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News CatastrophesClaimsInsurance

What the industry learned from the costliest catastrophe of 2018

February 7, 2019 by Jason Contant

The sheer volume of claims following the windstorm that swept through southern Ontario and Quebec last May led to critical service disruptions, after so many consumers called at once to report their claims to their insurers. “I’m not sure people…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

Top court won’t hear appeal of controversial waiver decision

February 7, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

A 2018 Court of Appeal for Ontario ruling on waivers, described as “great news” for liability insurers, is now final. The Supreme Court of Canada announced Thursday it will not hear an appeal of Schnarr v. Blue Mountain Resorts Limited,…

News Claims

Freight train involved in fatal derailment started on its own: TSB

February 6, 2019 by Lauren Krugel - THE CANADIAN PRESS

CALGARY –  A Canadian Pacific freight train parked on a frigid night in the Rocky Mountains began to move on its own before a derailment that killed three workers and sent 99 grain cars and two locomotives hurling off the…

News ClaimsLegislation / Regulation

Has Intact noticed the impact of pot legalization on auto claims?

February 6, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

Recreational cannabis has been legal for nearly four months, but it’s too early for Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer to tell whether it’s having an impact on auto claims frequency. Senior managers with Intact Financial Corp. were asked Wednesday…

News ClaimsInsurance

Aviva rolls out automated claim notification at collision reporting centres

February 5, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

Motorists insured by Aviva Canada will no longer have to make their own first notice of loss (FNOL) to the carrier if they report the accident to a collision reporting centre. This is because Aviva Canada is rolling out an…

News AppointmentsAssociationsClaimsLegal

Prominent insurance defence lawyer named as judge

February 5, 2019 by David Gambrill

Insurance defence lawyer William S. Chalmers, managing partner at Hughes Amys LLP, has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Toronto. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1987, Justice Chalmers practised law at Hughes…

News ClaimsRisk

Dozens of freight cars derail in fatal train accident

February 5, 2019 by THE CANADIAN PRESS

FIELD, B.C. – A Canadian Pacific freight train fell more than 60 metres from a bridge near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary in a derailment that killed three crew members, a union representative said Monday. The westbound freight jumped the tracks…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

What stopped this $800,000 subrogated pollution claim

February 4, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

A subrogated claim could go off the rails if the client is bankrupt. The Supreme Court of Canada announced Thursday it will not hear a subrogation case involving Desjardins, which applied last year for leave to appeal Douglas v. Stan…

News ClaimsCommercial LinesInsurance

Why the cyber market has become so crowded

January 31, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

Clients shopping for cyber insurance today can choose from among far more carriers than they could a few years ago, because it’s such a profitable line of business. However, one reason cyber is more profitable than other lines of coverage…

News ClaimsInsurance

Hundreds of collisions in aftermath of Toronto snow storm

January 30, 2019 by Jason Contant

A winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on Toronto and surrounding areas over a 24-hour period has also caused hundreds of collisions. From a claims perspective, there has not been a “significant increase” in claim activity, one…

News AdjustersClaimsInsuranceTechnology

Why the human touch is sometimes bad for claims

January 30, 2019 by Jason Contant

The claims industry in Canada has to be wary about complicating the claims process by putting a “human process” in place where one is not needed, speakers said last week at the Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association’s 2019 Claims Conference in…

News AdjustersBrokersClimate ChangeConstructionRisk

Online basement flood course coming soon

January 30, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

An online version of the Home Flood Risk Assessment Training will be available Canada-wide this March, Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, said in a recent interview. The course is geared towards insurance brokers, home inspectors,…


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