Since the financial crisis in 2008, the insurance industry has seemed transfixed, even paralysed at times by regulation-anxiety. The dash to introduce Solvency II; an expensive sprint to a finish-line, ultimately stretched by the EU rule makers, led to some rancorous exchanges between insurance leaders and those setting the policy as the full implications of […]
Read more →A surprise majority for the Liberals in the recent election is expected to set a different tone in Queen’s Park after almost 3 years of minority government. A minority government is all about survival, there is no long-term planning. The Liberals…
Read more →There has been much discussion about the introduction of vehicle telematics to the Canadian insurance marketplace. The idea of usage-based insurance (UBI) is that a driver’s behaviour is monitored in real time while the person drives. This information is then…
Read more →On July 1, 2014, the first phase of a federal law called Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) comes into force. Intended to protect consumers from unwanted electronic commercial solicitation in their email inboxes, social media feeds and instant messaging accounts, CASL…
Read more →The licensing process for auto insurance service providers, first recommended by the Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force in 2012, has officially begun. As if June 1, the application process was opened up by FSCO. Service providers must be …
Read more →Eight months ago, a Superior Court judge held that the equitable doctrine of laches does not apply to loss transfer claims. Three days ago, another Superior Court judge held that it does apply. And he applied it to bar a…
Read more →The policy platforms for the major parties in the Ontario provincial elections are out. Here is what you can expect from each of the parties with respect to auto insurance if they should win the election.
Read more →In a 2-1 split, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has allowed an insurer’s appeal of a priority dispute case deciding whether any insurer of any kind, or only “motor vehicle liability insurers”, are obliged to pay accident benefits pending…
Read more →In Niedermeyer v. Charlton, 2014 BCCA 165, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, by a 2-1 majority, reversed the summary trial decision that had found a Release and Waiver Agreement barred the plaintiff from suing for injuries sustained in a motor…
Read more →When Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor David Onley granted Premier Kathleen Wynne’s request to dissolve the legislature, it wasn’t only the proposed budget that was put to the sword. Work also stopped on a key piece of legislation designed to reduce automobile…
Read more →The 2014 Ontario Budget outlined a number of commitments, however many are initiatives that have been previously been announced.
Read more →The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has come out in favour of Bill 171, the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act. The IBAO’s position, as quoted in their press release, is that unless Bill 171 is passed…
Read more →FSCO has released a draft Statement of Priorities for 2014 and invites stakeholders to submit comments on the proposed priorities and initiatives by May 30, 2014. The draft is loaded with auto insurance initiatives which reflects the high level of activity on this file by the government over the past few years.
Read more →In Lavoie v. T.A. McGill Mortgage Services Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal in a decision released on April 3rd, 2014, upheld the dismissal of this action against Echelon, the professional liability insurer of a mortgage broker, T.A. McGill Mortgage…
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