British Columbia Insurance Blog : Canada Insurance Lawyer & Attorney : Michael Thomas of Harper Grey Law Firm : British Columbia, Vancouver

The insured homeowner ("Burke") was entitled to indemnification for losses sustained in a fire despite errors in his application for insurance where the court found that the Insurer would have accepted the risk even if it had been aware of the errors on the application form.

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Westridge Construction Ltd. was insured through a commercial general liability policy by a number of insurers over various times. Westridge constructed a swine barn pursuant to a request for tenders issued by Genex Swine Group ("Genex"). The swine barn collapsed, and Westridge was sued by Genex for breach of contract in constructing a faulty swine barn, and for negligently failing to warn Genex about the unsuitability of the materials that were proposed in the construction of the swine barn. The commercial general liability policy clearly excluded damages resulting from the breach of contract, but the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal determined that the allegations in negligence constituted an actionable claim, and that Westridge Construction Ltd. was entitled to a defence under the terms of its commercial general liability policy.

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When an insured car is damaged beyond repair and the insurer elects to take title to the salvage, the insurer is entitled to reduce its payment to its insured by the amount of the deductible in the policy. A five-panel bench of the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned McNaughton Automotive Ltd. v. Co-operators General Insurance Co.(2001), 54 O.R. (3d) 704 (ONCA) on the basis that McNaughton Automotive Ltd. was wrongly decided.

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A clear and unequivocal denial of benefits is a pre-condition for the commencement of the limitation period for disability insurance contracts. A communication by an insurer to an insured that a claim for disability insurance has been denied, but would be reviewed upon the provision of additional medical evidence does not postpone the commencement of the limitation period.

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The Supreme Court of Canada held that the insurer was not entitled to rely on the statutory condition, with respect to material change to risk, to void coverage for loss arising from a fire while the property was vacant. The Court held that the statutory condition was in conflict with the mortgage clause in the policy.

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The Ontario Court of Appeal, in allowing the appeal, held that the Plaintiff’s injuries arose "directly or indirectly" from the use or operation of a motor vehicle, and that the insurer was therefore required to indemnify the Plaintiff for the judgment obtained against the driver of that motor vehicle.

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The British Columbia Court of Appeal held that the landlord (in a subrogated action by its insurer) was precluded by the terms of the lease from advancing a claim for fire damage against the tenant. The landlord had a covenant to insure the property. The tenant, who had contributed premiums to that insurance, was entitled to the benefit of that insurance.

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The Ontario Court of Appeal held that the plaintiffs were not "legally entitled to recover from the owner or driver of an uninsured automobile" because the motor vehicle accident occurred in Quebec, which had a no-fault system.

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