Claims

Auto insurer on hook for $300K after client address mix-ups

If you can’t find your itinerant clients, have they failed to cooperate with your defence of an auto insurance liability action? An Ontario court recently ordered Gore Mutual Insurance Company to pay a $300,000 balance owing on a settlement judgment, after finding that the inability of the company and its lawyers to locate their insured […]

By David Gambrill | June 26, 2018

3 min read

Claims

What insurers paid out for the latest Ontario storm

A brief but powerful thunderstorm that rolled through southern Ontario on June 13 has been declared a notable claims event by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). While the storm did not meet the catastrophe threshold of at least $25 million in property damage, it did result in significant losses of between $10 million and […]

By Jason Contant | June 26, 2018

3 min read

Claims

Data breach defendant must hand over computer forensics reports: court

An Ontario casino facing a class-action lawsuit over a data breach has lost its bid to prevent plaintiffs from getting their hands on part of a computer forensics investigation report. The casino claimed the report was protected by litigation privilege or solicitor-client privilege. Casino Rama, located near Lake Simcoe, had its computer system hacked in 2016. […]

By Greg Meckbach | June 26, 2018

3 min read

Claims

Fort McMurray airport sues insurer for $34 million in wildfire losses

The Fort McMurray Airport Authority (FMAA) is suing FM Global for more than $34 million, contending that the insurer breached its obligations under a policy in place during the Fort McMurray wildfire in May 2016. In a statement of claim filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Edmonton last month, the FMAA […]

By Jason Contant | June 25, 2018

3 min read

Wildfire forces hundreds of people from remote community

SOUTHEND, Sask. – The threat of a growing wildfire has forced more than 600 people from a remote community in northeast Saskatchewan. Emergency management officials say the fire is getting larger but is still about 13 kilometres away from Southend. Most of the evacuees who have registered with the province are in Prince Albert, some […]

1 min read

Insurer owes $234K in priority dispute when “named insured” is not the actual car owner

Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Fund has recovered $234,574 in a priority dispute arising when GAN Canada Insurance (since acquired by Aviva Traders) sent a policy termination notice in 2001 to a named insured who was not the owner of the car involved in a fatal crash. Ontario’s Court of Appeal upheld the finding of a lower […]

3 min read

Court ruling calls independence of auto claims dispute arbitrators into question

The Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal’s first ruling on whether an auto accident claimant is catastrophically impaired has been quashed by a three-judge Divisional Court panel. The decision-making process at LAT “creates a reasonable apprehension of lack of independence” on the part of the arbitrator, Divisional Court Justice Julie Thornburn wrote in Mary Shuttleworth v. Licence […]

3 min read

ClaimsPro prepares dedicated adjuster team for marijuana legalization

Independent adjusting company ClaimsPro announced this week that it has prepared a dedicated adjuster team for the cannabis industry, just as Canada moves to legalize marijuana in October. The team will exclusively handle first- and third-party cannabis claims, such as those related to residential and commercial theft, plant and crop damage, equipment breakdown, retail and […]

2 min read

Claims professionals speak out amid allegations of contractors providing insurance advice

Ontario and Quebec’s May 4 windstorm event has the Canadian claims industry talking about the proper roles of contractors and adjusters, based on unconfirmed reports that individual rogue contractors – e.g. not people associated with the larger restoration contracting firms – may have allegedly offered opinions to policyholders about insurance coverage in the wake of the […]

3 min read

Auto injury lawsuit involving restaurant tip income could reach Canada’s highest court

A Victoria, B.C. auto accident victim who was awarded about a quarter of what she asked for in a lawsuit is hoping to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. A central issue in the case is the verification of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” she claimed as lost earnings in tip money. Kimberly Isbister […]

3 min read