ANCASTER, ON, May 4, 2026/insPRESS/ – SIB Corp. (“SIB”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of 21st Century Travel Insurance Limited (“21st Century Travel”), led by industry veteran Jeff Pudwell. This initiative represents a strategic enhancement of SIB’s product suite, further strengthening its ability to meet the evolving, everyday insurance needs of its clients.
21st Century Travel specializes in travel insurance solutions, offering comprehensive inbound and outbound travel coverage options for individuals and families across Canada. Through this partnership, SIB will integrate travel insurance into its existing platform, enabling brokers across its network to deliver a more complete and seamless client experience.
Jeff Pudwell, President of 21st Century Travel, will remain with the business and continue to lead its growth strategy. “Partnering with SIB provides an exciting opportunity to scale our offering and reach a broader client base,” said Pudwell. “I’m excited to continue building the business alongside SIB and to ensure 21st Century Travel remains a leading travel insurance MGA in Canada.”
“Expanding into travel insurance is a natural progression for SIB as we continue to build a full-service brokerage platform,” said Ted Puccini, President of SIB. “Our clients rely on us to protect what matters most in their daily lives. Adding travel insurance enhances our ability to serve them holistically, while remaining firmly aligned with our core business.”
This partnership underscores SIB’s continued commitment to enhancing its capabilities and delivering a comprehensive suite of insurance products across personal, commercial, and specialty lines. By equipping its brokers with expanded solutions, SIB continues to deepen client relationships and reinforce its position as a trusted, full-service insurance partner.
About SIB
SIB operates out of over 150 offices across Canada and continues to execute on its strategy of partnering with leading entrepreneurial brokerages nationwide. With GWP approaching $1.5 billion, SIB’s continued growth and expansion has allowed the company to provide the communities and businesses it serves with expertise in personal, commercial, and benefits insurance solutions.
Rupinder Hayer, AVP, Long-Haul Trucking and Commercial Auto, Echelon Insurance
Fraudulent practices in licensing and certification are a growing concern in the Canadian trucking industry. Unqualified individuals may use illegal methods, such as forged documents, bribery, or falsified training certificates, to obtain commercial driver’s licences or other professional credentials.
When drivers lack valid qualifications, the risk of collisions increases, putting road safety at stake while simultaneously driving up claim severity and costs. Over time, that pressure can raise insurance costs across the commercial trucking sector, affecting fleets regardless of their operational integrity.
Mitigation and prevention require due diligence at both the driver and carrier levels – and it’s a shared responsibility. Fleet operators must maintain disciplined internal processes to ensure drivers are properly licensed and trained and all these details are documented. Brokers can help keep fraudulent or non-compliant operations out of the market by leveraging thorough verification practices in alignment with insurer standards. Since Brokers are often the first checkpoint in carrier selection and placement, validation at this stage may stop issues before they become losses.
Brokers as the first line of defense
Through proper verification, Brokers can confirm that fleet operators are legitimately authorized to operate and are following correct processes. This can include:
Verifying operating authority and identity: Confirm that a carrier’s operating authority is active and authorized and review their authority history (especially if recently reinstated). Validate driver’s licences regularly, confirm safety fitness certificates with provincial/territorial authorities, and confirm insurance coverage directly with the insurer.
Asking the right questions: Strengthen verification by asking process-based questions, for example, who verifies licences, how often are driving records reviewed, and what happens when information is missing or inconsistent.
Ensuring strong document management: Look for red flags such as incomplete driver files or discrepancies across documents, and maintain accurate records of transactions, insurance certificates, and operating licences for all contracted carriers.
Encouraging consistent onboarding and training: Support carriers in documenting employee orientation, training, and ongoing coaching.
Promoting incident readiness: Confirm fleets have clear post-incident procedures (including collecting driver statements, obtaining dashcam footage, gathering witness information, and preserving documentation) so information is captured quickly and accurately to support claims investigations.
Why it’s important for fleet operators to demonstrate ongoing compliance
For fleet operators, gaps in licensing or certification can lead to increased scrutiny during underwriting, higher premiums, tighter terms, or difficulty securing coverage. After a serious loss, those gaps can also lead to denied claims and significant financial exposure.
Implementing and maintaining structured processes helps demonstrate compliance, reduce the likelihood of errors, and support long-term insurability. This can include:
Maintaining complete, up-to-date documentation: Ensure licensing, training records, and required certifications are legitimate, accurate, organized, and accessible. Assigning clear internal responsibility for managing these files, regardless of fleet size, helps prevent oversights and gaps.
Using consistent onboarding and training processes: A documented approach to orientation, training, and ongoing coaching reinforces expectations and creates a record of due diligence. Fleets that treat training as ongoing, not a one-time requirement, are better positioned to manage evolving risks.
Conducting regular internal reviews of records and processes: Addressing issues early and engaging proactively with their Broker when questions arise supports compliance and helps demonstrate a commitment to safe, authorized operations.
How insurers can support Brokers and fleet operators
To help Brokers and fleet operators strengthen compliance, insurers can clarify expectations and reinforce best practices and risk mitigation strategies before issues escalate.
To reinforce the Broker verification process, insurers can also conduct risk inspections to assess compliance. Regulators can strengthen these efforts by providing insurers with direct access to verify licensing and certifications, helping deter fraud.
Insurers further support Brokers by communicating underwriting expectations clearly and consistently, so they can explain requirements to their customers with confidence. This shared understanding promotes a more collaborative approach to maintaining proper coverage.
When Brokers, fleet operators, and insurers each uphold their responsibilities, these combined efforts strengthen compliance, enhance safety, and help build a more resilient Canadian trucking industry.
Rob Rice says many residents of Fort McMurray, Alta., still can’t stand the smell of campfire.
It reminds them of the treacherous drive a decade ago through a tunnel of flames as, in their rear-view mirrors, they watched the massive wildfire that ripped through thousands of homes.
“You’re seeing ash, smoke and flames everywhere,” said Rice, the 47-year-old owner of a Home Hardware in the city.
“Your life is on the line. You’re trapped in a traffic jam, smoke’s coming in your car, you can’t breathe. It was dark, it was gloomy, and it was very scary. I remember it very vividly to this day.”
Rice said a good friend had to leave in a car after flames began licking his truck.
Two people also died in a crash as they fled the wildfire.
“Everybody has a different story about their drive out and it affects everybody a different way,” Rice said.
“And that’s OK.
“How you overcome it is what matters.”
Signs of the giant blaze that entered from the city’s southwest on May 3, 2016, are still everywhere.
Thick, blackened and maimed tree stumps dot nearly every major road in the hilly community enveloped by some of Canada’s largest oil reserves. Elsewhere, fallen trees are scattered. Empty plots of land bookend rebuilt homes.
But when spring turns to summer, the lush, tree-green skyline will look as it did before the Horse River Wildfire, called The Beast, which forced 90,000 people out of the Wood Buffalo region, damaged or levelled 2,500 homes and scorched nearly 5,900 square kilometres of boreal forest.
“When the trees grow back, you don’t even know that there was fire 10 years ago, even though the fire is who we are,” said Sarah Thapa, 39, owner of the Avenue Eatery & Cafe.
“There’s green everywhere, there’s water flowing.”
Ten years on, the wildfire continues to ripple, changing how those who lived through it look after each other, and altering how disasters are communicated, fires are fought and homes are constructed.
Like many Fort McMurray residents, Rice came from away.
Born on the East Coast, his parents moved to the booming oil city in the 1980s. They planned to stay five years, make some money, then leave. They never did.
He started working at the Home Hardware when he was 14. In early 2016, he bought the store. A few months later, the fire hit.
At first, it was a plume of distant smoke.
Within hours, it jumped Highway 63, the only route in and out of Fort McMurray. Fuelled by the hot and dry summer, it blasted into the city.
An evacuation notice was issued when homes began burning.
Rice closed up shop and sent workers home. He ran sprinklers on the roof of his house, packed his bags and left with his wife.
The drive out was a bottleneck. Trees on both sides of the road were going up in flames, which touched the roofs of cars.
Residents had to remain out for one month.
Rice was an exception.
Firefighters got his permission to break into his store a few days after the evacuation to grab gear. Then they called him and his staff back to help prepare for re-entry.
They worked 16-hour days for weeks and shipped in thousands of items, including refrigerators and cleaning supplies.
They slept in sleeping bags in the store, used a barbecue to cook meals and projected movies in the boardroom. They showered at the local recreation centre.
The city was basically a ghost town. “You drive around and an occasional deer would come across the street,” said Rice.
When everyone returned, the community looked out for one another.
“We left a note on our door for people to call us any time at the number below if they needed help. People always brought us coffee and McDonald’s,” Rice added.
Colten Petty helped save pets that people couldn’t take before fleeing because the fire had breached their neighbourhoods while they were at work.
Petty and some friends convinced Mounties to let them into the city four days after the evacuation.
“We saved 10 dogs, two cats and five kittens. I think the kittens were born during the fire,” said Petty, who has been living in Saskatchewan and working in Fort McMurray for at least the last decade.
He still keeps in touch with the owners of two rescued pooches.
Thapa, who was renting at the time with her husband, said the city cleaned up and rebuilt with speed.
“They put out the fire, and the community came back like fire.”
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said 2,231 homes were rebuilt.
The Insurance Board of Canada said it received 60,000 claims totalling $4 billion in insured damages. “It was and continues to be the costliest insurance event in Canada’s history,” said national director Rob de Pruis.
The fire increased insurance literacy, he said, including the importance of building homes with materials suitable to the environment.
He said many took their payouts and left Fort McMurray, because of the trauma and fear of future wildfires.
The city’s population languished until last year, when it rose by 1.6 per cent to 107,740.
Thapa opened her café four years after the fire. When a vandal trashed it, locals stepped in with free furniture, plates and cups.
The support gave her the motivation to open a second business.
“We came to a booming town hoping to make a lot of money,” Thapa said about her 2013 move from Calgary.
“But I stayed not for the money. I stayed because of what this community is capable of doing for its people.”
The fire also changed those who fought it.
Ryan Pitchers, a fire battalion chief, said before 2016 it was a badge of honour to be called “leather lungs.”
That changed after a University of Alberta study found that many firefighters who fought the Fort McMurray blaze had developed asthma.
“We were basically, ‘Go, go, go.’ Most of our members didn’t stop for the first 48 hours,” Pitchers said.
Evan Crawford, president of the Fort McMurray Firefighters’ Association, helped fight the blaze. It felt like standing inside a furnace, he said.
When crews ran out of breathing equipment, they covered their faces with balaclavas, he added.
The 40-year-old said he remembers thinking about how the smoke was affecting his lungs.
“When you get a moment, you’re thinking of the long-term effects…. And you feel it because, I mean, you have a persistent cough.”
Since the fire, Pitchers and Crawford said their gear inventory significantly increased and firefighters regularly get checkups.
The fire also changed how a wildfire threat is communicated.
Tara McGee, a professor in the University of Alberta’s department of earth and atmospheric sciences, said her survey of Fort McMurray evacuees found they had little knowledge of the threat wildfires pose to communities and properties, and that emergency planning was limited.
“I asked how respondents learned that they would have to evacuate, and the highest group said they decided to leave because of what they could see.”
Provinces, including Alberta, now manage dashboards tracking the size and threat of wildfires. They also release notices and alerts about evacuations in advance.
Rachel Notley, who was Alberta premier in 2016, remembers standing on a balcony at the legislature on an unusually hot day when she learned a wall of flames was threatening Fort McMurray.
Notley became the face of the rescue, providing daily updates with officials, working to allay fears and provide information.
Such updates have become a staple for leaders across the country in crises since then, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2024 wildfire that destroyed homes in Jasper, Alta.
“You hadn’t seen major cities be at risk the way Fort McMurray was,” said Notley.
The wildfire threat has only grown across Canada since 2016, she said.
“It underlines the need to prepare for these events and also refocus our efforts to attack climate change.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2026.
From accelerated digitization to the implementation of agentic AI, the technological landscape is changing. For brokers, it’s perceived as a strong challenge for the distribution channel.
This year, a full 50% of respondents to Canadian Underwriter’s 2026 National Broker Survey identified rapid technological change as a strong challenge to brokers. That number is up a staggering 12 points over last year, by far the largest jump in the findings.
It makes rapid digital change the fourth-largest challenge among 13 challenges presented in a list for brokers to rate.
Gravitating to online options
“In an era of seamless digital commerce, consumers are looking for speed, simplicity, and convenience,” says Insurance Brokers Association of Canada CEO Peter Braid.
Consumers have different perspectives on how they like to buy things and some are very comfortable buying online, adds Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario CEO Colin Simpson.
And then there is the rise of a generation of digital natives to service.
“There’s a younger demographic that’s all about convenience and speed expectations: instant quotes, 24/7 access, and mobile-first experiences,” says Karim Mouait, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta and of Cornerstone Insurance Brokers Ltd.
And that partly folds into a separate concern that these consumers may slip away from the broker channel.
For example, tech-savvy consumers with simple risk profiles can work through the consumer path of a direct very easily, as Insurance Brokers Association of BC executive director and chief operating officer Julie Skelton explains.
Attempting to tackle technology
Not all brokers are positioned to compete in the digital arena. “Smaller businesses looking at huge investments in technology will find it difficult because they can’t invest millions of dollars,” says Simpson.
Directs can run with higher efficiency and lower margins. This makes it more likely that large brokers and digital brokers will have the scale to compte with directs in digital offerings, brokers tell CU.
“For some smaller brokers,” says Mouait, “the owner wears five different hats and team members have multiple interdepartmental roles, so they may not have the level of tech sophistication needed to get a younger demographic in the door.”
AI may also be magnifying the digital threat. It is easier to bolt on agentic AI, telephonic AI, and chatbots dealing with the consumer directly with a direct-to-consumer model.
Addressing the inefficiencies
As a first step, brokers should ensure they have an appropriate broker management system (BMS) in place to serve clients. And broker associations are continuing to advocate for improved connectivity and data exchange.
“You’ve also got to remember the state of digital is very different in regions across the country,” says Simpson. “Not everybody has access to a 5G network. Many people still transact in person in rural communities without that digital infrastructure.”
As for AI, Mouait admits there is a proliferation of its use in the direct channel. But it’s also a benefit to brokers owning the client relationship.
“I believe you’ll start seeing some pushback [on purely AI-driven service] at some point,” he predicts. “People will double down on having that human connection and being able to call someone they’ve had a relationship with for the last five years and can refer people to instead of being serviced by AI.”
Anticipating the inevitable shift
That personal aspect of the value proposition is critical, perhaps especially for smaller brokers, brokers tell CU. Individual relationships, service, and advice are important, and key to ensuring the right coverage is in place for the consumer.
As for the younger demographic, a shift seems inevitable. “Eventually,” says Mouait, “they’re going to need complexity as they acquire more assets, including the major generational wealth transfer currently underway that is beyond the direct-to-consumer model.”
Occupancies have changed, too. People living in multiplexes, duplexes and fourplexes are moving into shared and student accommodations. More people work from home or have home-based businesses.
That requires a more holistic view of home insurance, for example, says Skelton. “A broker finds solutions that fit the consumer rather than forcing the consumer into a direct bucket.”
Commercial lines seldom fit a direct, automated model, adds Simpson. “They’re harder to underwrite and price. They take more time and effort.”
Ultimately, says Braid, consumers will continue to choose how they want to be served. In his view, however, “there will always be a place for community-based brokerages where personal relationships matter.”
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is getting its affairs in order as it outlined its wildfire forecast and readiness for the 2026 wildfire season on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the factors raised during the briefing was the drought conditions the territory has been facing for the last few years Regarding those conditions, Jason Currie, wildfire operations manager with the Department of Environment and Climate Chamge (ECC), said those conditions will continue, but thatit’s lessened a bit.
“There is some recovery from the drought, but we didn’t get to rain last fall, which would have played a lot into recovery,” he said.
Currie said with the drought, fires burn much deeper into the ground, making them more challenging to fully extinguish.
According to the GNWT, in Fort Simpson between May and August 2025, just 40 per cent of average rainfall fell. In Fort Liard, it was 33 per cent.
Additionally, Currie said that as the La Nina, a Pacific Ocean pattern that brings cooler temperatures across the NWT, is expected to switch to El Nino, which will bring warmer temperatures.
That means the NWT could heat up, further complicating the wildfire season, he noted.
As part of the GNWT’s operational readiness, infrared scanning missions on large fire perimeters to seek and destroy hot spots have been done. These scanning missions identified spots near Fort Providence, Whati, Fort Liard, and Jean Marie River.
Territorial winter precipitation for the 2025-26 winter season has been roughly average with some notable highs and lows in various regions. For example, Fort Smith saw 141 per cent of its normal snow fall for November, and 184 per cent during February.
Hay River saw 66 per cent of its normal snow fall during November, and 83 per cent in January, but also saw 119 percent in December and 111 per cent in February.
Fort Liard saw only 63 per cent of its normal snow fall in November, 51 per cent in January, and 67 per cent in February. In total, Fort Liard only saw 79 per cent of its normal snow fall this season.
Fort Simpson saw 89 per cent of its normal snow fall for the entire winter season, and Yellowknife and Norman Wells saw 91 and 93 per cent respectively over the same timespan.
The GNWT also conducted snow surveys that measure the accumulated snow on the ground, and that provide insight on how much water will be released into the ground when the snow fully melts.
Yellowknife leads the figures with 163 per cent of its five-year average snow pile-up. Fort Liard had 140 per cent of its average this season and Hay River had 125 per cent. Norman Wells saw the lowest snow pile up this year at only 95 per cent of its five-year average.
According to the GNWT, these snow conditions imply that an early start to the fire season is unlikely. The accumulated snow has the dual effect of added surface moisture and suppressed temperatures.
Currie, who lives in Fort Smith,said there’s still a lot of snow still left on the ground, which he said will most likely delay the fire season.
“It’s good to see that we got snow in the last few years,” he said. “We’ve been well-below average, and that’s kind of dictated what kind of fire season we’ll be having.”
Hiring for junior positions in the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry is drying up, as artificial intelligence fundamentally shifts away from the traditional apprenticeship recruitment model, panellists said last Thursday at the Insurance Institute of Canada’s annual CIP Symposium.
Danish Yusuf, CEO and founder of Zensurance, notes job opportunities for junior roles in brokerages appear to be shrinking.
“The roles that are changing most are…[those involving] knowledge work,” Yusuf says, when asked about the impact of AI in the workplace. “In our case, that means the onboarding roles for brand new brokers, brand new assistant underwriters — that’s the area where we’ve really dramatically reduced how much hiring we’re doing.
Yusuf noted junior engineer roles at a brokerage were the first to feel the impact two years ago. For example, a junior engineer might help a senior engineer improve the speed and accuracy of policy generation, quoting, and risk assessment (for example, collecting risk data to support a client’s insurance submission).
“On the engineering side, as of two years ago, we stopped hiring Junior folks,” Yusuff said. “We couldn’t justify giving them a good experience. The engineering side happened two years ago. The broker and underwriter side is happening now. So that’s the space that’s being impacted the most.”
Impact on Apprenticeship
Vlad Koltchine, chief revenue officer and insurance operations leader at Sinistar, moderated the panel discussion, ‘People First: Building Careers in the Age of AI.’ He wondered how the shrinking number of junior roles affects the industry’s traditional apprenticeship recruitment model.
“When you were speaking about some of the generally more difficult roles to fill with more skill and complexity,” Koltchine said, “to me, those roles tend to be the ones that had a more or less sort of logical progression in the industry, starting from the more junior through to the apprenticeship, and then the trust-building and then the experience building.
“And it’s question to the entire panel: Do you believe we’re at risk of disrupting this apprenticeship model that we’ve been so accustomed to in those more technical, complex roles?”
Yousef answered, “I think it’s going to change, and it’s going to change meaningfully, and it could be changing for the better.
“I’ll give you the analogy for us. We’ve got underwriters. We still want them to review files and do what they do. But in parallel, and they know this, the AI system is running and double-checking everything that they’re doing.
“And we ran through all of the past referrals that they’ve done, and the answers they gave, and what the system would have given. And it’s now helping the underwriters be much more efficient, because it’s running in parallel and making them better.”
Impact on Gen Z
P&C industry careers most impacted by AI would be those of Gen Z recruits, said Randy Dhillon, senior vice president and chief people officer at Wawanesa. Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is the age cohort following the Millennials.
“Gen Z would come into organizations to develop their skills, develop their critical thinking, develop their emotional intelligence, and some of the pieces that we use to breed the next generation of leaders,” Dhillon said. “And so, I think this puts significant pressure on your talent pipelines, and we have to intentionally redesign how you’re going to accomplish the same outcomes in a very different architecture moving forward.”
Gerald Legrove, president of DGA Careers, which specializes in recruiting for the insurance industry, says the shift away from recruiting for junior roles to more complex, specialized or technical roles means the recruiting process will lengthen.
“In D&O, complex construction risks, aviation — any role requiring greater expertise, greater complexity — you’re just dealing with a smaller pool of candidates,” he said.
“Beyond that, those companies that are employing those great people right now don’t want to let them go. And so, they’re going further, a little more, to hang on to people.
“For those of you who are not working with us or recruiting on your own, what I would highly recommend is, if you’re looking to fill a role that is critical to your organization, a role with a real knowledge or specialty work, take your time, get to know the individual well. Know what motivates them.”
But while the recruitment process may be getting longer, the AI world has the onboarding process shrinking.
A two-year-long training period to develop technical and soft skills has now been radically compressed, says Yusuf.
“What that means for us as the organization is we can’t rely on those two years to train people,” he says. “We need to hire them, have a really in-depth training program — and not over two years, but in two months. They have to be what would have been two years of training.
“It’s big investment from our side to get the people on board for sure.”
New claims portal allows MGAs and insurers to offer self-service filing and real-time claims visibility, while cutting the operational cost of claims.
TALLINN, ESTONIA, APRIL 30, 2026/insPRESS/ – Insly, the low-risk, enterprise-grade insurance software provider, has launched a new claims portal enabling MGAs and insurers to give policyholders a modern, self-service claims experience. By putting the customer in control of the claims process from first notification of loss (FNOL) through to resolution, the portal removes or significantly reduces the need for phone calls and emails to claims handlers, while ensuring customers are always fully up to date on the status of their claim.
Customer-facing portal
The portal sits as an intelligent front end over any core claims system to capture the FNOL, extract and validate claims data, and feed structured information directly into the back-office system – without requiring the policyholder to pick up the phone. Once the claim is underway, the portal gives customers real-time visibility of its status – much like the interface of a food delivery app – alongside expected payout and full claims history.
Advisor portal
The portal also offers an advisor portal, enabling claims handlers and loss adjusters to carry out FNOL and claim administration over the phone or via email where required. The advisor interface also includes an AI recommendation layer, which analyses claims against the policyholder’s specific terms and conditions, relevant legislation, and any internal rules, before producing a recommendation – approve or reject – alongside a confidence level and the reasoning behind it. So claims handlers and loss adjusters have everything they need to make a fast, well-informed decision.
No-touch claims
The system can also offer no-touch claims based on pre-configured criteria, with no adjuster involvement at all, from FNOL to settlement. MGAs and insurers define the rules – by claim category, amount, or other parameters – and can switch auto-approval on or off per product line.
The portal is fully white-labelled – policyholders see only the MGA’s or insurer’s brand throughout – while tone, language, terminology, escalation rules, and custom instructions are fully configurable to the compliance and customer experience requirements of the business.
The claims portal can be used with Insly or integrated with any other policy administration system (PAS) or claims core system, to enhance the customer and loss adjustor experience without disrupting core processes and data. For new and existing users of Insly’s claims system, the portal will come pre-integrated.
“Claims can be a significant point of friction for insurers, MGAs and their customers, involving multiple calls and emails to gather information, ask questions and chase status updates,” comments Risto Rossar, Founder and CEO of Insly. “Our new Claims Portal removes that friction by enabling policyholders to file and track their own claims and leveraging the latest AI capabilities to handle the analysis and resolve straightforward cases. The result is a more streamlined, faster experience for the customer, while reducing the workload and associated cost for insurers and MGAs. It’s a win-win.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact: Anna King 07878485851 anna@scripsy.co.uk
About Insly
Insly is the low-risk insurance software provider, on a mission to give every MGA and insurer access to enterprise-grade software, without prohibitive upfront costs and monthly spend. Founded in 2013 by Risto Rossar, who established the first digital insurance broker in the world in 2000, Insly is built on deep insurance and technology expertise with products designed around the exact needs of MGAs and insurers. Insly’s flexible, modular solutions span the entire insurance lifecycle, from underwriting and product development to a 100% accurate finance and accounting engine, plus innovative AI products. Fast to implement, and with pricing linked to business growth, it helps insurance companies scale, without the financial risk, and delivers real results. On average, Insly customers report 93% growth in gross written premiums (GWP) over three years after launching on the platform.
When it comes to the federal government’s power to push through policies championed by Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry, don’t underestimate how tenuous the Liberal government’s majority is, speakers cautioned at the Insurance Institute of Canada’s CIP Society Symposium 2026, held in Toronto last Thursday.
“Are we going to see more [floor-crossers] to make that legislative agenda a little bit easier to pass through? Only time will tell,” said Evan Stubbings, director of government affairs at Desjardins Group. “But I think the reason it’s key is because we need to see this government move from ideation to execution.
“Because, over the last year…they have sort of been stuck in neutral. And they’ll only be able to switch that…once they have like the votes to do so.”
The Liberal government has a number of items on the agenda of interest to Canadian P&C professionals. A majority Liberal government suggests a stronger push to move on industry-endorsed projects.
For example, the federal government is working on establishing an earthquake insurance backstop, creating a flood insurance backstop, supporting climate-related risk and resilience projects, and curbing auto theft, among others.
After the federal election in April 2025, Insurance Bureau of Canada told Canadian Underwriter it was encouraged by the strength of the Liberals’ minority government.
“It’s good news to have a relatively stable government for a change,” Stewart told CU in an interview after the election. “Although it’s a minority, it’s a very strong minority, and we expect that we’re going to have, at least for the next two years, a stable and constructive Parliament, which certainly hasn’t been the case over the last few years.”
However, Stubbings said the “razor-thin” majority still needs about three more floor-crossers for the government to advance its policy agenda confidently.
On Apr. 13, 2026, the Liberal government won three byelections held in Scarborough Southwest (Ontario), University–Rosedale (Ontario), and Terrebonne (Quebec).
In addition, five opposition party members — four Conservative MPs and one NDP MP — have crossed the floor to join the Liberals since the Liberals’ minority win in the 2025 election.
The governing party now has 174 seats in Parliament. It needs 172 seats for a majority government.
But with two more anticipated bylaws in the future, it’s quite possible the Liberal government’s majority may not be as strong as it is now, Stubbings cautioned.
He referenced media reports suggesting Liberal MP for North Vancouver, Jonathan Wilkinson, the former energy and natural resources minister, may resign to get a diplomatic post somewhere. And Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Liberal MP for Beaches-East York in Toronto, has reported an interest in resigning to run as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
“That brings you back to 172 [seats],” said Stubbings. “Isn’t that fine? It’s still a majority.
“No, because the Speaker of the House is a Liberal, and the speaker, by custom, doesn’t actually get to vote on passing legislation unless it’s the event of a tie. So…once those two additional byelections come to fruition, as we expect them to, the Liberals won’t have a majority anymore, absent further floor-crossers. Which brings me back to the tenuous nature of that caucus.”
Stubbings noted the Liberal government’s tent includes some floor-crossers with opposing ideological views on some key issues issues, which makes the nature of the Liberals’ majority government tenuous.
“Are we actually going to see this legislative agenda advance, absent more floor-crossers?” Stubbings said. “I would say no.”
He added the caveat the Liberals would need three more floor-crossers to maintain its majority in the face of two potential resignations.
MISSISSAUGA, ON, APRIL 29, 2026/insPRESS/ – Marking the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, First Onsite Property Restoration is sharing new insights into how Canadians are thinking about wildfire risk today. Recent survey data shows growing concern about wildfires and smoke nationwide, underscoring the need for improved preparedness as communities continue to expand into fire-prone areas.
Wildfires and a changing landscape Wildfires are a natural and essential part of Canada’s boreal forest ecosystem, helping to renew landscapes, recycle nutrients, and maintain ecological balance. For centuries, these fire cycles have played a vital role in shaping healthy forests.
However, as communities expand further into densely forested areas, these natural processes are increasingly intersecting with where people live and work. This growing overlap is elevating risk, making wildfires not only an environmental reality, but also a significant and evolving threat to communities.
Looking back: Fort McMurray On May 1, 2016, a wildfire ignited near Fort McMurray, Alberta, rapidly escalating due to extreme dryness. It destroyed approximately 2,400 homes, burned nearly 590,000 hectares, and displaced more than 88,000 residents in the largest evacuation in Alberta’s history.
The Fort McMurray fire marked a turning point, bringing the scale and impact of wildfires into the national spotlight and reshaping how Canadians understand the risks associated with living in fire-prone regions.
Rising concerns about wildfires First Onsite’s annual Weather and Property Survey shows that wildfires remain top of mind nationally, with 63 per cent of Canadians expressing concern about being affected by wildfires and 70 per cent expressing concern about wildfire smoke.
The data also points to heightened awareness in regions of the country that are not typically associated with wildfires. Following recent record-breaking wildfire seasons, the survey data shows a considerable increase in concern about wildfires, especially smoke, in Atlantic Canada and Saskatchewan/Manitoba. For example, in Atlantic Canada, 82 per cent of residents now report concern about wildfires, up 15 percentage points year over year, along with a sharp rise in concern about wildfire smoke following recent regional fire activity. This reflects how wildfire risk has become a national concern.
Despite this elevated concern, preparedness gaps persist. Only 36 per cent of Canadians say they know evacuation routes in the event of a disaster, while just 44 per cent feel confident in local emergency response systems. On a personal level, 64 per cent report concern about their readiness for property-related emergencies.
Building more resilient communities The scale and recurrence of wildfire events reinforce the need for improved preparedness, coordinated response, and long-term recovery planning. They also underscore the role of restoration not only in rebuilding structures, but in helping communities recover and move forward.
“These findings align with what we’re seeing on the ground,” said Jim Mandeville, SVP, First Onsite. “While risk awareness is improving, gaps in preparedness and coordination among businesses and homeowners continue to affect recovery timelines. Strong coordination between homeowners, businesses, and response partners is essential to minimize disruption and support faster recovery.”
Resources and preparedness First Onsite was among the early entrants leading recovery efforts into Fort McMurray and, more recently, Jasper National Park, supporting stabilization, remediation, and restoration of critical commercial properties after the wildfires. The company provides guidance on wildfire preparedness and response, including the resource: How to Prepare and React: Helping Communities Prepare and Deal with Wildfires.
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About the First Onsite Weather and Property Survey
These findings are from a survey conducted by First Onsite Property Restoration from February 20th to February 23rd, 2026, among a representative sample of 1505 online adult Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About First Onsite: North America’s Trusted Leader in Property Restoration
First Onsite Property Restoration is one of the largest and fastest-growing emergency response planning, mitigation, and reconstruction service providers in North America. First Onsite employs over 2,500 team members and operates from more than 100 locations across Canada and the U.S. With a culture focused on harnessing the human power of its team members and a commitment to doing what’s right, the First Onsite team helps clients restore, rebuild, and rise. First Onsite is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation. For more information, go to firstonsite.ca or follow First Onsite on LinkedIn.
Dix ans après les feux de Fort McMurray, le risque d’incendies de forêt et les préoccupations liées à la fumée sont désormais d’envergure nationale
MISSISSAUGA (Ontario), le 29 avril 2026/insPRESS/ – À l’occasion du 10e anniversaire des feux de forêt de Fort McMurray en 2016, First Onsite Restauration Après Sinistre présente de nouvelles données sur la perception des Canadiens face au risque d’incendies de forêt aujourd’hui. De récents résultats de sondage révèlent une préoccupation croissante à l’échelle du pays à l’égard des feux de forêt et de la fumée, soulignant la nécessité d’une meilleure préparation à mesure que les collectivités s’étendent dans des zones à risque.
Les feux de forêt dans un paysage en évolution Les feux de forêt font partie intégrante et essentielle de l’écosystème de la forêt boréale canadienne. Ils contribuent au renouvellement des paysages, au recyclage des nutriments et au maintien de l’équilibre écologique. Depuis des siècles, ces cycles naturels jouent un rôle clé dans la santé des forêts.
Cependant, à mesure que les collectivités s’étendent dans des zones densément boisées, ces processus naturels croisent de plus en plus les milieux de vie et de travail. Ce chevauchement accru augmente les risques, faisant des feux de forêt non seulement une réalité environnementale, mais aussi une menace importante et en constante évolution pour les collectivités.
Retour sur Fort McMurray Le 1er mai 2016, un incendie de forêt s’est déclaré près de Fort McMurray, en Alberta, et s’est rapidement intensifié en raison de conditions de sécheresse extrême. Il a détruit environ 2 400 demeures, ravagé près de 590 000 hectares et forcé l’évacuation de plus de 88 000 personnes, soit la plus importante de l’histoire de la province.
Les feux de Fort McMurray ont marqué un tournant, mettant en lumière l’ampleur et les conséquences des incendies de forêt à l’échelle nationale et transformant la perception des Canadiens quant aux risques associés à la vie dans des régions exposées.
Des préoccupations en hausse à propos des feux de fôret Le sondage annuel de First Onsite sur la météo et les propriétés révèle que les feux de forêt demeurent une préoccupation majeure au pays : 63 % des Canadiens se disent préoccupés par le risque d’être touchés par un incendie, et 70 % par la fumée qui en découle.
Les données montrent également une sensibilisation accrue dans des régions habituellement moins associées à ce type de risque. À la suite de saisons d’incendies records, une hausse marquée des préoccupations est observée dans le Canada atlantique ainsi qu’en Saskatchewan et au Manitoba, particulièrement en ce qui concerne la fumée. Par exemple, dans le Canada atlantique, 82 % des résidents se disent désormais préoccupés par les feux de forêt, soit une hausse de 15 points de pourcentage sur un an, accompagnée d’une augmentation importante des inquiétudes liées à la fumée. Cela confirme que le risque est désormais national.
Malgré ce niveau de préoccupation élevé, des lacunes en matière de préparation persistent. Seulement 36 % des Canadiens affirment connaître les itinéraires d’évacuation en cas de sinistre, et à peine 44 % se disent confiants envers les systèmes locaux d’intervention d’urgence. À l’échelle individuelle, 64 % se disent préoccupés par leur niveau de préparation face aux urgences liées à leur propriété.
Bâtir des collectivités plus résilientes L’ampleur et la fréquence des feux de forêt soulignent la nécessité de renforcer la préparation, la coordination des interventions et la planification du rétablissement à long terme. Elles mettent également en évidence le rôle de la restauration, non seulement pour reconstruire les structures, mais aussi pour soutenir le rétablissement des collectivités.
« Ces résultats reflètent ce que nous observons sur le terrain », a déclaré Jim Mandeville, vice-président principal chez First Onsite. « Bien que la sensibilisation aux risques progresse, les lacunes en matière de préparation et de coordination entre les entreprises et les propriétaires continuent d’influencer les délais de rétablissement. Une collaboration étroite entre propriétaires, entreprises et partenaires d’intervention est essentielle pour réduire les perturbations et favoriser une reprise plus rapide. »
Ressources et préparation
First Onsite a été parmi les premiers intervenants à participer aux efforts de rétablissement à Fort McMurray et, plus récemment, dans le parc national Jasper, en soutenant la stabilisation, la décontamination et la restauration de propriétés commerciales essentielles après les incendies. L’entreprise offre également des conseils en matière de préparation et d’intervention, notamment à travers la ressource suivante : Comment se préparer et réagir : aider les collectivités à faire face aux feux de forêt.
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À propos du sondage First Onsite sur la météo et les propriétés
Ces résultats proviennent d’un sondage mené par First Onsite Restauration Après Sinistre du 20 au 23 février 2026, auprès d’un échantillon représentatif de 1 505 Canadiens adultes en ligne, membres du Forum Angus Reid. Le sondage a été réalisé en français et en anglais.
À propos de First Onsite : Le leader nord-américain de confiance pour la restauration de biens
First Onsite Restauration Après Sinistre est l’un des plus importants fournisseurs de services de planification d’intervention d’urgence, d’atténuation et de reconstruction, et l’un de ceux connaissant la croissance la plus rapide en Amérique du Nord. L’entreprise emploie plus de 2 500 membres d’équipe et exerce ses activités à partir de plus de 100 emplacements au Canada et aux États-Unis. Grâce à une culture axée sur la valorisation du potentiel humain et à un engagement à agir avec intégrité, l’équipe de First Onsite aide ses clients à restaurer, reconstruire et se relever après un sinistre. First Onsite est une filiale de FirstService Corporation. Pour plus d’informations, consultez le site firstonsite.ca ou suivez First Onsite sur LinkedIn.
Ontario’s new centralized regulation of the tow truck industry has not lowered insurance company’s claims bills, in part because the province hasn’t adopted a cap on tow truck fees, an insurance exec said at the Insurance Institute of Canada’s annual symposium in Toronto Thursday.
“The Ontario government took a step to centralize the regulation of towing, taking it up from the municipal bylaw level and bringing it under MTO [Ministry of Transportation Ontario] provincially. This went live Jan. 1, 2024,” said Evan Stubbings, director of government affairs at Desjardins Group. “Had this been done correctly, I think this could have been a really good thing.
“But what they did is they took the licensing element from the municipal regime, but they did not take the maximum rate cap that used to be in municipal bylaw[s].”
For several years, one of the frustrations of claims professionals had been the multitude of different tow fee caps enshrined in various municipal bylaws.
In a series on total losses published in 2019, Canadian Underwriter interviewed Elliott Silverstein, manager of government relations at CAA South Central Ontario. He explained at the time the reason why insurers wanted the province to establish caps on tow fees.
“Right now, municipalities have varying regulations and bylaws around how much a tow can cost, how the process works in terms of hooking the vehicle up, and where the vehicle goes,” Silverstein told CU at the time. “Because there is no specific set of provincial regulations, the consumer really is at the mercy of what the municipalities have set out in their regulations.
“For municipalities that don’t have regulations, it is effectively the Wild West, where no rules apply, because there is no provincial model or minimum standard to work from.”
Insurers at the time gave CU examples of situations in which a towing company might pick up a damaged car inside the border of a municipality with a lower towing fee cap, and take it to a neighbouring municipality instead with a higher fee cap.
This section of the bill does not set out maximum towing fees. Instead, it says tow truck “operators must publish their maximum rates for towing and storage with the MTO. They cannot charge more than their published rates,” as summarized by 613 Towing.
Elsewhere, the legislation says consumers have the right to use which towing company to use, and the first 10 km for the tow truck to get to the crash site is not chargeable. “Tow drivers are prohibited from recommending repair shops, lawyers, or medical services unless specifically asked,” 613 Towing states.
But the upshot of the lack of a cap on towing fees is “death by 1,000 cuts,” Stubbings said at the symposium.
He observed car thieves could steal a single car and make $80,000 on the resale of the stolen car. But they can also make up the same $80,000 by getting involved with the towing industry.
“In Toronto, it used to cost you $310.44 plus HST to tow a vehicle, all services included,” Stubbings said. “And now, since January 1st of 2024, it’s very common for our claims teams — this isn’t a Desjardins point, this is an industry point — to see the initial tow bill for just a hook-it-and-go-away fender bender [to be] at least $1,500.
“An actuary in the room can do a percentage increase on that. But you start to understand why there’s a financial incentive for [auto thieves] to still be in the game.”
And that’s why there’s violence in the towing industry, added Karin Ots, senior vice president of regulatory and government relations at Aviva Canada. She referenced three tow trucks being lit on fire over a single day last week in Brampton.
“Violence goes to where the money is,” Ot said. “The fighting is not over the glory of being a tow truck driver, but the money.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Evan Stubbings said the cost of a tow was actually $310.44 and not $1,044, as previously reported. CU apologizes for the error.
