Category: Insurance Company Tactics
Did you hear the story of Samuel Archibald? He’s a Canadian author who made headlines when he went public after his disability claim for depression was denied because the insurer said photos he’d posted on Instagram and other social media sites showed he looked active, in shape and happy. Unfortunately, as Mr. Archibald discovered when […]
The Toronto Sun newspaper recently reported on a case in which an auto insurer had used particularly aggressive tactics to defend a claim brought by a young woman who had endured catastrophic injuries during a rear-end vehicle collision when she was only 17 years old. As described in the Sun article, the arbitration lasted 16 […]
For those who have been involved in a motor vehicle accident and are dealing with an insurer, it may be reassuring to know that under Canadian law, an insurer has a legally-established duty of “good faith” towards its insured. This is because the relationship between an insurer and the insured is determined and governed by […]
An important recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal highlights a vital fact for insured persons, namely that an insurer that has denied or discontinued benefits is under no legal obligation to advise the insured of the firm statutory deadline for appealing that decision. The facts of the case involved a self-employed eavestrough installer […]
Would an insurance company be so driven to deny benefits to an injured person that they would spend more on medical assessments than on actual injury compensation? It sounds too ludicrous to be true. And yet, a recent and revealing article in the National Post summarizes an Insurance Bureau of Canada report that says yes, […]
It certainly sounds odd, but “hot tubbing” — as the term is used in the context of expert evidence — just might be a way to fix Ontario’s broken accident benefits system. Editor Gail Cohen’s recent column in Canadian Lawyer magazine explains the concept of “hot tubbing” as it is used in relation to personal […]
The legal and insurance worlds are abuzz with a recent decision of the BC Supreme Court. In the decision Arsenovski v. Bodin, 2016 BCSC 359, an adjuster with BC’s provincial auto insurer (ICBC) wrongfully accused a new immigrant — who had limited English skills and no real understanding of the auto insurance system — of […]
Saying that the Ontario auto insurance system is in crisis, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association recently called on the provincial government to “establish a commission to conduct a public inquiry to examine the current state of independent medical assessments of injured auto accident victims.” In the above video clip, see OTLA President Maia Bent presenting […]
If you have been injured and advance an insurance claim, there is a good chance that your insurer will ask you to attend a medical examination with a doctor or specialist of their choosing. These exams are known as IMEs (Independent Medical Examinations). However, the term “independent” is misleading, the exam is arranged and paid […]