Canadian Underwriter
News ClaimsCommercial LinesLegal

Hotels sue Aviva Canada for $150 million in proposed BI class action

July 27, 2020 by David Gambrill

Lerners LLP has filed a proposed $150-million class-action lawsuit against Aviva Canada on behalf of hotels across the country, claiming that the hotels are entitled to coverage for loss of business income relating to COVID-19. “We know these are challenging…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegalLegislation / Regulation

Court dismisses class action against insurers for handling of HST in auto AB claims

July 17, 2020 by David Gambrill

Ontario’s Superior Court has quashed a proposed class action lawsuit against 16 Ontario auto insurers — a dispute related to insurers deducting HST tax from accident benefits paid out to minor auto accident injury victims — because only the LAT…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

A province’s second effort to limit auto trial experts is enacted into law

July 13, 2020 by David Gambrill

Stymied by a B.C. Supreme Court ruling last year in Crowder v. British Columbia (Attorney General), B.C.’s attorney general is attempting once again to change court rules to limit expert evidence in vehicle court actions – a move that is…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

How an insurer in an “underinsured” auto case reduced its exposure by more than $452K

July 7, 2020 by David Gambrill

An Ontario auto insurer in an underinsured accident case is entitled to make a subrogated claim against a third party – in this case, a bartender who was found 11% responsible for a fatal car crash — even though its…

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

What the court said about parents’ liability when hosting teen drinking parties

June 25, 2020 by David Gambrill

Parents hosting a house party in which minors are drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana must be reasonable — but not perfect — when protecting teens against “foreseeable” risks, a B.C. court ruled in a recent social host liability case. The…

News AdjustersClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegal

This Nissan seatbelt lawsuit will have more than 100 witnesses

June 24, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

Vehicle manufacturer Nissan is facing a lawsuit in British Columbia over rear seatbelts, in a case that demonstrates how legal defence costs can multiply in a hurry. The plaintiff, Arshdeep Singh Sidhu, was nine years old in 2008 when he…

News ClaimsClaims CanadaLegalRisk

Why waivers won’t necessarily protect clients from COVID-19 liability

June 22, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

Waivers of liability for disease transmission might protect commercial clients from lawsuits, but the industry will not know for sure until one is tested in an appeal court, a litigation defence lawyer suggests. A waiver will not, on its own,…

News ClaimsClaims CanadaLegalRestoration

How this fumbled washing machine installation led to $54,000 basement flood

June 19, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

For want of a wrench, the basement was lost. This would be one way of summing up the Provincial Court of Alberta’s ruling in Kuerbis v Broderson, which should provide food for thought to brokers placing coverage for commercial clients…

News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegal

Why Aviva Canada does not have to defend this sexual abuse lawsuit

June 18, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

Aviva Insurance Company of Canada has won an appeal in a coverage dispute arising from a teenaged kickboxer who is suing her gym after being sexually abused by an employee. The kickboxer was 14 years old on May 1, 2017…

News ClaimsClaims CanadaInsuranceLegal

How Travelers won appeal over Ontario accident benefits dispute

June 17, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

When an Ontario woman was catastrophically injured in an accident in a Nunavut-plated vehicle in Nunavut, that vehicle’s insurer was initially told it had to pay Ontario accident benefits to the claimant. But in Travelers Insurance Company of Canada v.…

News InsuranceLegal

When courts might rule against insurers in business interruption coverage disputes

June 11, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

A commercial insurer could end up paying for losses that the carrier never intended to cover if a business interruption insurance policy covers government orders or advice to shut down a workplace without clearly excluding something like a widespread pandemic,…

News Insurance

How the lack of cyber caselaw worked against an insurer in a $75-million data breach lawsuit

June 9, 2020 by David Gambrill

The lack of cyber case law worked against an insurer in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently, with the court deciding that The Co-operators has a duty to defend two parties named in a $75-million cyber breach class action…