Claims

How to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to your clients

Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry needs to ramp up its public education efforts to bring the risk of catastrophic events home to the Canadian population, speakers said Thursday during the virtual CIP Society Symposium 2021. “I don’t like to talk about 1-in-100-year events that our industry has historically spoken about,” said Carol Jardine, president […]

By Jason Contant | April 9, 2021

4 min read

Claims

Etiquette for asking if your employees are vaccinated

Asking your workers whether or not they got their COVID-19 vaccine shot is not necessarily a good idea. “If you are going to require employees to disclose their vaccination status, you need to consider the nature of the workplace,” said Adam LaRoche, a Calgary-based lawyer with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s employment and privacy and […]

By Greg Meckbach | April 9, 2021

3 min read

Claims

Vehicle repair mishap engages both home and auto insurance: B.C. Court

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is partly responsible for paying legal defence costs of a homeowner being sued by a guest who was injured when the homeowner was repairing his classic car. On Aug. 9, 2015, Gary Upton was using a sledgehammer to pound a metal plate on a concrete step at Upton’s home. […]

By Greg Meckbach | April 8, 2021

4 min read

Claims

Supreme Court of Canada considers municipal liability in snow removal decisions

Municipalities are not liable for “policy decisions” on matters such as snowplowing, but lawyers disagree on exactly what kind of a “policy decision” could shield a government from liability in a personal injury lawsuit. “Back home in Newfoundland, when there is a snowstorm, they don’t put plows on the road,” Supreme Court of Canada Justice […]

By Greg Meckbach | April 8, 2021

5 min read

Fire sweeps through unfinished condos in Kelowna, B.C., forcing nearby evacuations

KELOWNA, B.C. – A condominium development under construction in Kelowna, B.C., has been severely damaged in a fierce early morning blaze. Flames broke out in a new phase of the Parklane townhouse complex on Kelowna’s north side on Tuesday. Fire swept through the unfinished units while intense heat damaged occupied condos nearby, forcing evacuations. One […]

1 min read

Pandemic will cost the global P&C industry more than $250 billion: Lloyd’s

The pandemic will cost the global insurance industry at least US$200 billion, Lloyd’s predicts. “We estimate that the global insurance industry will pay around US$203 billion in claims and due to a reduction in asset values as a result of COVID-19,” Lloyd’s said in its annual report for 2020, released Mar. 31. The United States […]

2 min read

Intact wins the battle, but loses the war, in Alberta wildfire claim

Intact 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 or the insurer. Relying in part on information that was not placed on the record, […]

4 min read

Review hears closing arguments into proposed reservoir to protect Calgary from floods

EDMONTON – A lawyer for Alberta Transportation says there’s a serious and urgent need for a proposed reservoir that could protect Calgary from future flooding. Ron Kruhlak made the comment during his closing argument Tuesday before the Natural Resources Conservation Board, an arm’s-length agency of the Alberta government. The board held a two-week-long hearing to […]

3 min read

Why you can expect your reinsurance rates to go up on renewal

Reinsurers in Canada’s P&C industry had a rough time negotiating through COVID last year, with the sector’s overall combined ratio skyrocketing from a profitable 92.6% in 2019 to an unprofitable 103.7% in 2020. Claims costs were a major force behind those results. Reinsurers writing business in Canada reported more than a 10-point increase in their […]

2 min read

Why Intact says an upward correction in auto rates could be imminent

Motorists could be hit with more premium increases once driving levels return to pre-pandemic levels, Intact Financial Corp. CEO Charles Brindamour suggests. During the early part of 2020, Canada’s auto insurers had a collective combined ratio in auto more than 100%, Brinadmour said during a recent virtual fireside chat with Jaeme Gloyn, equity research analyst, […]

2 min read