Canadian Underwriter

Topic
Legal


Doctor talking to a patient in a hospital hallway
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalLegislation / Regulation

Auto insurers: Dos and don’ts for sending out IE notices

December 13, 2022 by David Gambrill

Ontario auto insurers don’t have to send out requests for independent medical exams (IME) at the same time they send out claim denial letters, nor are they barred from requesting IMEs after claimants have applied to the Licence Appeal Tribunal

Gavel, law book and Canadian flag
News BrokersClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegalMarkets / Coverages

Are product liability insurers ready to face mass torts?

December 13, 2022 Philip Porado

Class action lawsuits have long been drivers of social inflation for insurers that provide product liability overage. But now a new legal vehicle, the ‘mass tort,’ looks to be waiting in the wings. Unlike class actions, in which one plaintiff

Electronic pins on a global map
News ClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegal

Location of primary insurer, not excess insurers, decides proper legal forum

December 12, 2022 by David Gambrill

Ontario is the appropriate legal forum for determining whether a Canadian mining company is entitled to be insured for environmental liability claims arising mostly in Ontario — despite the fact several of its 22 excess insurers are global and not

Board meeting
News AnnouncementsEmploymentInsuranceLegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

Canadian P&C insurer reveals plan to go private

December 9, 2022 by David Gambrill

The Insurance Company of Prince Edward Island (ICPEI) has proposed deal that would have company directors, executives, certain employees and investors buy a majority stake in the insurance company and take its ownership private. The proposed deal was announced Friday

Stock market sell-off on a trading screen
News BrokersClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegalRisk

How inflation, and possible recession, may create D&O headaches

December 6, 2022 Philip Porado

Faced with wide-ranging global macroeconomic risks that include supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, stock issuers need to be careful about any disclosures and public statements. This is especially true for publicly traded companies that have directors and officers (D&O)

A man with a knife sneaks up on a woman loading her car
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegalLegislation / RegulationMarkets / Coverages

An insured driver is injured when an uninsured car-jacker steals her car. Who covers?

December 1, 2022 by David Gambrill

Insured drivers owning stolen vehicles must go to Facility Association — not their own private auto insurers — to get compensation for injuries sustained in assaults against them involving uninsured car-jackers, a Nova Scotia court has ruled. The Supreme Court

Authoritative person sitting in front of gray background. His face is showing. Insuring the vehicle safely. Car insurance protects any damage to the vehicle. The hand of the person wearing the white shirt prevents the boards from damaging the falling vehicle.
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegalLegislation / Regulation

Auto insurance doesn’t always apply just because an auto’s involved

November 29, 2022 by David Gambrill

Two Quebec Court of Appeal decisions in 2022 demonstrate it’s not enough to show an auto is involved in a claim for an insured to be eligible for compensation under the province’s auto insurance scheme, a Quebec lawyer writes in

Shot of a motocross competition
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalLegislation / Regulation

Why this dirt bike in closed competition was considered an “automobile”

November 25, 2022 by David Gambrill

A dirt bike driven in a closed course motocross competition is an “automobile” under Ontario’s auto accident benefits scheme, thus paving the way for a seriously injured driver to claim auto accident benefits from his auto insurer, the Ontario Court

Intellectual property concepts
News ClaimsCommercial LinesInsuranceLegalMarkets / CoveragesMGAsProducts

Why your SME client needs intellectual property ‘pursuit’ coverage

November 24, 2022 by Jason Contant

Your small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients need to consider intellectual property (IP) ‘pursuit’ coverage to allow them to take on large corporations to protect their products and market share, a specialist insurance provider told Canadian Underwriter. A business’s ability

Cra in driveway covered with snow
News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegal

Walking towards your car, you slip and fall on ice. Is this an ‘auto accident’?

November 18, 2022 by David Gambrill

If you slip and fall on ice within 10-15 feet of your car, the car did not cause your fall, so that isn’t an ‘auto accident’ under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS), Ontario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) ruled last

Business owner in a paperwork avalanche
News BrokersEmploymentInsuranceLegal

What selling a brokerage and ‘The Bachelor’ have in common

November 17, 2022 Philip Porado

Dating takes time, and hours of preparation – even The Bachelor takes a full season for the prospective bride-to-be to sort  through all the contestants. And the process of selling your brokerage is no different, according to a brokerage M&A

Car thief shining flashlight into the interior of a car
News ClaimsInsuranceLegalLegislation / RegulationRisk

Canada’s top-10 stolen cars

November 15, 2022 by David Gambrill

If there’s one supply chain Canada’s insurers would like to see disrupted, it’s the national, $1 billion business of auto theft rings supplying clients, unscrupulous dealers and chop shops with cars and auto parts. Of the $1 billion auto theft