Criminal activity was not material to life insurance risk

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Life insurance – Criminal offences – Misrepresentation in obtaining insurance – Material change in risk – Damages – Costs in lieu of punitive damages Watson Estate v RBC Life Insurance Co of Canada, [2021] O.J. No. 4127, 2021 ONSC 5305, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 30, 2021, R.J. Mandhane J. The ...

Duty to defend for property damage claim less than deductible

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Wrap up policies – Duty to defend – Interpretation of policy – Deductible Distillery S.E. Development Corp. v. Temple Insurance Company, [2021] O.J. No. 1535, 2021 ONSC 1908, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, March 23, 2021, P.M. Perell J. The insureds were the developer and a subcontractor involved in ...

No material change prior to complete fire loss

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Homeowner’s insurance – Material change in risk – Relief against forfeiture Dubroy v. Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Co., [2021] B.C.J. No. 402, 2021 BCSC 352, British Columbia Supreme Court, March 3, 2021, L. Marchand J. On January 20, 2019, a home owned by the insured was destroyed by fire. In May 2016, ...

The tort of intrusion upon seclusion is not accidental

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Occurrence – Derivative claims – Interpretation of policy – Exclusions – Duty to defend – Intentional torts – Practice – Summary judgments Demme v. Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada, [2021] O.J. No. 1413, 2021 ONSC 2095, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, March 10, 2021, W.S. Chalmers J. The insured ...

Accident benefits to the detriment of the insured

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Deductible – Future benefits Rix v. Koch, [2021] B.C.J. No. 1710, 2021 BCSC 1526, British Columbia Supreme Court, August 5, 2021, D. MacDonald J. Following trial in a motor-vehicle claim, the defendants applied post-trial to make deductions to the cost of future care award ...

Slippery slope not expected or intended

14. September 2021 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Public entity – Duty to defend – Property damage – Occurrence – Exclusions AIG Insurance Co. of Canada v. Lloyd’s Underwriters, [2021] O.J. No. 4339, 2021 ONSC 5372, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, August 4, 2021, W. Black J. The insured city was sued by homeowners for slope degradation ...

Court of Appeal finds ordinary meaning of “sudden and accidental” in insurance policy to be something that was “abrupt, unexpected and unintentional” and not bound by temporal constraints

10. August 2021 0
Insurance law – Property insurance – Remediation – Exclusions – Interpretation of policy – Practice – Appeals Zurich Insurance Co. v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), [2021] N.S.J. No. 240, 2021 NSCA 43, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, June 3, 2021, M.J. Wood C.J.N.S., P. Bryson and A.S. Derrick JJ.A. The Halifax Regional Municipality discovered hydrocarbon contamination ...

Insurer found to have breached duty of utmost good faith by volunteering information from insured’s statement to the police

10. August 2021 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Good faith – Statutory provisions – Damages – Punitive damages – Duties and liabilities of insurer – Actions – Criminal acts Barata v. Intact Insurance Co., [2021] A.J. No. 736, 2021 ABQB 419, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, May 28, 2021, G.S. Dunlop J. The insured sought damages from ...