Topic
Legal
B.C. auto claimant wins dispute over ‘declared value’ in total loss
November 26, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has been ordered to pay an extra $5,000 to a client whose vehicle was badly damaged on a trip from California. In Link v. ICBC, released Nov. 25, the province’s civil resolution tribunal ruled…
Canada’s insurers could face higher costs from distracted driving
November 26, 2021 Canadian Underwriter StaffCosts to Canadian insurance companies from accidents and injuries caused by distracted driving could reach $159 million by 2030, according to an analysis from financial products comparison site Hellosafe.ca. The analysis explored two scenarios, an optimistic 2% annual increase in…
Economical demutualization complete, IPO raises $1.6 billion
November 24, 2021 by Greg MeckbachEconomical Insurance announced Tuesday it has completed its demutualization, the first property and casualty insurer in Canada to do so. Economical’s corporate parent, Definity Financial Corp., said Tuesday it has raised “aggregate gross proceeds” of about $1.6 billion in an…
Supreme Court of Canada rules against BC trial lawyers in disputed subrogated Ontario auto claim
November 18, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia had its way, auto insurers would have an incentive to go the “extra mile” in trying to find reasons to deny claims, two Supreme Court of Canada judges suggested in a decision…
How Ontario direct compensation-property damage affects temporary loaner vehicles
November 17, 2021 by Greg MeckbachAn Ontario insurer that wrote optional collision coverage for a client is not on the hook for damage to a loaner vehicle borrowed by that client while that client’s own vehicle was in for repair, a judge wrote in a…
Court rules Ontario auto insurer’s request for claimant data ‘unnecessarily invasive’
November 8, 2021 by Greg MeckbachAn Ontario judge has turned down a request by Aviva Insurance Company of Canada to order a claimant to produce banking records showing the location of vendors from which that claimant had made purchases. In November, 2020, an Aviva auto…
Why the Co-operators won this appeal over homeowner claim
October 29, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf a client learns something new about insurance law four years after their claim is denied, it’s probably too late to sue the insurer for breach of contract. In a decision released this past Tuesday, the Court of Appeal of…
Why this city owes duty of care in $1 million personal injury lawsuit
October 21, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA Supreme Court of Canada ruling released Thursday means a British Columbia municipality is facing a new trial, in a $1-million lawsuit, filed by a woman who was seriously injured after parking her car after a snowstorm. In City of…
Ontario auto claim reduces employment insurance sickness benefits: federal judge
October 20, 2021 by Greg MeckbachAn Ontario auto claimant is facing a reduction in federal employment insurance (EI) benefits because she was getting income replacement benefits with her auto insurer. In 2019, Antonina Sennikova was involved in a motor vehicle accident that prevented her from…
Supreme Court to consider disclosure of cockpit voice recordings in aviation accident lawsuits
October 15, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments, from federal aviation accident investigators, that cockpit voice recordings should not be made available to personal injury plaintiffs who are trying to sue an airline over an accident in Halifax. On March…
Why the Supreme Court of Canada validated this limitation-of-liability clause
October 15, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA software consulting firm that was sued in Quebec for $6.25 million can rely on a limitation of liability clause in its consulting and integration contract, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a decision released Friday. In 6362222 Canada…
Ontario auto claimants seek leave to appeal HST dispute to Supreme Court
October 13, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA dispute over the handling of sales tax in Ontario auto accident benefits claims could reach the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2018, several auto clients filed lawsuits in Ontario against accident benefits insurers. Plaintiffs allege those carriers either included…