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Splitting costs when ‘other insured’ policy clauses don’t reconcile

July 15, 2022 by David Gambrill

When two insurers offer coverage for the same loss, and each policy states the coverage is in excess of ‘other insurance’ available, both insurers can be expected to split the cost for the insured’s defence and settlement costs, Ontario’s top…

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D&O excess policy needs to spell out exceptions from primary policy

July 14, 2022 by David Gambrill

If an excess insurance policy follows the form of a primary policy, and the primary policy offers an option that extends the claims reporting period by a year, the insured is entitled to the same option under the excess policy,…

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Court strikes down cap on costs for auto injury experts

July 13, 2022 by David Gambrill

B.C.’s Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional the province’s 6% cap on disbursements for experts in personal injury actions arising from auto accidents – one feature of the Insurance Corporation of B.C.’s attempt to control its auto insurance claims…

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Inadmissible evidence good enough to access enhanced auto coverage

July 12, 2022 by David Gambrill

Inadmissible hearsay evidence is enough for a driver involved in a collision caused by an unidentified motorist to access the $1 million limit of her auto policy’s OPCF 44R Family Protection Endorsement, an Ontario court has ruled. “There is no…

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How the court bolstered an insurer’s exclusion for privacy breach

July 8, 2022 by David Gambrill

Acting recklessly in breaching the confidential medical files of patients effectively falls within a hospital insurer’s commercial policy exclusion for committing an ‘intentional act,’ Ontario’s top court has ruled. The Ontario Court of Appeal found a hospital insurer, the Healthcare…

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Why Intact can’t recover $2.9 million in excess insurance payment

July 7, 2022 by David Gambrill

Intact Insurance has lost its bid to recover $2.9 million it paid above and beyond its $5-million insurance policy limit for cleaning up a 2012 chemical spill in North Bay, Ontario. Ontario’s Court of Appeal rejected Intact’s arguments that it…

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Water damage dispute: Why the court wouldn’t end three-year dispute resolution

June 22, 2022 by David Gambrill

B.C.’s Supreme Court has denied a claimant’s attempt to bail out of two mandatory dispute resolution hearings with multiple insurers in a three-year dispute over the value of water damage in her strata unit. “The plaintiff is understandably frustrated by…

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Caregiving daughter does not ‘reside’ with Mom; not entitled to auto coverage

June 9, 2022 by David Gambrill

Whether or not a daughter is entitled to auto insurance coverage under her mother’s OPCF 44R family protection endorsement depends on the facts of the case, and not on whether her mother believes her caregiving daughter ‘resides’ at her place,…

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Should you attach a dispute-resolution form to a denial letter?

June 8, 2022 by David Gambrill

An injured auto driver has lost an appeal against her insurer, which denied benefits a full seven years before she launched her legal challenge against the decision. One notable aspect of the case was whether the claimant received a dispute…

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Insurer must defend negligence case, despite pollution exclusion

June 3, 2022 by David Gambrill

Canada’s top court has essentially confirmed that an insurer’s duty to defend in a commercial insurance case involving a pollution exclusion will depend on the cause of the legal action. In refusing to hear an appeal by The Co-operators, the…

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The insurance policy clause that saved this self-insurer

June 2, 2022 by David Gambrill

Clean Harbors Canada, one of largest hazardous waste haulers in North America, is not on the hook to pay the cost of first-party fire damage to a truck owned and operated by one of its contractors, an Ontario court has…

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Auto AB claim: Where privacy meets abuse of process

June 1, 2022 by David Gambrill

An Ontario court has rejected the privacy concerns of an auto accidents benefits claimant who refused to attend a psychological examination required by his insurer, finding that the claimant’s privacy concerns amounted to an abuse of process. Ali Baradaran Bagherian…