Claims

Why Aviva Canada does not have to defend this sexual abuse lawsuit

Aviva 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 when she was flying back to Canada from Thailand after a kickboxing competition. She was […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 18, 2020

3 min read

Claims

How Travelers won appeal over Ontario accident benefits dispute

When an Ontario woman was catastrophically injured in an accident in a Nunavut-plated vehicle in Nunavut, that vehicle’s insurer was initially told it had to pay Ontario accident benefits to the claimant. But in Travelers Insurance Company of Canada v. CAA Insurance Company released June 15, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that it […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 17, 2020

3 min read

Claims

Why the latest Calgary hail storm could cost $1 billion

The thunderstorm that hit Calgary this past Saturday evening could be more expensive to the industry than the 2014 Airdrie, Alta., hail storm that cost P&C insurers more than $500 million, an industry watcher suggests. Hail the size of tennis balls hit some Calgary neighborhoods June 13, the Canadian Press reported. Residents posted photos and […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 15, 2020

2 min read

Claims

COVID-19 has accelerated changes to the claims industry

Auto insurance customers should enjoy a shorter claims journey if pandemic-related changes stick around, insurance pros told Canadian Underwriter recently. Social distancing rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the insurance industry, along with its customers, to adopt technology for insurance-related services. Once existing on the fringes, a fully digital claims environment is now […]

By Adam Malik | June 15, 2020

3 min read

How insurance company websites just beat out brokers in a U.S. consumer satisfaction study

For the first time in two decades, insurance company websites in the United States have become a more popular place for consumers to buy their auto insurance than through the broker channel, a U.S. auto insurance consumer satisfaction study has found. “We’ve seen this trend developing for several years, but this is the first time […]

3 min read

How much Intact is paying out for commercial COVID claims

Intact Financial Corp. is likely to pay out more than $80 million for commercial claims arising directly from the COVID-19 pandemic, but has only seen a small fraction of that so far, CEO Charles Brindamour said Wednesday. “The total actual incurred losses is barely 10 million bucks at this stage,” Brindamour said Wednesday of commercial […]

3 min read

Many Canadian film and TV productions held up by lack of COVID 19 insurance

TORONTO – Reduced crowd scenes. Fewer people on set. COVID-19 testing. Handwashing stations. Those are some of the health and safety protocols Canadian film and TV producers are mulling over for their projects as provinces including British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec ease pandemic restrictions that shut down the industry in mid-March. But despite such […]

3 min read

CU Webinar: Industry execs to discuss impact of economic recession on Canada’s P&C industry

Way back in 2020 Q1, before the world turned upside down, the Canadian property and casualty insurance results were on the rebound from a difficult prior year. But on Mar. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus to be a global pandemic. Governments soon shut down non-essential businesses to slow down the […]

2 min read

There’s UBI for auto, could it work for home?

If the more you drive means the likelier you are to have an auto claim, the same thinking could apply to home insurance claims, as people adhere to shelter-in-place guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, says a risk expert. If people are at home more than they used to, and they are using their appliances and […]

By Adam Malik | June 11, 2020

3 min read

When courts might rule against insurers in business interruption coverage disputes

A commercial insurer could end up paying for losses that the carrier never intended to cover if a business interruption insurance policy covers government orders or advice to shut down a workplace without clearly excluding something like a widespread pandemic, a defence lawyer warns. “We are warning our clients that any ambiguities regarding how public […]

3 min read