Topic Risk Managers
The downside risk of machine learning
April 8, 2019 by Greg MeckbachMachine learning and artificial intelligence can create liability risk if it makes decisions that would be inappropriate or even illegal if a real person made them, a risk expert warns. “If you train an algorithm with data that has underlying…
Environmental groups to sue Shell over climate change
April 5, 2019 by Mike Corder - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTHE HAGUE, Netherlands – Climate activists delivered a court summons Friday to oil company Shell in a court case aimed at forcing it to do more to rein in carbon emissions. Friends of the Earth Netherlands, one of the groups…
Early numbers from privacy commissioners on mandatory breach reporting
April 5, 2019 by Jason ContantThe federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has already seen a four-to-five times increase in the number of breaches reported to its office since the mandatory breach notification requirements came into effect last November. On Nov. 1,…
Over half of Ontario cannabis store openings delayed
April 3, 2019 by Shawn Jeffords and Armina Ligaya - THE CANADIAN PRESSCustomers lined up at Ontario’s first brick-and-mortar cannabis stores on Monday, but fewer than half of the province’s government-licensed outlets were ready to open. The Progressive Conservative government had planned to have 25 private stores launch on April 1, but…
Cyber attack in Canada spawns $60 million lawsuit
March 29, 2019 by By Colin Perkel - THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – As many as 200,000 people may have had their personal information stolen in a hack on servers at one of Ontario’s most popular casinos, a lawyer for the plaintiffs pressing a proposed class action argued on Thursday. However,…
Do your insureds understand a “material change in risk”?
March 29, 2019 by Jason ContantIt’s not necessary for an insurer to prove that an insured knew a change in risk was “material” to the carrier, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled. In May 2014, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company voided a homeowner’s policy…
How harassment lawsuit ruling affects insurers
March 28, 2019 by Greg MeckbachDespite a recent ruling that harassment is not a free-standing tort in Ontario, corporate clients and their brokers still need to view harassment accusations as a serious liability risk. In Merrifield v. The Attorney General, released in 2017, Justice Mary Vallee…
How sports hazing and abuse affects insurers
March 26, 2019 by Jason ContantThere seems to be no shortage of hazing and abuse incidents in the news lately. Earlier this month, a Miami University student was allegedly hit “with a paddle with spikes and grooves,” forced to drink large amounts of alcohol and…
How $15-billion Quebec class-action award affected this company
March 26, 2019 by THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – Rothmans, Benson & Hedges has become the third tobacco company to receive a temporary reprieve from compensating 100,000 Quebec smokers after securing creditor protection in an Ontario court on Friday. Imperial Tobacco Canada and JTI-Macdonald Corp. were both…
How privacy breach lawsuit could get more expensive for Equifax
March 25, 2019 by Greg MeckbachEquifax may have to defend itself against separate privacy class action lawsuits in at least two Canadian provinces as a result of a cyber breach in 2017. A cyber insurance claim can be triggered when a client is subject to…
How BC Hydro fares in managing its cyber security risk
March 20, 2019 by Jason ContantBritish Columbia’s electric utility is managing its cyber security risk for system components that must conform to mandatory reliability standards, but not for components to which the standards do not apply, the province’s auditor general has found. “We concluded that…
Collision damages ships in Vancouver Harbour
March 20, 2019 by Greg MeckbachRICHMOND, B.C. – Transport Canada says two ships collided in Vancouver Harbour Sunday after one lost power, but no one was injured and no pollutants were released. The federal department says in a statement that the bulk carrier MV Caravos…