Claims

These risks call for better models

Commercial clients need better tools to help risk managers predict their financial exposure to climate change and geopolitical factors, Canadian risk managers say. The risk from climate change “will be pervasive and have a massive impact and it’s something that we don’t know how to model,” said Sonia Baxendale, president and CEO of the Global […]

By Greg Meckbach | May 22, 2019

2 min read

Claims

Bartenders’ liability for impaired driving accidents – civil versus criminal

Legal experts say criminal charges like those laid against a former bar server in connection with a drunk-driving crash that killed two Ottawa-area teens are rare and difficult to prove. Ann Senack, 62, of Greater Madawaska Township, was charged in March with two counts each of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily […]

By Greg Meckbach | May 22, 2019

3 min read

Claims

Why your clients may not be covered when there’s an active wildfire

With wildfire season already underway in Alberta and British Columbia, brokers will be looking at how insurance can help their clients mitigate any losses. But brokers and clients alike may not know that the ability to bind coverage could be restricted if there is an active wildfire nearby. This restricted binding authority could mean that […]

By Jason Contant | May 21, 2019

2 min read

Claims

This province’s statute of limitations ‘cries out for reform’

In trying to sue construction contractors for a leaky building, a Winnipeg hospital is actually criticizing Manitoba’s Limitation of Actions Act, a provincial appeal court judge suggested in a recent ruling. In 2003, construction finished on a new five-storey building for St. Boniface General Hospital. “Between 2012 and 2014, there were over 60 reports of […]

By Greg Meckbach | May 21, 2019

4 min read

Winds helping in battle against fire threatening northern Alberta town

HIGH LEVEL, Alta. – Fire officials say the winds continue to be favourable as crews battle a large wildfire burning a few kilometres from a northwestern Alberta town. Nearly 5,000 people have cleared out of High Level and nearby First Nations with flames licking at the southern edge of the community, which is about 750 […]

2 min read

How province is responding to growing Alberta wildfire threat

EDMONTON – The Alberta government has imposed a fire ban and restrictions on off-highway vehicle use in the northern half of the province. The government says the decision was made due to the growing threat of wildfires. The areas affected include public land west and north of Slave Lake, north of Lac La Biche up […]

1 min read

How this property restoration firm got in and out of trouble

A restoration contractor whose employee drove a company vehicle with a suspended licence is getting its truck back from police impoundment. A man identified as “C.S.” was pulled over in Barrie late Friday evening March 15 while driving a 2017 GMC Savana belonging to his employer, wrote Jennifer Friedland of the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal […]

3 min read

How Intact lost this battle over vehicle storage fees

Canada’s largest P&C insurer has suffered a setback in its quest to minimize vehicle storage fees. A recent Ontario court ruling means that, for the time being, Intact Insurance has to pay J.P. Towing Service & Storage Limited storage fees of $70 a day after Intact-insured vehicles are recovered after accidents. In 2012, Intact “took […]

3 min read

Provinces asking feds for $138 million to help buy out flooded properties

OTTAWA – Flood-ravaged provinces are asking the federal government to provide almost $138 million to move or buy out homeowners affected by previous years’ inundations, according to new data that gives a glimpse into the national costs of helping residents leave floodplains. Calculations based on previous experience suggest that the total cost of giving up […]

3 min read

Flood threat remains in Quebec and Ontario

MONTREAL – The Canadian Forces will maintain soldiers in Quebec to remove sandbags and restore critical infrastructure in communities hit by flooding, Brig.-Gen. Jennie Carignan said Monday. And while flooding has largely stabilized or begun to subside, high water levels continue to threaten some communities in Quebec and neighbouring Ontario. The Forces have agreed to […]

2 min read