It does happen.  And when it does, it’s a major financial migraine for policyholders. During the 2008 financial meltdown, large global powerhouse insurers were brought to their knees, requiring financial assistance from the government to get them off life-support.  (Remember AIG in the US; ING in the Netherlands?) Although the Canadian insurance industry was largely  more...

“Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour…” (Wikipedia definition). In the 21st century, the caution exercised in protecting the rights of others – including not damaging their property or causing them injury (physical, reputational, mental, emotional) – shapes almost every area of life: from owning  more...

With gold hovering around $1700 an oz., a client recently had some jewellery reappraised.  To his surprise, the gold bracelet purchased some years ago for $1,000 was now valued at $5800. To many of us, that is good news: a luxury buy that appreciates in value!  But of course petty thieves and break-and-enter types know  more...

Insurance is an unusual purchase – we buy it hoping to never use it. But insurance on assets and against legal liability provides a degree of financial certainty in the very uncertain, and unpredictable, world of risk. That is best evidenced – and most appreciated – when the unthinkable happens! Every week, we are supporting  more...

For the first time in over 50 years, the private insurance industry in this country is solidly in Canadian hands. With INTACT’s purchase of AXA Canada from AXA’s Paris-based parent in September, 7 of the top 10 general insurers are Canadian-owned and headquartered in this country.  (This list excludes auto insurers owned by provincial governments  more...

Privacy can be defined as the ability to control information about oneself, or being selective about what personal information gets disclosed, and to whom. But too often, privacy protections seem simply to be an excuse for withholding reasonably expected information. Example #1: the National Post reported last month that a scientist leading a government-funded research  more...

Canada’s most frequent re-occurring natural hazard is one to which other parts of the world are now encountering with greater frequency. Flooding. As referenced previously in TheRiskFactor, flooding is particularly painful in Canada because overland flooding is not covered by Canadian homeowners’ insurance policies. Coverage can be purchased for plumbing overflow and sewer-back, and many  more...

Within a few days of the June 15th Stanley Cup riot on the streets of Vancouver, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) made a simple offer to police. In that province – where vehicles are insured through the single government owned and operated monopoly – every driver is identified by their most identifiable feature:  more...

AirBNB, the website that allows people to list their homes for “rent” like hotel rooms, has been in the news lately – for one, because of its monetary valuation of billions of dollars, and second because of what is being called a vacation rental horror story where an AirBNB user’s apartment was ransacked by her  more...

It sounds rather crass – but that question is often what our courts wrestle with when one party is legally liable for injury to another. Questions considered: What degree of medical and attendant care will be required?  What lifestyle changes will this injury necessitate?  How will those closest to the injured party be affected? And  more...