Volume 63, numéro 1, 1995

EN :

Over the past 15 years, financial services have perhaps experienced the most sweeping changes of all economic sectors in Canada. The author, Mr. L. Jacques Ménard, Vice Chairmain of Nesbitt Burns, begins by tracing the first key events in the late 1960s that have led to the crumbling of barriers between the four pillars in Canada. He then describes the major trends prevailing in Québec's financial services sector and looks at the risks which threaten to reshape the market. He concludes with the major strategic challenges faced by financial institutions in a fiercely competitive environment.

EN :

The indemnification of corporate Directors and Officers is a complex problem. Firstly, the author describes and analyzes the provisions contained in section 124 of the Canada Business Corporations Act and in section 123.87 to 123.89 of the Quebec Companies Act. Secondly, the author questions the right of Directors to be indemnified more extensively by their corporations in situations not covered by federal and provincial legislation provided that said broader indemnity is not contrary to public order. Thirdly, he draws a parallel between the corporate by-laws on the indemnification of the Directors and Officers and the Directors' and Officers' liability insurance coverage (D & O insurance) in order to determine what can be adequately protected by corporate indemnification and whether the remainder can be covered by insurance. He concludes with the necessity for the board of directors to comply with more demanding standards of care and to develop a practical program to minimize the risks and to prevent suits against Directors and Officers.

FR :

Depuis décembre 1992 des contrats à terme boursiers sur les catastrophes naturelles, de même que des options sur ces contrats, sont transigés sur le Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT). Ces types de produits financiers ouvrent de nouvelles avenues pour la gestion financière des risques couverts par les assureurs. Dans les pages qui suivent, nous décrivons et caractérisons ces nouveaux produits dérivés.

EN :

Since 1992, Catastrophe Insurance Futures and Options are available on the Chicago Board Of Trade. These derivatives offer new avenues in financial risk management to insurers. This paper describes and characterizes these new financial instruments.

EN :

Decision support systems are now becoming standard equipment in the insurance business, such systems already provide valuable outcome in areas where expertise is standardized such as underwriting or evaluation of risks or damages. The matter is somewhat different in reinsurance since each contract happens to include specific characteristics, hence making the use of global tools unsatisfactory. Besides, the evolution of the reinsurance market requires the development of highly performing systems. This article introduces a support system assisting the decision making in facultative reinsurance. This project is two fold. (1) This system was originally developed as an expert system. When the information acquisition was completed for a prototype, it became obvious that, due to various factors such as the lack of information, multicriteria analysis or organization problems, it would be advisable to leave the responsibility for the system to the decision maker. (2) We have then designed an interactive multicriteria system intended to assist the decision maker in the selection of the facultatives according to five criteria and contextual information. In addition, this system will "memorize" various data allowing the appreciation of the quality of the selection and the follow up/anticipation of the market trends.

EN :

The two devastating earthquakes, like the one that hit Northridge (USA) on the morning of January 17, 1994 or the one that struck Kobe (Japan) on January 17, 1995, one year later, illustrate the need for both the government and the insurance industry to plan for natural catastrophes. Why do the actual damage figures far exceed initial estimates? The author comments on several reasons, including inaccurate initial seismological information, lack of interest in investigating the design of new types of structures, inadequate emergency plans, etc. Northridge and Kobe showed that planners and builders have exaggerated how quake-proof their structures are. Natural disasters in 1994 and in the first month of 1995 have increased pressure to develop a catastrophe prevision system to prevent aggravated damage.