If a “driverless” vehicle with a person at the wheel injures or kills someone, who – or what – is at fault?This is no longer science fiction or a mind experiment. Forecasts project 4.5 million self-driving cars on USA roads by 2035, which could translate to 500 thousand such vehicles in Canada. The Victoria Transportation Policy Institute in BC predicts
Personal injury lawyers should be concerned about the growing market concentration of large auto insurance companies, the largest insurers’ propensity to litigate, and their influence in the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Big insurers keep getting bigger and more litigious About 20 years ago, the top ten property & casualty insurers accounted for approximately 10% of the total
Personal injury plaintiff counsel assessing the merits of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) can find the case complicated if a rented vehicle is involved. Whether the injured person was the driver or passenger in a rented vehicle, or was struck by a rental, raises a host of issues. In Canada, purchasing additional auto insurance from a rental company is not
The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) is a national association of provincial and territorial governments. They recently released two related reports: their Annual Statement on Market Conduct (ASMC) and their Cooperative Fair Treatment of Customers (FTC) Review. These lay out the standards expected of insurance companies in dealing with their customers and provide data on how many insurers are
The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently released their annual fact book. This includes a cross-Canada comparison of auto insurance systems, summarized here plus our update for Alberta. Quebec and Manitoba have government-run pure no-fault insurance regimes, with no right to sue for pain and suffering, nor for economic loss in excess of no-fault benefits. British Columbia’s new no-fault system
Insurance Business Canada recently released the results of a large nation-wide survey of insurance companies and the lawyers they retain. The good news for plaintiff lawyers is that half (47%) of defence lawyers expect more work in the coming year, so you can too. The other half anticipates the same workload as this year; none expect their workload to decrease.
In 2020, Alberta released a report that looked at auto insurance across Canada and in other countries. The panel of three experts recommended a no-fault auto insurance system, like that in British Columbia. This year, Quebec’s Panel of Experts on Automobile Insurance Contributions (Conseil d’experts sur les contributions d’assurance automobile) invited the public to voice their opinions on the amendments
A few years ago, we asked Ontario lawyers about the increasing difficulty of practising personal injury law, given the province’s changes to automobile insurance. Recent changes by the British Columbia and Alberta governments are creating similar problems for plaintiff personal injury lawyers in Western Canada. We interviewed Marc Spivak, a partner at Devry Smith Frank LLP in Toronto, for our
Provincial governments across Canada are constantly looking for ways to reduce auto insurance rates. To do this, they have tried public and private insurance regimes, changed coverage and benefits, or instituted tribunals to streamline legal systems. British Columbia’s latest changes could tempt other provinces to significantly reduce injured plaintiffs’ access to justice. In 2020, BC’s NDP government introduced Bill 11,
We have interviewed many Ontario personal injury lawyers over the years, and there is a strong sense that auto insurance companies are increasingly likely to fight plaintiff claims. In earlier articles, we reported several factors driving this perception, including: Ontario legislative changes over the years allowed insurers to “bully” plaintiffs Adjusters used to be independent but now tend to
