Claims

Fulfilling legal obligation to advise of policy cancellation does not prove insured knew his policy had been cancelled: FSCO

An insurer that has satisfied its legal requirement for policy cancellation has not automatically proven that the insured knew his policy had been cancelled, an Ontario arbitrator has ruled.In Ersin Aksoy and Markel Insurance Company of Canada, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) found Markel had to pay Ersin Aksoy income replacement benefits and […]

By Canadian Underwriter | March 10, 2010

2 min read

Claims

What’s New: In Brief (March 09, 2010)

PartnerRe expects the total insured industry losses from the Feb. 27, 2010 earthquake in Chile to be between $6 billion and $10 billion. The company expects its claims relating to the earthquake to be between $220 million and $320 million.The initial loss estimate is net of reinstatement premium and retrocession. It is based on a […]

By Canadian Underwriter | March 9, 2010

1 min read

Claims

Advocis calls on CCIR for improved implementation of harmonized rules

Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, is calling on the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) to find some way to better harmonize the nation-wide implementation of its regulatory solutions.“There has been much progress on developing, through national organizations, a harmonized approach to regulation and much time and resources are devoted to it,” Advocis […]

By Canadian Underwriter | March 8, 2010

2 min read

Claims

Canadian natural disasters and resultant damages triple in two decades: ICLR report

Natural disasters in Canada and damages arising from them have tripled since the 1980s, according to a comprehensive report published by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).”Canada has had a fair share of natural disasters,” says the 223-page report, Canadians at risk: Our exposure to natural hazards. “Between 1983 and 1987, they cost Canadians […]

By Canadian Underwriter | March 3, 2010

2 min read

What’s New: In Brief (February 26, 2010)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) does not plan to establish standalone, insurance facilities of the type that Royal Bank of Canada is opening.In an interview with Bloomberg Business Week, CIBC CEO Gerald McCaughey is cited as saying CIBC won’t pursue building insurance branches or selling insurance on the Internet as part of its future […]

1 min read

New Brunswick changes law to ban credit scoring in all classes of insurance

New Brunswick is amending its Insurance Act to prohibit the use of credit scoring for underwriting and rating practices in all classes of insurance.“Regulations will prohibit using credit scoring for underwriting and rating of property and casualty insurance, including automobile insurance,” the government announced in a press release. “New Brunswick will become the first province […]

1 min read

What’s New: In Brief (February 23, 2010)

Greenhouse warming will cause the globally averaged intensity of tropical cyclones to shift towards stronger storms, with intensity increases of between 2% and 11% by 2100, says an article published in Nature Geoscience.“Existing modelling studies also consistently project decreases in the globally averaged frequency of tropical cyclones, by 6–34%,” says an abstract of the study, […]

1 min read

AMF reports its monetary penalties represent more than 50% of penalties imposed in Canada

The Autorité des marches financiers (AMF) laid a total of 855 charges in 2009 under the Securities Act and under An Act Respecting the Distribution of Financial Products and Services.The regulator obtained $81.6 million in sanctions, including administrative penalties imposed in connection with the settlement reached in the asset-backed commercial paper matter in December 2009, […]

2 min read

Conservation Area held to less onerous duty of care when skier wandered from trail

When a cross-country skier wanders from a marked trail onto “expansive and otherwise untamed property,” a conservation authority has a less onerous duty of care, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled. In Schneider v. St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Joanne Schneider had taken her family cross-country skiing in a public park in January 2005. […]

2 min read

Lawyer calls for retroactive removal of Nova Scotia cap

Nova Scotia’s $2,500 cap on minor injuries was never necessary and should be removed retroactively, Richard Halpern, an Ontario personal injury lawyer, wrote in a submission to Nova Scotia’s superintendent of insurance.In January, the province’s superintendent of insurance released a discussion paper that questioned the effectiveness and legitimacy of Nova Scotia’s cap on minor injuries. […]

2 min read