• A new poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation reveals that progress in reducing Canada's drinking and driving problem has halted. An indicator for the percentage of Canadians who drove over the legal limit climbed to 8.2%, up from 5.6% in 2004. A major factor for the halted progress is repeat drinking drivers. Repeat drinking drivers were responsible for 6.6 million drunk-driving trips in Canada last year, which is approximately 90% of all drunk-driving activity.
• A half a degree centigrade increase in sea surface temperature is correlated with a 40% increase in Atlantic hurricane activity from 1996 to 2005, compared with the average from 1950 to 2000, according to a study published in Nature.
• Even slight increases in horsepower by automakers results in increased insurance claims costs, according to a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute. The addition of just one horsepower per 100 pounds of vehicle resulted in an estimated 5% increase in losses under collision coverage per insured vehicle year. Between 1985 and 2005, average horsepower climbed 64%, from 111 to 183.
• Fitch Ratings says the United States property and casualty industry will need to produce a combined ratio of about 95.5% in 2008 in order to meet the goal of an 11% return on surplus.
• In New Zealand, the wife of a man who faked his own death might be allowed to keep $951,000 payout that she received in 2007, because she made the claim in good faith. The man disappeared in 2002. Last year the High Court declared him legally dead, only for him to emerge alive in Christchurch, applying for a passport in his own name.
• The worst ice and snowstorms in China for more than 50 years could result in insurance claims up to US$487 million. Total economic losses could reach US$11 billion. Officials in China reported 223,000 houses have completely collapsed under the weight of snow and ice and another 862,000 have been damaged.
• Guy Carpenter & Company LLC are predicting that North American and Bermuda reinsurers have authorized substantially more capital for the insurance market in 2008 than in 2007, meaning the current soft market could continue well into 2010.
• Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench has struck down the $4,000 cap on minor injuries that arise from the use or operation of a motor vehicle, deeming it to be unconstitutional.
• Police in central England are hunting for a badly scorched would-be copper power cable thief after finding a hacksaw embedded in an 11,000 volt power cable. The thief, who also left a blowtorch at the scene, is expected to be badly charred, spiky haired and not exactly the brightest bulb in the socket. Copper prices have more than doubled in the last 4 years, sparking a wave of copper thefts across the globe. Thieves targeting power lines and electricity substations have already led to two fatalities in Britain and many serious injuries, while leaving thousands without power.
• TotalTravelInsurance.com has launched a Mexican auto insurance line to Canadian travelers. There is a common misconception among policyholders that their Canadian auto insurance will suffice. Standard Mexican procedure is to take anyone involved in an accident into police custody until liabilities are resolved.
• AM Best says it expects the financial strength ratings of U.S. property and casualty insurance companies in 2008 to be equally balanced between upgrades and downgrades. Rating upgrades outpaced downgrades in both 2006 and 2007.
• Auto manufacturers are looking to introduce new technology as early as 2010 that would make cars significantly more expensive to fix, though less likely to crash. By 2010 it is possible that we will see the following new technologies:

1. Electronic stability control - including a gyro sensor that can automatically adjust transmission speed and/or brake if a vehicle deviates by 35% from a standard stability measure.
2. Telematic technology includes sensors that detect vehicles in a driver's blind spots. Drivers attempting to change lanes while a vehicle is in their blind spot will receive an audio warning.
3. Telematic technology that will issue an audio warning if the driver is following another vehicle too closely. The new technology would be able to apply the brakes if the two vehicles got too close to one another.
4. Biometric devices have been proposed as anti-theft devices. Retinal scan technology is being developed for the purpose of vehicle entry. New door handles could be equipped with technology that detects a car owner's fingerprints and denies access to the car if there isn't a finger print match.

Wildfires in Canada (Information from an article in the January 2008 edition of Canadian Underwriter written by Paul Kovacs)

• Experts are warning of the rising risk Canada will experience large, intense wildfire fires.
• The area burned in Canada has been increasing. The increase in area burned reflects a build-up in fuels and a shift to older forests due to decades of fire suppression and fire exclusion near populated areas. Success in suppressing a fire leaves fuel for more and larger potential future fires.
• Climate change is bringing warmer and drier conditions. Initial research indicates the area burned in Canada will likely double by 2040.
• The Muskoka region of Ontario may present the largest current wild land fire threat in Canada.
• Wild land fire on average affects 20 communities and 70,000 people each year in Canada.