Claims

Summary judgement motion not considered a “mini-trial”: Ontario Superior Court

A motion for summary judgement to dismiss a liability case does not constitute a “mini-trial” and split a case so that it becomes a trial within a trial, the Ontario Superior Court ruled under the new Rules for Civil Procedure.In Wilson v Kennedy, a defendant, Garven Kennedy, filed a motion for summary judgement to dismiss […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 21, 2010

2 min read

Claims

Banks shifting terrain, now promoting insurance on mobile devices: IBAC

Having secured Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s commitment to prevent banks from selling unauthorized insurance on their Web sites, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is concerned that banks have already responded by trying to promote insurance on consumer’s cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).IBAC is currently awaiting draft regulations that would prohibit banks […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 18, 2010

2 min read

Claims

A finding of fraud not needed to determine claimant was not involved in an accident: FSCO

A claimant does not have to be found to have engaged in fraud in order for a Financial Services Commission (FSCO) arbitrator to determine that the claimant lied about being in an automobile accident.In Azimi v Economical Mutual Insurance Company, Ashkan Azimi claimed he was injured in a car accident and applied for statutory accident […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 18, 2010

2 min read

Claims

Auto injuries pending surgery still count against catastrophic impairment rating: FSCO

Auto injuries pending surgery – and which are therefore not “stable” – still count for the purpose of determining catastrophic impairments, according to a Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) arbitrator.In Sonia Bains and RBC General Insurance Company, Bains sought to appeal an initial finding by a FSCO arbitrator that the auto injuries she suffered […]

By Canadian Underwriter | June 16, 2010

2 min read

State Farm Youth Advisory Board provides service-learning grant

The Reduce the Juice (RTJ) Waterloo 2010 Project will receive a $58,135 grant from State Farm Insurance. RTJ helps create youth-led projects that are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. State Farm’s Youth Advisory Board is awarding $4.5 million for youth-led projects to 82 organizations across the United States and Canada. The board received more […]

1 min read

Ontario lawyers face largest number of E&O claims since a decade ago: LawPro

Ontario lawyers in 2009 faced the largest number of errors and omissions (E&O) claims since 1995, according to the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPro).The province’s lawyers had their base premiums hiked by $500 in 2010 – up to $2,950 per lawyer – after LawPro reported a total of 2,272 E&O claims in 2009 at a […]

2 min read

9-11 emergency workers to receive enhanced insurance settlement

The WTC Captive Insurance Company and lawyers for about 10,000 rescue and recovery workers who suffered injuries or died while working at ‘Ground Zero’ when the World Trade Centre towers collapsed in New York on Sept. 11, 2001 have agreed to add $125 million to a settlement offer first made in March 2010.A judge of […]

1 min read

U.S. energy insurance market could not afford proposed $10-billion liability limit, insurers tell Congress

Energy insurers and reinsurers would not be able to provide the capacity required under the proposed $10-billion legal liability limits in the United States, the U.S. Insurance Information Institute (III) testified before Congress.Currently the legal liability under the Oil Pollution Act is $75 million.III president Robert Hartwig testified before the U.S. Congress on June 9 […]

2 min read

Ongoing trend toward higher costs for natural catastrophes: Munich Re

A long-term trend toward higher natural catastrophe costs is continuing, according to Munich Re. The first few months of 2010 were marked by a significantly large number of natural catastrophes, in contrast to 2009 with substantially lower natural catastrophe losses than in preceding years, Munich Re noted. These 2010 Q1 catastrophes included the earthquake in […]

2 min read

Health of Canadian fishing industry and marine claims are correlated: RSA

RSA and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are working together to help create a network of Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) in order to protect fish stocks and coastal communities’ livelihoods.In a global report on emerging environmental risks, RSA notes a correlation between the health of the Canadian fishing industry and the number of marine insurance […]

1 min read