Claims

Lac Megantic marks seventh anniversary of 2013 rail disaster with memorial site

Seven years after a rail disaster decimated its downtown, Lac-Megantic sought Monday to honour both its past and future by inaugurating a long-planned memorial space at the site at the heart of the tragedy. On July 6, 2013, a runaway train hauling tanker cars loaded with volatile crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 6, 2020

3 min read

Claims

How liability for deductibles on strata claims is changing in B.C.

Strata unit owners might see a reduction in liability risk for common-area damage if a recently-tabled bill is passed in British Columbia. “Right now, if a water pipe bursts in a bathroom due to manufacturer error and leaks beyond common property into other units, a strata corporation may sue the owner of the unit where […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 3, 2020

3 min read

Claims

COVID-19 sparks debate about U.S. adjuster use in Calgary

COVID-19 appears to be kindling proud sentiments about employing Canadian adjusters, after social media posts triggered an age-old debate about using U.S. adjusters to handle catastrophe claims in Canada. Twitter was abuzz with comments after Global News posted a piece about more than 300 adjusters arriving in Calgary to respond to damage caused by a […]

By David Gambrill | July 3, 2020

5 min read

Claims

Flood warnings issued as B.C.’s major rivers surge, rainfall continues

VANCOUVER – Heavy rainfall has caused rivers to surge across much of British Columbia, washing out roads and putting many communities on alert. The River Forecast Centre has issued flood warnings, its highest alert, for the areas around the upper Fraser River and Quesnel River, including an area near Prince George. It says significant rainfall […]

By Greg Meckbach | July 3, 2020

2 min read

What was abnormal about June Calgary hail storm

Alberta’s hailstorm in mid-June was so severe that some homes suffered interior damage as a result, an independent adjusting firm reports. “We have seen skylights completely blown out to the point that the hail that impacted that skylight also impacted the interior,” Coralee Harder, regional vice president of the western region for Sedgwick Canada, said […]

2 min read

A new regime for tow truck regulations? What auto insurers want to see

Auto insurers are applauding Ontario’s creation of a new government task force to improve provincial oversight of the tow truck industry, citing the possibility of reducing insurance fraud and associated premium reductions for consumers. “IBC applauds the Ontario government for taking action against criminal activity and violence in the towing industry,” said Kim Donaldson, IBC’s […]

3 min read

Dam threatened by water levels in rural Manitoba, some residents evacuate

RIVERS, Man. – A rural Manitoba mayor says some people and livestock have been evacuated from his community because high water levels are threatening a dam. Rural Municipality of Riverdale Mayor Todd Gill says 38 households in the Little Saskatchewan River valley have left their properties, after days of heavy rain in southwest and western […]

2 min read

How ‘actual cash value’ could be affecting some Alberta hail victims

If some Alberta homeowners are only getting a small fraction of the cost to repair properties damaged in the recent hail storm, that could be the result of choosing a policy that only covers actual cash value, Insurance Bureau of Canada observed. The vast majority of home insurance policies cover the full replacement cost of […]

3 min read

What the court said about parents’ liability when hosting teen drinking parties

Parents hosting a house party in which minors are drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana must be reasonable — but not perfect — when protecting teens against “foreseeable” risks, a B.C. court ruled in a recent social host liability case. The case is notable for examining whether adults who host minors at their home, knowing the […]

5 min read

Truck fire in Nova Scotia turns propane cylinders into projectiles

DEBERT, N.S. – A cleanup is underway in Debert, N.S., after a transport truck carrying over 1,000 propane cylinders caught fire. Nobody was injured in Sunday’s blaze on the Plains Road, which turned a large number of the nine-kilogram cylinders into projectiles. Debert Fire Brigade Chief Shane Slack says more than 40 firefighters battled flames […]

2 min read