Federal minister meets with Zurich on railway insurance

Ottawa is trying to gauge the appetite for railway insurance, seeking out opinions from one major insurer on their observations of the health of Canada’s railways.  

The Canadian Deputy Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities  Louis Lévesque met with Zurich’s Ron Mathewson, the assistant vice president of the railroad specialty practice on Friday, to gather Zurich’s opinions on the state of insuring railways.

“We were honoured that the Deputy-Minster recognized our expertise in this business and wanted to hear our thoughts on the trends and direction of the railway industry as a whole,” said Mathewson, adding that Zurich has a long-standing tradition of offering railroad insurance products and risk management services and guidance for railways.

While precise details of the conversation were not released, Deputy Minister Lévesque was interested in hearing Zurich’s viewpoints on a variety of topics, including:

- Capacity and appetite for insuring railways, in general, and shortlines, in particular;

- How recent incidents may have affected appetite and availability of insurance for carriers how perceptions could change going forward;

- Any observations about the shortline sector from an insurer’s perspective; and

- A comparison of Canada-U.S. observations related to railway insurance coverage. (continued.)
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Rail safety and the coverage required came to the forefront in July of last year, when a train derailment and subsequent explosion levelled the downtown area of lac-Megantic, a Quebec town of 6,000 residents.

The explosion killed 47 people, with total costs expected to surpass $400 million.

In the photo are: Louis Levesque the Deputy Minister of Transport in Canada met with Zurich in Parsippany, New Jersey  to hear Zurich’s opinions on the state of insuring railways.  Pictured L-R are Scott Streiner, Assistant Deputy Minister, Transport Canada, Louis Levesque, Deputy Minister Transport Canada, Ron Mathewson, Assistant Vice President, Zurich Railroad Specialty Products and Jean-Philippe Linteau, Trade Commissioner (Investment) or the Consulate General of Canada.