An expired medical certificate may preclude entitlement to life insurance proceeds for a pilot killed in a plane crash

21. March 2012 0

Decision by insurer to deny payment on a life insurance policy following the death of the insured in a plane crash based on an exclusion clause requiring the insured to have the “required licence” to fly upheld because the insured’s medical certificate had expired one year before the accident.

Gudzinski Estate v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Co. Limited, [2012] A.J. No. 5, January 9, 2012, Alberta Court of Appeal, J.E.L. Côté, J. Watson and FF. Slatter JJ.A

The appellant was the estate of a man who accidentally crashed his aircraft and died. He had insurance with the respondent. The insurer did not pay out on the policy on the basis of an exclusion clause. The policy provided that it “applies only if your aircraft is flown by an approved pilot … who has the required license … to fly…”  The deceased had been issued an appropriate pilot’s license, but his medical certificate had expired over a year before the accident. The Court found that the policy did not call for a mere pilot’s license; it required more. It called for “the required license … to fly your aircraft”. The document which the deceased had on the day of the accident was not what he required in order to fly. What he required was a pilot’s license with an up-to-date (unexpired) medical certificate. In the result, the appeal was dismissed.

This case was digested by Cameron B. Elder of Harper Grey LLP.

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