Claims

Canadian P&C industry over-relying on use of one vendor-provided catastrophe model: KPMG study

There is a potential systemic risk in the use of catastrophe models in Canada because of the property and casualty industry’s “extensive reliance on vendor-provided catastrophe models, particularly with extensive reliance on one vendor in Canada,” KPMG says in research contracted by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Rachel Dutil of KPMG LLG shared preliminary […]

By Canadian Underwriter | April 22, 2010

2 min read

Claims

Ontario court re-asserts limits on how much plaintiff’s counsel can help client during discovery

The Ontario Superior Court recently re-asserted the limits of how much a plaintiff’s counsel can help his or her client during an examination for discovery in an action concerning a motor vehicle accident.In Michael Madonis v. Julian G. Dezotti and Donna L. Dezotti, counsel for the plaintiff (Madonis) made numerous attempts to provide answers on […]

By Canadian Underwriter | April 21, 2010

2 min read

Claims

Ontario Court of Appeal finds trial judge did not ‘double deduct’ IRBs from jury award

As long as a trial judge has not directed a jury to deduct income replacement benefits (IRBs) from their jury award, the trial judge may deduct IRBs from the jury award without fear of “double deduction,” the Ontario’s Court of Appeal has ruled.In Karamzadeh v. Pierre, Heydar Karamzadeh was found by the Ontario Superior Court […]

By Canadian Underwriter | April 19, 2010

2 min read

Claims

FSCO orders claimant to produce medical records of alleged prior accidents

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has ordered a claimant to produce OHIP records and the clinical notes of his family doctor dating back to motor vehicle accidents that allegedly occurred up to five years prior to the 2005 accident that was the subject of arbitration. The applicant, Karel Paskoe, was involved in a […]

By Canadian Underwriter | April 15, 2010

2 min read

Alberta introduces bill to tighten restrictions on distracted drivers

New legislation proposed by the Alberta government would restrict a vast number of activities behind the wheel, including personal grooming, manually inputting information into GPS or audio devices, CB radios (excluding commercial or search-and-rescue use) and texting. Bill 16, the Traffic Safety (Distracted Driving) Amendment Act, 2010 would introduce some of the most comprehensive distracted […]

2 min read

Government institutes penalties for failing to file and inaccuracies in GST schedule

Penalties will be applied to any financial institution that fails to file, or files with inaccuracies, the GST 111 schedule, said Cliff Lee, a senior manager at KPMG.Lee spoke at the Insurance Institute of Toronto’s At the Forefront Breakfast about implications of the HST on the insurance industry.The GST 111, ‘Schedule 1 – Financial Institution […]

2 min read

Post-recession era ripe for economic crime: PwC

Cost-cutting and downsizing during a recession can increase the risk of financial fraud in a post-recession landscape era, reports PricewaterhouseCoopers.A PwC Economic Crime Survey shows 56% of Canadian companies reported being victims of crime in 2009.“In a global economic downturn, need comes to the forefront and becomes intermingled with greed and opportunity,” said Sarah MacGregor, […]

1 min read

Injury threshold in Ontario does not establish a “barrier” to jury award recovery: Ontario judge

The threshold in Ontario for determining whether injuries are “serious” enough to warrant jury awards are not supposed to be treated as barriers by insurance defence counsel, an Ontario Superior Court Justice remarked in the threshold case, Nicolas v. Bowers.“I cannot leave this judgment without observing that the recent decisions of the Ontario Court of […]

2 min read

Insurer ordered to defend negligence claim, after insured sold and vacated property

A recent Ontario Superior Court decision suggests that, depending on the wording of a policy and what is alleged, an insurer may be obliged to defend insureds who have made misrepresentations with respect to the sale of an item — including realty, said Michael Teitelbaum, a senior partner at Hughes Amys LLP.Teitelbaum made the observation […]

2 min read

Nova Scotia driver allowed to keep new license 20 years after his old license suspended for drunk driving: Appeal Court

Nova Scotia’s Court of Appeal has ruled that the motor vehicle registrar was wrong to revoke the licence of a drunk driver 20 years after his license had been suspended, and then he obtained a new license under a changed name. Roughly 20 years ago, Charles Burnell, as a result of alcohol-related convictions, lost his […]

2 min read