The insurer was required to defend its insured as the policy’s definition of “insured” included an employer’s vicarious liability and would be superfluous if employers were covered only for their own acts or omissions

09. October 2018 0
Insurance law – Professional liability insurance – Duty to defend – Rights and duties of insurer – Interpretation of policy – Practice – Summary judgments Van Huizen v. Trisura Guarantee Insurance Co., [2018] O.J. No. 4188, 2018 ONSC 4828, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, August 10, 2018, P. Hurley J. The insured sought a declaration ...

The Manitoba Public Insurer was required to defend and indemnify its insured for a motor vehicle accident in Ontario despite the insured’s non-payment of premiums and failure to register his vehicle in Ontario prior to the accident

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Third parties – Duty to defend – Limitation of actions – Jurisdiction – Uninsured motorist Harte v. Lavrov, [2018] O.J. No. 3965, 2018 ONSC 4368, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 26, 2018, R.A. Lococo J. A vehicle owned by the insured rear-ended the plaintiff in Ontario. The insured’s ...

The insurer’s conduct amounted to a waiver of the insured’s breach where the insurer defended the claim without a reservation of rights or a non-waiver agreement for three years before denying coverage. Information indicating that the insured was in breach existed and was available to the insurer three years prior to the denial

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Breach of policy – Good faith – Estoppel – Duties and liabilities of insurer – Waiver Bradfield v. Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, [2018] O.J. No. 4072, 2018 ONSC 4477, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 20, 2018, A. Sosna J. This action arose out of ...

Motion by a contractor for coverage under a builder’s risk policy was dismissed because the loss was not an event that occurred during the coverage period as the cause of the loss was distinct from the event of the loss

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Homeowner’s insurance – Builder’s risk policy – Coverage – Water damage – Interpretation of policy – Subrogation – Practice – Summary judgments Maio v. Mer Mechanical Inc., [2018] O.J. No. 3800, 2018 ONSC 4426, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 18, 2018, P.A. Schreck J. The plaintiffs were homeowners who acted as ...

Coverage was granted to a residence employee who was engaged to provide services for the named insureds’ rental business on the insured property when the rental was declared on the policy

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Exclusions – Interpretation of policy – Rights and duties of insurer – Multiple policies – Different insurer Economical Mutual Insurance Co. v Optimum West Insurance Co., [2018] B.C.J. No. 1312, 2018 BCSC 1116, British Columbia Supreme Court, July 5, 2018, G.S. Funt J. Economical insured D. Wong and acknowledged ...

An insured is not entitled to keep all of an advance paid by the insurer when it is subsequently determined that the amount paid was in excess of the loss suffered

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Property insurance – Valuation of property – Actual cash value – Duty to indemnify – Appeals Gore Mutual Insurance Co. v. Carlin, [2018] O.J. No. 3696, 2018 ONCA 628, Ontario Court of Appeal, July 11, 2018, K.N. Feldman, C.W. Hourigan and D.M. Brown JJ.A. The insurer advanced $750,000 to the insured to ...

Although the insured informed the insurer of criminal allegations of sexual assault eight months after becoming aware of the allegations, the notice was sufficient because it was made as soon as practicable based on the information available at the time

11. September 2018 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Notice – Duty to defend – Relief against forfeiture – Interpretation of policy Toronto District School Board v. Ontario School Boards’ Insurance Exchange, [2018] O.J. No. 3689, 2018 ONSC 4198, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, July 11, 2018, C.J. Brown J. The insurer denied coverage to the insured school ...

The title insurer was liable to indemnify the purchaser of a cottage containing latent structural deficiencies which flowed from an inadequate building process and made the home unsafe for occupancy

14. August 2018 0
Insurance law – Title insurance – Exclusions – Coverage – Latent defect Breen v. FCT Insurance Co., [2018] O.J. No. 3260, 2018 ONSC 3644, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, June 14, 2018, M.P. Eberhard J. The insured purchased a cottage in 1999, which had been built years earlier by a previous owner pursuant to a ...

Petitioners providing certain professional services relating to a construction project were held to be insureds under the terms of a professional liability policy, despite not being identified by name in either the policy or the application for insurance

14. August 2018 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Errors and omissions policy – Interpretation of policy – Notice Surespan Structures Ltd. v. Lloyd’s Underwriters, [2018] BCJ No. 1251, 2018 BCSC 1058, British Columbia Supreme Court, June 27, 2018, Winteringham, J. The petitioners, Surespan Structures Ltd. (“Surespan”) and HGS Limited (“HGS”), sought a declaration that they were insureds ...

No reversible error found in motion judge’s refusal to dismiss bad faith claim against insurer on summary judgment application

14. August 2018 0
Insurance law – Bad faith – Rights and duties of insurer – Practice – Summary judgment – Settlement 3746292 Manitoba Ltd. v. Intact Insurance Co., [2018] M.J. No. 128, 2018 MBCA 59, Manitoba Court of Appeal, May 17, 2018, B.M. Hamilton, C.J. Mainella and J.A. Pfuetzner JJ.A. The Manitoba Court of Appeal heard an appeal ...