Topic Liability
Are your clients using the pandemic to terminate staff? A primer on their liability exposure
August 18, 2020 by Adam MalikJust because staff members are not choosing to return the office, that doesn’t mean employers can terminate them, an employment lawyer warned. If P&C organizations or their commercial business clients are culling employees for the wrong reasons, they could be…
How the largest commercial brokerage views its COVID E&O exposure
August 18, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAlthough some commercial clients may start “suing everybody” because their business interruption insurance did not cover income lost during the pandemic, brokers could not have obtained broad-scale pandemic coverage for all clients even if they wanted to because the exposure…
Experts say COVID waivers unlikely to shield private schools from legal action
August 18, 2020 by Cassandra Szklarski - THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – Some private schools afraid they’d be blamed if a student gets COVID-19 are considering waivers to absolve them, but experts say that wouldn’t stop a parent from suing or a school from racking up legal bills. Toronto lawyer…
Top court to consider release that excludes ‘claims of any kind or nature whatsoever’
August 14, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe legal status of a release that excludes a personal injury claimant from pursuing further claims arising out of the incident “of any kind or nature whatsoever” against the City of Corner Brook, Nfld., is headed to the Supreme Court…
Toronto strip club employee may have exposed up to 550 to COVID-19: officials
August 14, 2020 by Jake Kivanc - THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – A Toronto strip club where as many as 550 people may have been exposed to COVID-19 last week was not following public health guidelines, officials said Friday. Toronto Public Health said the Brass Rail strip club in the…
Brokers urged to remind clients: Home policies won’t cover ‘pandemic pods’
August 13, 2020 by David GambrillAs schools across the country prepare for re-opening in September, skittish parents who are not in favour of in-class learning for their children are setting up so-called “pandemic pods” to home-school small groups of children in the home. But brokers…
Ford recalls more than 60,000 vehicles in Canada due to safety issues
August 13, 2020 by The Canadian PressOAKVILLE, Ont. – Ford has issued two recalls affecting 63,367 vehicles in Canada, citing safety issues with the brakes and coil spring. The largest recall covers 62,876 Ford Edge vehicles with 2015 through 2018 model years, and Lincoln MKX vehicles…
Three reasons why the hard market may drag on for years
August 12, 2020 by Greg MeckbachCommercial clients are likely to see big price hikes at least through 2021 and the economic impact of COVID-19 is partly to blame, a Bermuda insurance executive suggests. “We saw double-digit rate increases in our Canadian specialty business,” Albert Benmichol, CEO…
Hot Lines
August 10, 2020 by Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorA surge in directors and officers liability claims, withdrawal of some carriers from hospitality and high-profile cyberattacks are among the big trends now in commercial specialty
Financially, which of your clients are hurting the most?
August 7, 2020 by David GambrillCanadian construction and real estate development companies appear to be hurting the most during the pandemic, according to bankruptcy records kept by the federal government. Twenty-seven Canadian companies have been granted creditor protection since the novel coronavirus was declared a…
Why Intact is “very confident” about defending pandemic-related BI claims
July 29, 2020 by Greg MeckbachTwo recent American court rulings in favour of insurers in COVID-related business interruption coverage disputes arose from policy wordings nearly identical to the vast majority of Intact Insurance’s BI policies, officials with Canada’s largest P&C insurer said Wednesday. “The language…
Pipeline owner fined for unsafe incident near GO tracks in Greater Toronto
July 29, 2020 by THE CANADIAN PRESSCALGARY – The Canada Energy Regulator is fining Trans-Northern Pipelines $40,000 for an incident near a commuter train line in Greater Toronto that resulted in damage to a pipeline transporting gasoline. It says the incident near Oakville could potentially have…