Crime is rife in Saskatchewan. The province continues to have the highest crime severity index (CSI) and crime rates in the country, according to a Statistics Canada report.
In 2016, Saskatchewan police reported 11,746 incidents per 100,000 population in the province. This is a shocking rate when compared to the province with the lowest CSI – Quebec – which had 3,247 incidents per 100,000 population. The CSI is a measure of police-reported crime, which takes comparative crime severity into account.
Saskatchewan saw a large increase in homicides (+10), fraud (+37%) and violent crime over the period, according to the report. But how will the province’s soaring crime rates affect the insurance industry?
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Kurtis Reeder, senior director of personal lines at SGI Canada, told Insurance Business that crime and insurance share an expensive relationship but this isn’t the biggest concern for the industry in Saskatchewan.
“We do pay for crime related losses and crime does cost Canadian insurance companies millions of dollars each year in claims payments, which then filters down to the policyholders through premiums,” said Reeder. “But if we really put things into perspective for SGI Canada, we are much more concerned about severe weather than we are with theft and crime. The bulk of premium goes into that and the theft side of things is relatively minor in comparison.”
In 2016, SGI Canada received more than 4,000 claims for vehicle related crimes, up from 2,500 in 2012. In the same year, the insurer had around 450 home insurance claims as a result of theft and break-ins. But there is no cause for panic, according to Reeder.
“We are keeping an eye on things. We break down our claims losses by peril each year to determine if changes need to be made,” he said. “In the meantime, it is very important for customers to talk to their insurance broker to get sound advice and make sure all assets are covered. At SGI Canada, we provide a discounted home insurance premium if the customer has monitored security systems in place. Brokers should be relaying that sort of information to clients because in some cases it could really subsidize the cost of having those devices.
“Customers should also speak to their insurance brokers about other types of risk mitigation. With auto crime, for example, it sometimes comes down to simple measures like not leaving your keys in your vehicle, always locking your vehicle doors and keeping valuables out of sight. These things may seem simple, but they are a really significant factor behind auto crime.”
Severe crime rates can influence the underwriting process, but Reeder said things have not come to that yet for SGI Canada.
“We generally try to capture it more on the price side of things rather than the underwriting,” he commented. “However, if after diligent review we find change is needed, then specialty underwriters will be put to task.”
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