $10,000 and will remain even if the truck is then deleted.

For all policies that currently have $5,000, and no changes made mid term, upon renewal the Per Occurrence will change to $10,000.**

....."the more you know!"
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
I would doubt it Igor. They’re saying the normal deductible remains and the “per occurrence” will increase to $10,000.

I would say the premium for “per occurrence” is between 1%-3% of your overall premium. So yes, for that specific line of coverage you might notice the premium goes down. But overall the price is very likely to go up on your auto liability which is 70-80% of your overall premium.

Talk to your broker and find out how the BIPD deductible helps to reduce the premium and affect your/the insurers risk. :)
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Quick update on this post (a revamped "State of the Union" will come out in early 2020)...

Intact Insurance has finalized their purchase of GCNA (The Guarantee Company of North America)... As of Monday Dec 2nd, GCNA is no longer taking in new clients - rather, brokers are being directed to submit their file to Intact.

This market just got a bit smaller!
 

MikeJr

Moderator
Staff member
30
Trkinsure

I've been holding my breath for a 2020 state of the union, including reference to any articles that are availble in order to educate my peers here as well as our customers. Just sayin'.

Keep well,
Mike
 
Top