Covid and Business Interruption Insurance
February 20, 2024 By Brian Babcock The Court of Appeal continues to make it difficult to obtain insurance payouts for the COVID pandemic’s effect on your business. THE CASE SIR Corp. v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada is an example that involves a business interruption claim made by a large chain of restaurants forced to […]
Commercial Insurance Is Not All The Same
February 15, 2024 By Jonathon Clark Have you read your commercial general liability policy? Coverages under these policies vary significantly. Unlike auto policies they are not uniform. Even homeowners policies are usually similar. CGLs vary company by company. Even the same company may issue different policies to cover different risks. THE ISSUES The wordings may […]
Buyer Beware: Insurance Coverage and Misrepresentation
December 28, 2023 By Brian Babcock Did you know that even an innocent misrepresentation on an application for insurance can result in a denial of coverage? The result of non-disclosure or misrepresentation may be that the coverage is void. No one buys insurance hoping that will happen. One of the fundamental principles of insurance is […]
The Appraisal Remedy in Insurance Disputes
September 29, 2023 By Brian Babcock If you have a claim for property damage under your insurance policy, a frequent issue is how much the damage is worth – either the value of what was destroyed, the cost of repair, or the residual value of the damaged item. In Ontario, the Insurance Act provides a […]
What is Contributory Negligence?
September 18, 2023 By Brian Babcock What happens when an injured person is partly at fault for their own injury? At one time, historically, any negligence by the injured party (the Plaintiff) and they were totally barred from suing. This was great news for people that left the sidewalks unmaintained or for careless drivers. A […]
The Duty to Report a Claim
August 2, 2023 By Jonathon Clark If you or your business has a potential claim under your insurance policy, you are required to notify your insurer as soon as possible. This is seldom a problem for property insurance claims since you would want to notify the insurer so that they can investigate and write you […]
Taking Trial Dates Seriously
May 19, 2023 By Brian Babcock Getting your pleadings right in a timely fashion is an important, if often neglected, part of managing your lawsuit. If you do not, you may lose your trial date or have your amendment rejected. THE ISSUE The Court of Appeal has provided us with a fresh example in a […]
What Is “Total Disability?”
January 20, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre The phrase “total disability” is used frequently in government benefits and private disability insurance plans. But how do you know whether you, your employee, or a loved one is totally disabled? The first thing to know is that the determination will depend primarily on the particular legislation, plan, regulation, […]
How Much Automobile Liability Coverage Do I Need?
October 14, 2022 By Brian Babcock No matter how often we try to explain to clients or others that insurance brokers are the best people to ask, this is probably the question we get most often about insurance. THE ISSUE If you are at fault in an accident, your personal assets and income may be […]
Check Your Insurance
September 11, 2022 By Brian Babcock If you are like most of us you think about your property insurance – either commercial or personal – once a year upon renewal, if then. THE ISSUE As with any other type of insurance, you need to review your property insurance anytime you have a significant change – […]