Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
The Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) begins accepting applications to resolve auto insurance disputes on April 1, 2016. LAT has completed a first round of recruitment for adjudicators and case management staff. Adjudicators are Order-in-Counci…
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The Ontario Superior Court has released its first-ever decision on whether the notorious OPCF 16 (Suspension of Coverage) endorsement form is mandatory when an insured wishes to remove road coverage from their policy. Why would an insured want to remove their road…
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A Superior Court judge has held that an accident victim, who was unlawfully in Canada at the time of the accident, was not a person who “ordinarily resides” in Ontario. In Silva v John Doe, the plaintiff arrived in Canada…
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A Superior Court judge has held (finally) that the $2,000 loss transfer deductible is applied per claimant. Ontario’s loss transfer scheme is found in section 275 of the Insurance Act. Section 275 (1) allows the insurer paying accident benefits to…
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A Superior Court judge has ruled that an identified automobile cannot become unidentified for the purpose of claiming unidentified motorist coverage. In Lambert v Khan, the plaintiff claimed to have suffered very severe and long-lasting whiplash-type injuries in a low…
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The promise to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15% is a failure. In August 2013 the Ontario government announced a two-year rate reduction strategy. What has ensued since that announcement has been a series of reforms to bring down the cost of …
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My recent article in the January 2016 K-W OIAA Bulletin As we look forward to a new year of insurance law excitement, let us reflect on some of the interesting cases and legal developments that impacted the auto insurance industry…
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Ontario consumers and insurers have had many long-standing complaints about the practices of towing operators. Back in 2012, the Auto Insurance Anti-FraudTask Force, created by the Minister of Finance, recommended a number of changes regarding th…
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Who would have thought a year ago that the Ontario Superior Court would have released five decisions in 2015 dealing with prejudgment interest/deductible issues in motor vehicle accident tort cases? My associate Alexandra Wilkins has been keeping track of this issue…
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The Ministry of Finance has posted proposed changes to Insurance Act regulations to provide for the transition the Automobile Insurance Dispute Resolution System from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), and the wind down of disputes filed at FSCO.
Proposed amendments include:
• The last date for submitting applications for mediation, neutral evaluation, or the appointment of an arbitrator to FSCO will be March 31, 2016.
• An application for an appeal to the FSCO Director of Arbitrations will only be accepted where the application for the appointment of an arbitrator was received by March 31, 2016.
• As well, an applications for a variation or revocation to the FSCO Director of Arbitrations will only be accepted where the application for the appointment of an arbitrator was received by March 31, 2016.
• The Office of the Director of Arbitrations will continue to function until all notices of appeal and all applications for variation or revocation have been finally determined.
• Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) provisions that apply to the dispute resolution process at FSCO will continue to apply, as they read on March 31, 2016, to all applications that were received by FSCO before the transition date but are not finally determined before that date. The SABS will also be amended, where necessary, to apply to applications filed at the LAT on or after April 1, 2016.
A November 30, 2015 Law Times article titled “Arbitrator orders rare special award against insurer” reports on an unusual FSCO case between Thomas Waldock and his auto insurer. The case not only highlights the constant risks associated with relying on insurer…
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A five-member panel of the Court of Appeal for Ontario has released a new decision dealing with out-of-province accidents and conflict of laws issues. In Forsythe v. Westfall, the claimant appellant was an Ontario resident who was insured under an…
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According to a report released by Moody’s Investor Service earlier this month, the global market for mergers and acquisitions is at its highest level in many years. The report from Moody’s deals mainly with international insurers and reinsurers, including US…
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The Ontario Court of Appeal has released a long-awaited decision on whether the equitable doctrine of laches applies to loss transfer matters. The Court held that there is no laches in loss transfer. The doctrine of laches issue arises when…
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