Insurance Business is starting the week with a new regular feature, a weekly wrap-up of some of the stories that slipped under the radar.
Disasters caused $40 billion in insured losses for 2013
Natural and man-made disasters caused insured losses of around $40 billion last year, well below the 10-year average of $60 billion, risk and reinsurance specialist firm Guy Carpenter said in a report released Thursday.
“Last year will likely be known as the ‘year of the flood,’ with significant global flood events affecting Central Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States,” Julian Alovisi, vice president at Guy Carpenter commented in a press release.
“Although 2013 was relatively quiet compared to past years, several major events such as the tornado outbreaks in the U.S., floods, hail and windstorms in Europe and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines inflicted widespread devastation and significant losses on impact,” he noted.
GM recalls 780,000 vehicles due to stalling, crashes
General Motors is recalling nearly 780,000 compact cars in North America because the engines can shut down unexpectedly and cause crashes. The company says six people have been killed in crashes related to the problem.
The recall affects Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years. (continued.)
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U.S. safety regulators say the weight of the key ring and rough roads can move the ignition switch out of the run position, cutting the engine and electricity. If that happens, air bags may not work.
GM says there have been 22 crashes from the problem. All were off the road and happened at high speeds.
Lac-Mégantic victims to sue Ottawa for failing to stop railway
Victims of the Lac-Mégantic train disaster are aiming to sue Ottawa for allegedly failing to prevent a railway from shipping highly explosive cargo through their town.
A runaway train carrying crude oil derailed last summer and exploded in the centre of the Quebec community, killing 47 people and destroying part of the downtown core.
The lead lawyer for an existing class-action suit has now expanded the long list of defendants to include the Attorney General of Canada.
That office delegates regulatory powers to the Canadian Transportation Agency and Transport Canada.
Lead lawyer Daniel Larochelle alleges Transport Canada did not sufficiently sanction the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, even though the department was aware of the company's repeated violations, including train drivers allegedly failing to apply a sufficient number of brakes. (continued.)
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Mild quake rumbles under Lake Ontario
A minor earthquake caused some light rumbling under Lake Ontario east of Toronto late Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey says.
The quake, which had preliminary magnitude of 2.9, happened just before midnight. The epicentre was 40 kilometres southwest of Cobourg, Ont., and 57 kilometres northeast of Lockport, N.Y.
A map on the agency's website shows the epicentre in the middle of the lake. The agency says it was about five kilometres deep.
The U.S. Geological Survey posts reports on its website from people who report feeling an earthquake. As of 8:20 a.m. Thursday, six people reported feeling the quake — three in upstate New York and three in Ontario.
The three Ontario reports came from Cobourg, Waterford and Port Hope.
