In 30 years of working in construction, Josh Towsley says this is a first, after Metro Vancouver saw its fourth crane accident since the start of the year. “I’ve been involved in construction since I was 19 years old … and I have never seen a run like this in our industry,” he said in […]
By Jason Contant | March 6, 2024
4 min read
Quebecers who do not identify as male or female will soon be able to opt for an ‘X’ gender marker on their health cards and driver’s licences. Both Quebec’s automobile insurance board and its public health insurance board confirmed Monday they’ve been informed of the government’s decision to add a third gender option to the […]
By Jason Contant | March 5, 2024
2 min read
Measures to help mitigate climate change are a known commodity, it’s just a matter of motivating the public, government and regulators to take action, speakers suggested Monday at an industry event. Climate change is irreversible, but its rate can be slowed down, Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, said during the […]
By Jason Contant | March 5, 2024
3 min read
While the federal government is chipping away at a plan to combat auto theft nationwide, P&C professionals can advise their clients now to help them protect their vehicles, experts said during a Canadian Underwriter webinar last week. “We call it a layered approach,” said Bryan Gast, Equite Association’s vice president of investigative services. “[Criminals] don’t […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | March 5, 2024
3 min read
Wildfire fighting and forest management decisions are potentially being hampered by inaccurate government data that misrepresents forest fuel loads in British Columbia’s Interior, a new study has found. The B.C. government says the provincial wildfire service is working with the study’s lead author and others to close the data gap, which involves “mismatches” between remotely-sensed […]
By Jason Contant | March 4, 2024
4 min read
One Ontario brokerage has seen an increase in the number of clients missing insurance payments as well as cancellation notifications from insurers for non-payment. For Mitch Insurance, the number of clients missing insurance payments has increased 104% since 2019. While there was a decrease in 2020 due to insurers offering payment relief at the beginning […]
By Jason Contant | March 4, 2024
3 min read
When multiple commercial insurers are on the hook consecutively for long-tail claims spanning decades, defence costs should be allocated according to the proportion of time they were on risk, the Ontario Appeal Court ruled this week. The court’s landmark decision in Loblaw Companies Limited v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada overturns a […]
By David Gambrill | March 1, 2024
4 min read
Hundreds of thousands of books have been freed from a months-long purgatory as scores of staffers race to get them out of storage and back on shelves following a cyberattack that felled the Toronto Public Library’s computer systems in October. Workers at a Scarborough distribution hub have cleared more than 10 tractor-trailers full of […]
By Jason Contant | March 1, 2024
5 min read
An insurer doesn’t owe provincial premium tax on auto dealer’s fees charged for vehicle equipment warranties, the Supreme Court of B.C. has ruled. Vehicle equipment warranties are commonly sold at auto dealerships. Customers pay for vehicle warranty policies as part of the sales purchase at the dealership. On top of charging for premiums and administrative […]
By David Gambrill | February 29, 2024
3 min read
Extreme weather conditions were expected to continue across Canada on Thursday after a sharp cold front with high winds hit vast areas of Quebec and Ontario, knocking out power lines and leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark overnight. More than 90,000 households and businesses in Quebec were without power as of late […]
By Jason Contant | February 29, 2024
2 min read