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This aging infrastructure problem could force residents out of homes

April 18, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

A substantial number of Ontario residents are at risk of becoming temporarily homeless because they live in old high-rise buildings with critical infrastructure that needs to be replaced, a politician told Canadian Underwriter Wednesday. “Across Toronto and across Ontario we

News ClaimsInsurance

How insurers can turn their salvage into social purpose

April 17, 2019 by Jason Contant

If your client has filed a claim after experiencing a major event like a flood or fire, it’s likely that contractors have removed salvageable materials that are still usable. For example, in the event of a kitchen flood, contractors may

News InsuranceLegal

Owner of deliberately burned Manitoba store ordered to repay

April 12, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESS

WINNIPEG – A judge has ruled a fire that destroyed a hardware store in the western Manitoba town of Neepawa more than four years ago was deliberately set. The decision follows a lawsuit filed by the owner of the Home

News Claims

B.C. Wildfire Service monitoring grass fire near Pemberton

April 11, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

PEMBERTON, B.C. – Residents of the Lil’wat First Nation just east of Pemberton, B.C., are closely watching a grass and brush fire that broke out late Tuesday afternoon. The First Nation set up an emergency operations centre and warned residents

News AdjustersCatastrophes

More than 100,000 Quebeckers without power after wind, freezing rain

April 10, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL – Premier Francois Legault says the large majority of the more than 100,000 Quebec homes still without power after Monday’s ice storm will have electricity restored by Wednesday night. Speaking to reporters in Quebec City, Legault thanked Hydro-Quebec crews,

News ClaimsRisk

The liability risk from climate change

April 9, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

Large companies face liability risk if they emit greenhouse gas emissions, and shareholders are asking directors and officers what they are doing about climate-related risks, a speaker suggested at a recent insurance conference in Toronto. Panelists at the Property and

News ClaimsInsuranceLegal

Does a business have to highlight a waiver of liability to a client?

April 4, 2019 by David Gambrill

A flood in an Alberta community centre flood has once again raised the legal issue of whether a claimant is obligated to read a commercial services contract thoroughly, or whether the defendant is obligated to highlight any waiver of liability

News Insurance

Why brokers need to check their dec pages

April 4, 2019 by David Gambrill

A Manitoba broker was fined $1,000 fine for not checking to make sure his client’s request for a Single Limit Endorsement was included as part of the client’s home insurance coverage. It wasn’t, as it turns out, and the client

News InsuranceMarkets / CoveragesRisk

Over half of Ontario cannabis store openings delayed

April 3, 2019 Shawn Jeffords and Armina Ligaya - THE CANADIAN PRESS

Customers 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

News InsuranceLegalRisk

Do your insureds understand a “material change in risk”?

March 29, 2019 by Jason Contant

It’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

News Commercial LinesInsurance

What’s holding back Lloyd’s price increases

March 28, 2019 by Greg Meckbach

Property risk could get harder to place in the Lloyd’s market this year. “Difficult decisions regarding existing accounts, or indeed the appropriateness of new accounts, will continue to have to be made during 2019,” the Corporation of Lloyd’s said of

News Insurance

What the blazes is going on with barn fires?

March 22, 2019 by David Gambrill

If Ontario insurers want to reduce the risk of huge barn fires, they might want to consider advocating for the removal of an existing exemption for mandatory fire inspections of farms that is contained in the province’s Fire Code. As