BREWING UP CHANGE
Allstate Insurance Company of Canada plans to give back to their local community in Montreal with the announcement of a $10,000 donation to the Old Brewery Mission’s (OBM) affordable housing program.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put yet another strain on the lives of Canada’s homeless population and Allstate is hoping to do their part by supporting OBM’s housing program.
“Allstate recognizes that 2020, without question, has been a particularly challenging year for the Old Brewery Mission and the homeless community. Livelihoods are at risk during these difficult times,” says Carmine Venditti, agency manager at Allstate Canada. “As part of our long-standing relationship with the Old Brewery Mission, it is our hope to ease their financial hardship and help the homeless community in Montreal to have a safe place to call home.” The donation will help provide living spaces for 15 people looking for a sustainable housing solution.
“This is a particularly challenging time for people living in homelessness and the agencies that serve them,” says James Hughes, president and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission. “Unfortunately, we have had to suspend or cancel crucial fundraising events, which normally generate vital funds to keep our essential services and housing programs running. We will be able to put the funds provided by Allstate Canada to good use to help our clients rebuild their lives and reintegrate into the community.”
GLOBAL REACH
Lion Electric Co. is a small, Quebec-based electric school bus manufacturer that is making waves in the electric auto-sphere. Chief executive Marc Bedard spent the last eight years working with EVs before moving onto electric trucks.
Bedard was worried he was being too ambitious promising the production of EV trucks in just two years, however, he still made the announcement at Atlanta’s 2018 Auto Show and by surprise, landed two marquee clients. “The spotlights are on us,” he said. “A lot of fleets didn’t know Lion existed and now they know and understand we’ve been here for a lot of years.”
Over the next 18 months, he learned that Amazon was listening and interested in his ideas. Lion welcomed Amazon to its factory, located in a suburban town with a population that’s 1/13th of the size of Amazon’s total workforce, for multiple drive tests and inspections from Amazon mechanics. No contract had been secured yet, however, Bedard wasn’t worried since Amazon kept coming back with more questions, which made him feel closer to landing their business.
In mid-September, Lion Electric announced it had secured a contract to provide Amazon with 10 battery-powered trucks to be used for shipments between fulfilment centres. And just two weeks earlier, Lion had secured the largest contract in company history with a Canadian National Railway Co. order for 50 Class 8 electric trucks. That CN deal was worth more than 20 million, Bedard said.
IN TODAY’S AGE
Since 2015, women aged 75 and older represent the largest share increase in the number of insured vehicles, according to Groupement des Assureurs Automobiles (GAA) statistics.
GAA’s yearly stats update revealed a large progression of insured vehicles. Over the past five years, the number of vehicles insured by women aged 75 and older has risen 31 per cent and for men of the same age, it rose 23 per cent.
Among seniors aged over 75, the number of vehicles insured between 2015 and 2019 increased from 102,631 to 134,771 for women, and from 176,097 to 216,727 for men.
“As the population ages, we note that seniors want to drive longer. On the flip side, the number of younger insured vehicle owners is down. Opposing trends among younger and older drivers!”
— Anne Morin
For drivers, the number of vehicles insured rose five per cent during the past five years. Among younger drivers, the number of insured vehicles fell 8 per cent and 7 per cent for women and men under 25 years of age, respectively.
“As the population ages, we note that seniors want to drive longer. On the flip side, the number of younger insured vehicle owners is down. Opposing trends among younger and older drivers!” stated Anne Morin, supervisor of public affairs at GAA.
Up to age 29, men are most likely to have the highest loss frequency. But the trend reverses at 30 when collision frequency is high among women, according to GAA 2019 data.
For both men and women, claim improvement progress as drivers age, up to age 65, when claims go up slightly. Drivers of both genders aged 24 and under have the highest collision claims frequency, while collision frequency for all drivers sits at 4.72 per cent, that stat rises to 11 per cent for male drivers under age 24 and nine per cent for female drivers in the same age group. The fewest accidents are among the drivers aged 45 to 64.
