Canadian Underwriter

Topic Legal

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

Accident benefits not selected are not “available” to an insured; cannot be deducted from past income loss in tort

June 22, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

When an Ontario insured is required by law to select one of three statutory accident benefits, the benefits they do not select are not “available” to them. Therefore, they cannot be deducted from a claim for past income loss in

News Legal

Canadian privacy lawyer questions police access to ICBC’s facial recognition technology to help identify rioters

June 20, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

A Canadian privacy lawyer is questioning the precedent established by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC)’s recent offer to give Vancouver police access to the public insurer’s facial recognition technology to help identify people involved in the Stanley Cup riot

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

Brokers welcome and insurers review the CCIR’s discussion paper on credit scoring

June 17, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

Ontario’s broker association is encouraging the province’s consumers to provide input to the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) on the use of credit scoring in insurance.The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) was responding to the release of a

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

CCIR seeks input on seven potential risks associated with insurers’ use of credit scoring

June 17, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) is seeking further discussion about seven potential risks to consumers identified in a CCIR paper on the use of credit scores by insurers. “The CCIR would like to engage stakeholders in a discussion

News Legal

OSFI postpones MCT/BAAT audit requirement until Jan. 1, 2012

June 16, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has decided to postpone implementation of the audit requirement for the MCT/BAAT by one year.As first introduced in the 2011 Minimum Capital Test (MCT) and the Branch Adequacy of Assets Test

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

When does a motor vehicle “accident” become a slip-and-fall claim?

June 13, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has confirmed that getting out of a motor vehicle “safely” falls within the definition of the ordinary use or operation of a motor vehicle – even when that means the driver has locked

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

B.C. Appeal Court dismisses appeal in tragic case involving co-insured and “intentional act” policy exclusion

June 8, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal from a February 2010 B.C. Supreme Court case, Beck v. Johnston, Meier Insurance Agencies Ltd., which establishes the onus on brokers to advise clients of gaps in homeowners’ coverage, particularly when

News Legal

Establish a captive to augment risk operations, not to gain tax advantages

June 2, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

Companies should not be establishing captive insurance entities simply to capitalize on tax advantages, a number of speakers cautioned at the 7th Annual Canadian Captives & Corporate Insurance Strategies Summit, held in Toronto on June 1.“We’d like to emphasize that

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

IBC expresses concern about a proposed “interim” CAT definition possibly becoming a fraud magnet

May 31, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

Responding to a proposed new definition for catastrophic (CAT) impairment, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says two issues are central to insurers – upholding the use of “hospital admission” as a gatekeeper function for determining a catastrophic impairment, and

News LegalMergers and Aqcuisitions

BC regulator supports privacy commissioner decision regarding improper use of information around credit scoring

May 30, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

British Columbia’s Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) is supporting a recent privacy commissioner ruling that found an insurer failed to comply with privacy laws around the collection and use of personal information related to credit scores. The Office of the Information

News Legal

Honda Canada warns customers about data security breach

May 30, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

Honda Canada has advised its customers of a data breach involving the unauthorized access of 2009 records, including names, addresses, Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) and, “in a small number of cases,” Honda Financial Services (HFS) account numbers.The breach has reportedly

News InsurersLegal

Auctions carry regulatory risk and uncertainty in M&A scenarios: commercial lawyer

May 27, 2011 by Canadian Underwriter

Insurers being sold through an auction channel, rather than through a traditional acquisition deal, face greater regulatory risk and uncertainty of the transaction being completed, said Brian Rose, senior partner with Stikeman Elliott’s corporate commercial section.Rose spoke as a panel