Why Intact didn’t have to pay $10K for a claimant’s proposed medical report
May 17, 2021 by David GambrillOntario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) has ruled that Intact Insurance is not obligated to fund a claimant’s $10,200 multidisciplinary report, the purpose of which was to dispute Intact’s decision to cease income replacement benefits after a 104-week period of entitlement.…
How these auto reforms could reduce liability exposure for hospitality clients
May 10, 2021 by David GambrillB.C.’s move towards a form of no-fault auto insurance could wind up reducing liability exposure for commercial insureds in the hospitality and other high-risk sectors, according to a recent blog by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. The province’s no-fault amendments came…
Ontario judge urges legislature to deal with insurance fraud
April 22, 2021 by David GambrillAn Ontario judge has taken the rare approach in a sentencing decision to urge the provincial government to take steps to prevent future instances of insurance fraud. Ontario Court Justice David S. Rose made the obitur remarks in his written…
What the court said when property owners refused to submit a Final Proof of Loss
April 20, 2021 by David GambrillWestland Insurance Company was within its rights to assume a contentious, two-year insurance claim had been resolved when two Victoria, B.C., property owners refused to submit a “Final Proof of Loss” form that had been filled out for them to…
Appeal Court adds new twist to court battle over auto reforms
April 19, 2021 by David GambrillB.C.’s Court of Appeal has temporarily suspended parts of a recent decision by the B.C. Supreme Court, which found that it is unconstitutional for the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) to determine minor injuries and decide claims of up to…
Intact wins the battle, but loses the war, in Alberta wildfire claim
April 7, 2021 by David GambrillIntact Insurance has lost its appeal over procedural unfairness in an Alberta wildfire property damage claim, even though an umpire in the case made a decision based on information that was not placed on the record by either the claimant…
Strata unit owner loses $5,000 claim after mice chew through dishwasher line
March 24, 2021 by David GambrillIn the case of a flood caused by a mice infestation, a B.C. strata unit owner was not allowed to recover her $500 insurance deductible or $273 premium increase from the strata corporation despite having warned the strata corporation about…
Co-operators has no duty to defend a “novel” data policy exclusion: Appeal court
March 19, 2021 by David GambrillThe Co-operators does not have a duty to defend a cyber liability case involving a “novel” policy exclusion for breached data being published over the internet, the Ontario Court for Appeal has ruled. Reversing the previous decision of a lower…
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…
Why this insurer had to pay $187K for ex-Ontario PC leader’s legal defence
January 28, 2021 by David GambrillAn Ontario court has ordered Sovereign General to pay $187,313 to cover the legal costs of former Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader Patrick Brown, who personally incurred the expenses while defending a defamation lawsuit arising from the publication of his…
When the appraisal umpire goes beyond the depreciation rate of both the claimant and the insurer
January 15, 2021 by David GambrillIn a $1.2-million dispute arising from a property resort fire, an Ontario appraisal umpire did not exceed his authority when he used a much higher depreciation rate than both the claimant and the insurer did to calculate the value of…
Mystery solved: Phantom passenger loses accident benefits case
January 6, 2021 by David GambrillOntario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) has denied accident benefits to a claimant who said she had been injured in an auto collision, finding that the claimant could not prove she was actually in the car when the accident happened. Maxine…