A waiver signed by an employee was arguably invalid, as it would be contrary to public policy to allow individuals to contract out of the protection provided by the statutory right of action available to employees not covered by workers compensation

18. March 2016 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Waiver – Statutory provisions – Public policy rule – Employee – definition Fleming v. Massey, [2016] O.J. No. 399, 2016 ONCA 70, Ontario Court of Appeal, January 26, 2016, K.N. Feldman, R.G. Juriansz and D.M. Brown JJ.A. The plaintiff appellant was injured in an accident at a go-kart race ...

A pedestrian who was injured in a hit and run accident was not entitled to coverage under the unidentified automobile provisions of her own automobile policy because she was not an “occupant” of a vehicle at the time she was injured

21. December 2015 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Unidentified motorist – Exclusions Ostrowercha v. Co-Operators General Insurance Co., [2015] A.J. No. 1120, 2015 ABQB 636, Alberta Court of Queens Bench, October 15, 2015, S.M. Sanderman J. The plaintiff suffered catastrophic injuries in a hit-and-run accident that occurred while she was walking through a grassy area that was ...

The deceased and her former common law spouse had given up all claims to each other’s property under a separation agreement. Therefore, the spouse was not entitled to receive the proceeds of a life insurance policy on the deceased’s life, though he had not been removed as the beneficiary.

21. December 2015 0
Insurance law – Life insurance – Beneficiaries – Separation agreements Shiller-Arsenault v. Proudman, [2015] B.C.J. No. 2280, 2015 BCSC 1924, British Columbia Supreme Court, October 21, 2015, W.G. Baker J. This petition action was brought to determine entitlement to the proceeds of a life insurance policy issued by Manufacturer’s Life Insurance Company (“ManuLife”), which Manulife ...

An additional insured under a commercial general liability policy was entitled to a defence in a claim in which the allegations of negligence against it and the named insured were the same

21. December 2015 0
Insurance law – Commercial general liability insurance – Duty to defend – Additional named insured – Subcontractors – Practice – Pleadings – Underlying action Dufferin Construction Co., a Division of Holcim (Canada) Inc. v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance, [2015] O.J. No. 5320, 2015 ONSC 6311, Ontario Supreme Court of Justice, October 13, 2015, C.J. ...

An insurer who agrees to provide coverage for malicious prosecution has effectively contracted out of the fortuity principle and it should not be applied so as to preclude coverage the insurer agreed to provide

21. December 2015 0
Insurance law – Commercial general liability insurance – Duty to defend – Exclusions – Criminal acts – Intentional acts – Malicious prosecution – Defamation – Actions – Abuse of process – Policies and insurance contracts – Statutory provisions Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. The Sovereign General Insurance Company, [2015] O.J. ...

An extra provincial insurer has no express statutory right of subrogation under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act and cannot bring a subrogated claim to recover the amounts it paid to its insureds in respect of a motor vehicle accident occurring in British Columbia

22. September 2015 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Benefits – No-fault coverage – Statutory provisions – Subrogation – Right of insurer to subrogation Middleton v. Heerlein, [2015] B.C.J. No. 1524, 2015 BCSC 1236, British Columbia Supreme Court, July 17, 2015, R. Johnston J. The plaintiffs were US residents who were injured in a motor vehicle accident in ...

An exclusion clause excluding liability coverage for claims arising from bodily injury caused by an intentional act applied to exclude coverage for claims for alleged bullying

22. September 2015 0
Insurance law – Homeowner’s insurance – Interpretation of policy – Duty to defend – Exclusions – Negligent supervision of children – Intentional acts – Criminal acts C.S. v. TD Home and Auto Insurance Co., [2015] O.J. No. 3063, 2015 ONCA 424, Ontario Court of Appeal, June 11, 2015, J.C. MacPherson, E.A. Cronk and E.E. Gillese ...

An exclusion clause which excludes liability coverage for claims arising from failure to take steps to prevent physical, psychological or emotional harassment is clear on its face and excludes coverage for claims in negligence for failure to prevent bullying being perpetrated by the daughter of the insureds

22. September 2015 0
Insurance law – Homeowner’s insurance – Interpretation of policy – Duty to defend – Exclusions – Negligent supervision of children – Intentional acts D.E. v. Unifund Assurance Co., [2015] O.J. No. 3059, 2015 ONCA 423, Ontario Court of Appeal, June 11, 2015, J.C. MacPherson, E.A. Cronk and E.E. Gillese JJ.A The respondents on this appeal ...

The defendant vendor of a fuel oil tank which was alleged to have leaked sought a defence from its insurers under three separate liability insurance policies. One insurer was unable to rely on the limitation period in its policy and was required to provide a defence. The claims did not fall within coverage or were excluded under the two other policies.

19. May 2015 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Commercial general liability insurance – Multiple policies – Apportionment and contribution of claim – Third party claims – Pollution exclusions – Occurrence vs. claims based policy – Triggering event – Product liability – Your product exclusion Daverne v. John Switzer Fuels Ltd., [2015] O. J. No. 1589, 2015 ONSC 1803, ...