Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
It seems the road to more affordable auto insurance once again winds its way through further benefit cuts. Those aren’t the only changes proposed in the 2015 Ontario Budget but it remains an ongoing piece of controlling the cost of Ontario premiu…
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The Supreme Court of Canada has reversed the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Zurich v. Chubb. The claimant was driving a Ford Windstar that she had rented from Wheels4Rent, a car rental agency. On September 23, 2006, she had…
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Bill 53, Protecting Passenger Safety Act, 2015 received second reading this past week and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy.
The bill was introduced to address transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft which have been operating in Toronto since 2012. The bill was introduced by Liberal John Fraser and considered a private member’s bill which rarely get passed. However, there is broad support for the bill and the Conservatives introduced a similar private bill (Bill 51) in December.
Bill 53 if passed would amends the Highway Traffic Act with respect to the offences related to picking up a passenger for the purpose of transporting him or her for compensation without a required licence, permit or authorization in section 39.1 of the Act. The licence or permit may fall under the Public Vehicles Act, an airport authority, the Department of Transport Act (Canada) or a municipal by-law. The bill does not address insurance requirements.
The fine for these offences is increased to a maximum of $30,000. A person who picks up a passenger for the purpose of transporting him or her for compensation without a required licence, permit or authorization also receives three demerit points.
If a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person has committed this offence after having been convicted of the same offence within the preceding five years, the officer shall suspend the driver’s licence and impound his or her motor vehicle for 30 days.
The new insurance study – to be published in June – is coming along nicely. So it’s time for a sneak peek or three over the coming few weeks. Today I’ll start slow by talking about some background etc. We surveyed a bit more than Continue reading
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Just in advance of the Ontario Budget announcements which are expected to include new auto insurance changes, FSCO has released the rate filing approvals for the first quarter of 2015.A total of 39 insurers submitted filings which represents 73.48 perc…
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If you are involved in the auto insurance sector, yesterday was an interesting day. The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association released a study conducted on their behalf by two York University professors suggested that insurance companies make too muc…
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New inspection powers that were included in the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014 come into effect on April 1, 2015.The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 has amended to regulate consumer transactions involving tow and storage…
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I’m featured in the news report below on Uber and insurance.
Mon, Mar 23: Customers who used ride-sharing services like UberX may be at risk if the driver is involved in an accident. As Sean O’Shea reports insurance experts say drivers are violating insurance rules and may be putting themselves and their fares in jeopardy.
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As far back as 2006 – when presenting the Insurance 2020 study – I tended to hear the question “What if Google did insurance?” Well, Google has been doing insurance for about 2 years in the U.K. now, and very recently announced the big launch Continue reading
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The Ontario government has launched a review of the mandates of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario (DICO).The mandate reviews were announced as part of the 2014 Ontario Fall Economic Sta…
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The promise of driverless cars continues to ramp up, with tests on public roads occurring or planned all over the world. I’ve spoken before about the emergence of this technology, specifically on the importance of standards in governing how autonomous…
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Using the family car to drive for Uber carries the potential for serious consequences in terms of inadequate insurance protection. Until the legal issues surrounding Uber’s business model are resolved, it doesn’t appear likely the industry will come up with a solution.
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As an occasional writer, I appreciate good use of language. My collection of favourites includes three sentences used by various telephone customer service representatives. They contain a small lie. But as a wanna-be marketer, I find it really tickles my…
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Joseph Campisi, a Toronto area personal injury laywer has launched a constitutional challenge to Bill 15.
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