Alberta residents are entitled to the maximum no fault benefits available in Saskatchewan
A resident of Alberta with valid Alberta insurance injured in Saskatchewan is entitled to Saskatchewan total maximum benefits of $5,000,000.
Here is the case citation: Lloyd’s Underwriters v. Ibrahim [2007] S.J. No. 395. Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench. Klebuc C.J.S. (ex officio). July 20, 2007.
Here is a link to the decision.
This case was originally edited by David Pilley.
On July 10, 2006, Ms. Ibrahim, a resident of Alberta, rented a motor vehicle from a rental agency in Alberta and purchased insurance from Lloyd’s Underwriters which included benefit coverage on terms prescribed by the Alberta Standard Automobile Policy S.P.F. No. 1; which notes that:
when an Insured person suffers personal injuries of an accident occurring in a no-fault jurisdiction, the Insurer agrees to pay to the Insured person the amount that would be payable under the applicable laws of no-fault jurisdiction as if the Insured person were a resident of the no-fault jurisdiction.
No-fault jurisdiction is defined to include Saskatchewan, applicable laws were defined as follows:
when an Insured person suffers personal injuries with respect to a no-fault jurisdiction, the laws in force from time to time cover the system of no-fault automobile insurance in that jurisdiction.
On the date that the Policy came into effect and the date of the accident the limit on Saskatchewan’s no-fault insurance benefits was $500,000. After the accident amendments were made which increased Saskatchewan’s no-fault insurance benefits to $5,000,000. In addition, the legislation directed the Insurer to recalculate benefits owed to insureds using the new insurance scheme. Lloyd’s Underwriters refused to recalculate the benefits owed to Ibrahim under the new scheme.
Ibrahim commenced this Application for a declaration of a recalculation of the benefits owed to her under the new scheme. Klebuc C.J.S. noted that the Alberta Policy defined applicable law as “the laws in force from time to time”, which in his view, specifically contemplated that any law in place in Saskatchewan, at any relevant time, applies to the Alberta Policy, and not the laws that exist on the day the Policy was issued. If Alberta intended to fix the amount of coverage as of the date of the Policy, it should have specifically stated such an intention in the legislation or insurance Policy. Lloyd’s Underwriters was required to recalculate Ibrahim’s entitlement to benefits under Saskatchewan’s new regieme which provided a maximum entitlement of $5,000,000.
