Does Ontario’s priority dispute scheme apply to an Ontario licensed insurer who issued a policy in Alberta — when their insured is involved in an accident in Ontario?
Priority Disputes
Why Foreign Insurers Must Comply with Ontario’s Priority Dispute Scheme
Sometimes people who are not residents of Ontario decide that they want to visit Ontario. In many cases, these visitors have their own auto insurance policies in their home jurisdiction, and many times their insurers do not conduct business in Ontario. Unfortunately,...
Pinned – Priority Disputes 101: Help!
It’s a Friday afternoon before a long weekend, of course, and you’ve just received a potential SABS priority dispute. A new Application for Accident Benefits arrives on your desk and the claimant alleges that she was in your insured’s vehicle at the time of the...
Priority Disputes 101: Reflection on Deflection
In our first article in the Priority Disputes Series, I provided an overview of Ontario’s accident benefit priority dispute scheme and the process necessary to pursue and dispute priority. To recap: The priority pecking order is found in subsections 268 (2) to (5.2)...
Priority Disputes 101: Notice in 90
Years ago, I had a file where my client received a priority dispute notice. It was for a catastrophic accident benefits claim involving a 26-year-old who had suffered severe brain injuries. There was little doubt that my client had priority over this claim because he...
Priority Disputes 101: The Claimant
In SABS Priority Disputes 101: Help!, and SABS Priority Disputes 101: Reflection on Deflection, I discussed that the purpose of Ontario's priority dispute scheme is to ensure an injured claimant receives timely benefits despite any priority disputes between insurers....
Priority Disputes 101: Private Arbitration and The Final Frontier
This is the last installment in our SABS Priority Disputes 101 series. I encourage you to read the entire series here: SABS Priority Disputes 101: Help! SABS Priority Disputes 101: Reflection on Deflection SABS Priority Disputes 101: Notice in 90 Priority Disputes...
SCC finds nexus in Zurich v. Chubb
This article was initially posted in April 2015. The Supreme Court of Canada has reversed the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Zurich v. Chubb. The claimant was driving a Ford Windstar that she had rented from Wheels4Rent, a car rental agency. On September 23,...
Priority Insurer Has No Options
NOTE: This article was previously posted in July 2019. The decision was overturned in Continental Casualty Company v. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, 2022 ONCA 188 (CanLII) Can the insurer, who is required to waive reliance on the priority dispute rules and pay...