Headlines all summer were packed with news of the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson’s large concert tour was set to start in London, and promoter AEG Live said that insurance policies were in place. The company’s CEO said that in order to get the policy in place, Michael Jackson had to have a physical exam, one he passed with flying colors. However, Billboard magazine said that a traditional non-appearance policy was never written.

Extreme weather blasted through parts of Canada. In September, tornados ripped through parts of Quebec and Ontario. Fires ravaged parts of British Columbia that were already too aware of how destructive fire can be,

More transactions were completed in this quarter, including the acquisition of Paris Re by PartnerRe. Vancity announced that it was selling its general insurance operations to the Co-operators, and Co-Operators Life and Central 1 Credit Union then announced they were buying Cumis Group. Kingsway sold the Zephyr Insurance Company and Western Financial Group bought Hayhurst Elias Dudek, Manitoba’s largest broker.

The BC government also announced in September that changes to the province’s Insurance Act had been made, including such amendments as a 30 day grace period for consumers in which to pay overdue premiums, and a 10 day cooling off period in which customers could rescind a life or health insurance contract.

Some of the quarter's highlights:

Mergers, acquisitions and transactions