You are here

British Columbia Insurance Law Book: Table of Contents

Go to the Table of Contents

This book was written by Michael Dew, a Vancouver lawyer who practices civil litigation, including representing persons who have been denied coverage under property insurance policies, or liability insurance policies. If you have been denied insurance coverage and require assistance with making a claim against your insurer call Michael at 604 895 3160.

Fri, 2015-04-03 21:11 — Admin1

Key features of British Columbia Insurance Legislation

The British Columbia Insurance Act

Statutory conditions

Limitation and notice periods for insurance claims in British Columbia

Relief from forfeiture of British Columbia Insurance Claims

Accident or mistake: a fundamental requirement for an insurable loss

Requirement for an accident / fortuity in British Columbia insurance claims

Definition of “accident”

Avoidable events may still be accidents for insurance purposes

Courting the risk in the insurance law context

Cause of accident need not be unusual

Defective construction work may be an accident

Accident can take a long time to unfold

Cases considering the issue of accident

Basic structure of insurance policies: coverage, exclusions, and exceptions

Order of interpretation: coverage, exclusions, exceptions

Interpreting coverage provisions

Interpretation of exclusion clauses

Exceptions to exclusions in insurance contracts

Endorsements / riders to insurance policies

Occurrence based v. claims made insurance policies

Overview of the difference between occurrence based and claims made insurance policies

Vulnerability of insured when insured on claims made basis

When is a claim “made” under a claims made insurance policy

Claims made and reported insurance policies

Additional damages on claim previously made under a claims made insurance policy

Deductibles and self-insured retentions under insurance policies

Contractual interpretation: rules to be applied to insurance policies

Overview of contractual interpretation principles that apply to insurance policies

Ordinary rules of contractual interpretation apply to insurance contracts

Insurance policy terms must be in writing

Ambiguity in insurance contracts

Intent of the parties and commercially reasonable expectation

Rule regarding consideration of the reasonable expectation of the parties

What do reasonable insureds expect

Rule of interpreting similar insurance policies consistently

Avoid windfalls and other commercially unrealistic results when interpreting insurance contracts

Contra proferentem rule applied to insurance contracts

Read coverage clauses broadly, exclusion clauses narrowly

Assorted issues regarding interpretation of insurance contracts

Good faith obligations in insurance contracts

False or incomplete statements by insureds

Principle of illegality in relation to insurance contracts

Material change in risk under insurance policies

Indemnity and non-indemnity insurance

Glossary of insurance terms