Topic Claims Professionals
The future of auto claims if everyone keeps working from home
February 23, 2021 by David GambrillAuto insurers will be watching very carefully to see how future working-from-home arrangements will affect downtown traffic patterns — and hence, auto insurance claims — during the post-pandemic era, says an RSA Canada claims executive. Government lockdowns to avoid the…
Why a $10-million limit did not apply to mitigation of loss in this professional liability policy
February 22, 2021 by David GambrillB.C.’s Court of Appeal recently confirmed that a $10-million coverage limit did not apply to mitigation of loss coverage in a professional liability insurance policy, in part because the policy grouped mitigation of loss coverage together with other types of…
Cat counter starts the year at $134 million for winter storms
February 19, 2021 by David GambrillFor the Canadian P&C insurance industry, Cat activity roared in like a lion in January, but has looked more like a kitten since then. Two winter storms in Western Canada caused more than $134 million in insured damage, based on…
Property restoration space has ‘big capacity’ issue: Brindamour
February 19, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. is aiming to build capacity in what CEO Charles Brindamour calls the “super-fragmented” restoration contractor industry. “Our thought process with On Side [Restoration] is very much consistent with what we tried to do with BrokerLink a decade…
What’s making it harder to estimate property Cat claims
February 17, 2021 by Greg MeckbachRecent price increases in building materials means it is harder than normal to predict the cost of repairing property damage, restoration experts say. Restoration contractor Peak Services handled several thousand claims after the June 13, 2020, record hail storm in…
How COVID-19 has affected repair of vehicles from hail
February 12, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe COVID-19 pandemic has created some barriers to repairing vehicle and property damage – including a shortage of auto body parts, and a labour shortage impacted by Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients who are reluctant to return to work,…
Final outcome of The Co-operators’ surface water commercial property coverage dispute
February 12, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA Supreme Court of Canada decision released Thursday means The Co-operators cannot appeal a $429,000 court decision against it over “surface water” coverage on a commercial property policy. In Co-operators General Insurance Company v. Le Treport Wedding & Convention Centre…
How much the second COVID wave will probably add to Intact’s claims costs
February 10, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIntact Financial Corp. has now reserved $106 million for claims related to COVID-19, with $23 million of that booked during the last three months of 2020. Intact initially set aside $83 million in reserves for COVID-19 claims during the three…
Why this drunk driver couldn’t be sued by victims of a hit-and-run
February 5, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA Saskatchewan motorist who pleaded guilty to impaired driving cannot be sued in the province by victims of a hit-and-run accident that happened in Saskatoon a few hours before the inebriated motorist was pulled over and arrested by police. This…
How to avoid turning the mishandling of a claim into a six-figure bad faith award
February 3, 2021 by David GambrillA Manitoba court decision ordering the province’s public auto insurer to pay a bad faith award of $350,000 serves as a cautionary tale to the industry that bad faith awards for mishandling a claim can be made even after a…
Risk management lessons from the governor general’s resignation
January 26, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf a commercial client has any inklings of a toxic workplace, an independent investigation is one way of managing reputational and liability risk, an expert says. The resignations last week of Governor General Julie Payette and her secretary may have…
This new type of class-action tort grew from genetically modified corn seed
January 22, 2021 by Greg MeckbachA proposed class-action lawsuit based on the novel tort of “premature commercialization” is going ahead in Ontario. The Supreme Court of Canada announced Dec. 10 it will not hear an appeal from Syngenta Canada Inc., which is facing a proposed…