If a client learns something new about insurance law four years after their claim is denied, it’s probably too late to sue the insurer for breach of contract. In a decision released this past Tuesday, the Court of Appeal of…
If insurers can achieve combined ratios of less than 80% in personal property, homeowners should expect to see lower prices and possibly even rebates, the CEO of LowestRates.ca suggests. “For consumers, if insurance companies are making money, then it means…
Home insurance clients who move to a new property should have the premises inspected and let the insurer know if there are signs it has been used to grow cannabis. “If a home was a former cannabis grow-op, likely pipes…
Home insurance policies may be so long that consumers won’t read the entire thing, but it doesn’t mean that brokers should selectively highlight certain policy terms to clients, a brokerage leader warns. “For us, there are things we need to…
When a dog bites man, the wounds could be deep and wide for homeowners. “Pet bites top the list for home insurance liability claims,” reports Dorchester Insurance Brokers Ltd., based near London in the community of Dorchester, Ont. “Dog bites…
A recent Ontario court ruling arising from a major structural defect in a cottage country home shows why a homeowner should get the vendor to complete a seller property information sheet (SPIS) before agreeing to a purchase. “The law can…
A Calgary homeowner and her tenant are on the hook for more than $20,000 after a waste removal contractor was attacked on the property by a dog. In Malig v. Kaur, released Mar. 16, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled…
A homeowner whose insurance did not cover the full cost of cleaning up his furnace oil spill was recently awarded $473,000 in legal costs after he sued the fuel company. The December 2008 incident, in which hundreds litres of oil…
SYDNEY, N.S. – A Nova Scotia judge says it’s not the court’s place to enforce good manners, in ruling on a case that pitted a homeowner’s interests in monitoring her property against her neighbour’s privacy concerns. Provincial court Judge Peter…
The Rise of the Sharing Economy Consumers are increasingly interested in leasing and sharing products rather than buying and owning them. The aptly named “sharing economy” is growing rapidly, fueled in part by social media, which facilitates communication between peers…
Eight of 10 Canadians taking part in a survey from Square One Insurance Services Inc. report not properly insuring their belongings while moving to their new homes. With more than 300,000 Canadians moving to new homes in different provinces each…
The lack of policy coverage understanding by consumers represents a major threat to home insurers’ reputations. Educating consumers now, in advance of damaging perils like flooding, could
encourage policyholder understanding and discourage dissatisfaction with insurers should such an event occur.