b'Insurance NotesDousing the FlameA Simon Says article By Simon J. Fenn, CIP, Chairman,Fenn & Fenn Insurance Practice Inc.M ycolleaguesandIhavethrough your own insurance bro- shruggedmyshouldersunflap- forinsurancecapac- coverageatall.Theproblem Liability beenprivilegedtorepre- kers, for which I thank you. Ourpably as the subsequent 15 yearsityICIroofershasagaintoday is that almost all insur-sent many of you in thegoalwastodeliveralong-termfar outweighed the shorter harshwithdrawn significantly. Someershavesoundedtheretreat, OIRCAforover15yearsnow.and stable insurance solution. Asinsurance marketplace that raisedofourcompetitorsareonlyhere and at Lloyds of London. It seems like yesterday that I wasto long term, Id say approachingthe ire of many of you followingabletoofferliabilitylimitsVeryfewremaininvolvedin involved in meetings at the Insur- 15 years is bang on and its beenthestockmarketcrash,dot-comof $2,000,000. your industry.anceBureauofCanadasboard- great fun. As to pricing and cover- SomedomesticinsurersTherearelessthanasmall scandalsandtragedyof9/11at room in March 2003 with repre- age stability, competitive forces al- the beginning of the millennium.opened the doors to ICI roof- handfulofinsuranceoptions sentatives from CRCA and manylowed insurance industry rates toers in 2005/2006 (some later).available heading into 2020 and of the provincial associations, ap- drop to grossly unsustainable lev- WhatmanyofyouwereunableTo increase their market sharethankfully the OIRCA liability pealing to the insurance industryels for 15 years until someone de- to see (or were possibly unwillingtheyofferedveryaggressiveprogramremainsavailableto to stick with Canadian roofers incided to put the brakes on at theto see) was the damage that waspremiumsandhighlimitsoflimits of at least $10,000,000; the provision of third party liabili- beginningof2017;thingshavearound the corner by allowing theliability;then,theysustainedwe still have excess agreements ty insurance despite the frequencybeen getting progressively tougherinsurance marketplace to continuefiresandclosedagain.Evenavailable above that for those of catastrophic fires from roofingfor ICI roofers since. itscompetition-drivenpremiummoreclosedthispastmonthof you that prudently purchase operations. I find myself continu- From your perspective as roof- reduction death spiral. and its possible even more willhigher liability limits.ingthatthemestilltodayandingcontractors,15yearswasaturn their backs on ICI roof- insurerinvolvedinun-Any encouragingyoualltoconsidergreat run; insurance certainly be- Fast forward to 2019: ers, driving the demand curvederwritingICIroofingtoday dousing the flame. came cheap and coverage broad,With very few exceptions youupwards. Doesnt history haveisfocusedonclaims,torch-We solved a problem back thenwith high limits of liabilityyouan extraordinary way of repeat- applied roofing and now, clad- the OIRCA liability program wascouldnt ask for a better world. Ifareallexperiencingliabilityingitself?Iassureyouthereding as a result of the Grenfell running by 2005 and many of youI was a roofing contractor duringpremium increases once again,aremanyICIrooferstodayTower London tragedy, among have since chosen to work with usthat period of time I would havesometimes with no claims, op- thatarestrandedwithinsuf- other similar fires internation-for many years, either directly orlookedbackat2001-2004anderational change or growth. ficientlimitsornoliabilityally, which has also heavily im-pacted insurers. Water damage losses also continue to grow in dollar value and frequency as this is a swelling issue, pardon the pun.Torching:You are all well aware of the ex-traordinary effort your association isexpendingtoreduceandper-hapsultimatelyeliminatetorch-applied roofing. The picture frame method of torch-applied modified bitumen roofing is certainly a step in the right direction towards fire incidentreduction.Additionally, where school boards and munici-palities were previously specifying Commercial and Residential Roofing torchingbutrequiringsubstan-Trinity Roofing Ltd. specializes in a variety of roofing applications and tiallimitsofthird-partyliability waterproofing for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. insurance,nowweareinformed thatsomearenolongerpermit-Phone: 416-630-9213URL: www.trinitycanada.comtingtorchingontheirproperties Fax: 416-630-1722 Email: info@trinitycanada.comat all; they still require substantial liability limits. If all school boards 18ONTARIO ROOFING NEWSISSUE 3 2019 THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN'