How Gallagher prepares clients for D&O rate increases
September 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf your clients are going to be hit with rate increases and major changes in terms and conditions to their directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability policies, you might want to give them some advance warning. “We tend to prepare early…
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…
Insurer working on future pandemic coverage for school boards, post-COVID
July 27, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAs the Ontario government prepares its school re-opening plan, the insurer for the majority of the province’s boards is working on a plan to provide pandemic coverage, albeit for future pandemics and not for COVID-19. Within the next six to…
Why Aviva Canada does not have to defend this sexual abuse lawsuit
June 18, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAviva Insurance Company of Canada has won an appeal in a coverage dispute arising from a teenaged kickboxer who is suing her gym after being sexually abused by an employee. The kickboxer was 14 years old on May 1, 2017…
Paid “Dark Clouds on the Horizon” The Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on Canadian liability insurance
June 8, 2020 AXA XLIt is widely acknowledged that the United States has a more litigious environment than Canada. However, the rise of recent jury awards in the United States, dubbed “nuclear verdicts”, will have a greater impact on Canadian companies that operate in…
How liability insurers will react to military report on long-term care homes
June 2, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA recently military report on some Canadian long-term care facilities will change the way liability coverage is underwritten and could even discourage some insurers from staying in the market, a managing general agent suggests. “I think you will probably see…
Contactless payment in a pandemic: There’s an app for that
May 29, 2020 by David GambrillRetail clients of brokers and insurers can now prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus by taking advantage of digital, contact-free payment methods now available on mobile apps. Increasingly, businesses will have to operate within the health and safety guidelines…
Why noxious gas release claims can be costly
May 26, 2020 by Greg MeckbachToxic gas leaks may not happen often in Canada but if it happens to your client, it can result in a large third-party liability claim, a managing general agent warns. A styrene gas leak from an LG Polymers in India…
How liability coverage limits determined what this bar owed in commercial host lawsuit
May 25, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA bar found 20% liable for an impaired driving accident has to pay two-thirds of the plaintiff’s legal costs and wound up paying double for damages what the at-fault motorist paid. Hummel v. Jantzi, released May 14 by the Ontario…
Why it’s hard to determine liability when a plaintiff catches coronavirus in nursing home
May 1, 2020 by Greg MeckbachLiability insurers and courts could be entering uncharted legal territory when dealing with class-action lawsuits against nursing homes or long-term care homes in which residents have become sick and died from the coronavirus. In some cases, a question before a…
Liability claims that could arise from the pandemic
April 22, 2020 by Greg MeckbachOne result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will be liability claims against company boards, property and casualty industry watchers predict. “I think we will see litigation coming out of this,” Shara Roy, a partner with law firm Lenczner Slaght Royce…
This type of claim should dry up in Ontario with COVID-19
March 27, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWith the Ontario government ordering the closure of bars and nightclubs, this should eliminate – temporarily – one category of commercial liability claim. “I don’t think claims will be launched against commercial hosts at this time,” said Mouna Hanna, an…