Topic
Legal
Saskatchewan tightens rules on drunk driving in an effort to reduce road deaths
November 8, 2013 Jennifer Graham, THE CANADIAN PRESSREGINA – Saskatchewan is bringing in a zero drug and alcohol tolerance policy for drivers under 19 and for all drivers in the graduated licensing program. The move is one of 14 traffic safety measures the province is implementing based…
B.C. appeal court rules against Wawanesa over vacancy exclusion in disputed residential fire claim
November 7, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Court of Appeal for British Columbia recently cited an 81-year-old Supreme Court of Canada decision when it ruled against The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company over a disputed residential fire claim, overturning a 2012 decision by a lower court in…
Alberta law proposes more regulation for the insurance industry
November 7, 2013 THE CANADIAN PRESSEDMONTON – The Alberta government has brought forward a law that proposes further regulation to how car insurance rates are set. Under the Enhancing Consumer Protection in Auto Insurance Act, both mandatory liability and optional collision rate hikes would be…
Calls growing louder for stiffer penalties for motorists using cellphones
November 5, 2013 THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – Calls are growing louder for stiffer penalties in Ontario for motorists caught driving while using their cellphones. The insurance industry says such distracted driving has overtaken drunk driving as the most serious danger on the roads. The Insurance…
Regulatory risk on the rise, notes IBC CEO
November 1, 2013 Angela Stelmakowich, EditorThe events of 2013 have demonstrated the insurance industry in Canada is facing a significant tide of risks, including regulatory risks, Don Forgeron, president and CEO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, noted at IBC’s 2013 Regulatory Affairs Symposium in…
Spotlighting Underwriting Fraud
November 1, 2013 Wes Gill, Executive Lead, Enterprise Risk Manager, SAS CanadaEfforts to combat underwriting fraud continue to lag measures focused on other types of fraud. But as perpetrators become more sophisticated, it is increasingly critical to identify fraud before a policy is issued as part of the underwriting process.
Creeping Cat
November 1, 2013 Daniel Strigberger, Partner, Kitchener-Waterloo, Miller ThomsonA recent Ontario ruling indicates a claimant who is denied a catastrophic impairment designation can dispute that finding more than two years following the determination, meaning insurers who deny related applications will not benefit from the “finality” that limitation periods afford to defendants/respondents.
Quebec insurance brokers voice concerns over consumer protection
October 30, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterIllegal business practices – including those involving automobile dealerships that disparage products offered by brokers and sell replace insurance – are among the challenges the insurance brokerage profession in Quebec must address. Challenges related to consumer protection, changes in consumer…
ACE Bermuda announces enhanced directors and officers liability policy
October 29, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterACE Bermuda, the Bermuda-based subsidiary of ACE Limited, has announced the launch of an enhanced CODA Premier Directors and Officers Liability Policy that is available through the insurer’s commercial property and casualty insurance businesses in North America. Among the policy’s…
Organizations, including insurance companies, must protect customers’ personal information: poll
October 23, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterAlmost half of the respondents to a recent online survey in the United States would switch insurance companies if their personal information was stolen, reports Cincinnati-based Cintas Corporation. More specifically, 46% of respondents to the survey – conducted in late…
Quebec rail victims could begin to see compensation in mid 2014: U.S. trustee
October 22, 2013 THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – The U.S. bankruptcy trustee overseeing the insolvent railway involved in July’s deadly explosion in Lac-Megantic, Que., says he hopes to begin distributing “meaningful” compensation to victims in mid-2014. Robert Keach said he hopes to allocate the $25 million…
Supreme Court of Canada denies leave application to commercial property policyholder over limitation period dispute
October 18, 2013 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday in favour of The Co-operators General Insurance Company when it denied an application, from a commercial property policyholder operating a women’s fashion boutique, for leave to appeal an earlier ruling from the Court…