It’s an auto insurance estimator’s Catch-22. A B.C. small claims tribunal recently downplayed expert evidence based on photos taken in an auto collision shop because the estimator didn’t conduct an in-person inspection of the vehicle — even though pandemic lockdown…

Six possible flood insurance models for homes at high risk of flood are about to go through an actuarial review, a federal government official suggests. The Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation is going to hand off those possible…

Data analysis may be held up as the gold standard for making sound business decisions. But a recent study suggests gut instinct — when backed up by simple decision aids — may actually be better in situations of high uncertainty.…

Insurance coverage for a “sudden and accidental” release of diesel fuel can include a discharge that continued over several months, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has ruled in a commercial coverage dispute. As a result of Zurich Insurance Company…

A B.C. homeowner who is listed along with a second person on his home insurance policy has lost his bid to have Intact issue him a payment directly for his own personal items damaged in a flood, instead of issuing…

More than a dozen coverage disputes arising from business interruption from lockdowns and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic are making their way through Ontario courts. Law firm McCarthy Tetrault has served 17 individual statements of claim with the Ontario Superior…

A foundation membrane could cost a homeowner client $15,000, and it is probably not something your clients should try installing themselves, but it is “often the most effective method” of waterproofing a basement, a Bobvila.com author suggests. A foundation membrane…

In an age when a condo corporation’s insurance may not provide enough coverage for an insured loss, brokers can help their clients by advising condo unit owners about the merits of special assessment insurance, one lawyer suggests. “It is important…

Inappropriate behaviour during video conferences can lead to employment practices liability claims, an expert with The Travelers Companies Inc. warns. New York City-based Travelers is observing “Zoom etiquette claims,” said the insurer’s employment practices liability product manager, Chris Williams, during…

Restoration firm DKI Canada Ltd. is being sued in British Columbia by Coquitlam-based Canstar Restorations Limited Partnership, a former member of the DKI network. Allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court. Until 2020, Canstar was operating multiple…

Ontario auto insurance claimants cannot take insurers directly to court over how carriers treat sales tax on accident benefits claims, the province’s appeal court has ruled. This is because the province’s Licence Appeal Tribunal, not the Superior Court of Justice,…

If insurers can achieve combined ratios of less than 80% in personal property, homeowners should expect to see lower prices and possibly even rebates, the CEO of LowestRates.ca suggests. “For consumers, if insurance companies are making money, then it means…