Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
It was raining in Oakville, but it was nothing worth writing home about, just a normal run-of-the-mill summer storm. But as soon as I crossed the boundary into Burlington, that changed. I was quite amazed at the experience: after a…
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Sitting next to me on a flight last week, a fellow passenger enthusiastically explained his start-up – a new cyber-cloud, he says. A place for consumers to store their sensitive data, he says. So I had to ask, “What happens…
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Two weeks ago, Insurance Thought Leadership (ITL) published an article predicting a surge of merger and acquisition activity in the claims and technology sector. As if on cue, there was an announcement a week later that SCM Insurance Services had…
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HCAI data shows that the majority of claimants see a chiropractor or physiotherapist which is expected since the majority claims are strains and sprains. But as the claims develop, claimants are seeing additional healthcare professionals.
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As a centre of excellence for basement flood risk reduction, ICLR never advises that just a backwater valve will reduce the risk (indeed, we have 20 tips to reduce basement flooding). Yet Canadian insurers have taken to advising insureds to…
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Although as many as 75% of claims are classified as strains and sprain and should fall under the minor injury definition, only a fraction of those claims receive MIG treatment only. A majority of those claims actually receive treatment within the MIG and additional treatment outside the MIG, likely when the MIG funding is used up. However, that is not to day that they are actually “escaping” the minor injury definition and cap. The average cost of treatment for strains and sprains is under $3,000.
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The IBC has now published the standard HCAI reports for the first half of 2014. The document provides over 75 pages of aggregate data collected by HCAI going back to 2011. HCAI was made mandatory on February 1, 2011.
The standard reports are published on an “accident half year” basis. In accident half year statistics, the experience of all claims with accident dates in the same accident half year is grouped together. The accident half years are defined as calendar half years, with January to June being the first half and July to December being the second half for each of the stated years.
The chart below breaks down the percentage of claimants receiving treatment per injury group. The data is further broken down by accident half year and the percentages are based on claims transactions between the accident date and June 30, 2014.
The injury group sizes have remained consistent since the HCAI began collecting data. The data suggests that there doesn’t appear to be any obvious erosion of the minor injury definition. At least 70% of claimants receiving treatment are being diagnosed under strains and sprains which fall under the minor injury definition. The diagnosis does change over time when you look at previous periods in a chart I posted earlier this year. There has been some drifting from strains and sprains to WAD III (PN) and third degree tears (FD). For example, for the first half of 2013, the SS injury group dropped 2.2% between the two reports while the PN and FD groups increased by 1.0% and 0.8%. This may reflect disputed claims and the time it takes to resolve disputes.
Cars changed the world and our cities in the 20th Century by freeing people of the limitations of their geography. People now have the freedom to live, work, shop and travel almost anywhere they want. The car industry has caused suburbs to grow, and made the development of road and highway systems necessary.
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Monk v. Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Co. (Lindsay), [2014] O.J. No. 3509, illustrates the importance of the policy language used. Ontario Superior Court Justice Koke summarily dismissed this action against both the insurer and insurance broker arising from an insurance coverage claim…
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The scientific evidence is overwhelming that humans are changing the climate due to their unbridled use of fossil fuels. Yet despite the scientific consensus (and, yes, there is consensus), there are those that insist on denying that anthropogenic (i.e. human…
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The EF2 tornado that tore through Angus, Ontario June 17 damaged 102 recently built homes in the small community located just west of Barrie. Ten or 11 homes lost their roofs entirely. These homes will have to be razed and…
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The Ontario Budget presented on July 14, 2014 will have little effect on car insurance. The Liberal Party had stated last year that insurance rates must be reduced by 15% but did not indicate how this would be accomplished. They…
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On July 11th, 2014, the Ontario Court of Appeal in O’Byrne v. Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay), dismissed the appeal from the insured’s claim for coverage for fuel oil contamination under an “all-risks” insurance policy. The decision is of interest because of …
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In Amello v. Bluewave Energy Limited Partnership, 2014 ONSC 4040, Ontario Superior Court Justice Perell dealt with a number of issues including, of most interest, a party’s obligation to pay defence costs when it has agreed to include another party as an…
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