The Ontario Rehab Alliance says that a proposed regulatory amendment will create an incentive for insurers to deny benefit claims for everyone.
http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/ora-takes-aim-at-proposed-benefits-changes-182616.aspx
Author Archives: Admin2
FSCO and IMEs – Reducing Fraud through Proactivity
Oakville, ON (Oct. 14, 2014) – As most people involved in personal injury claims are aware, one of the many recommendations of the latest five-year review was to license all Independent Medical Examination companies conducting work for insurance companies. At Benchmark Independent Medical Examinations Inc., we recently went through the FSCO licensing process, and we wanted to comment on our experience and on what a thorough job FSCO is doing.
http://www.insurance-canada.ca/claims/canada/2014/Benchmark-IME-licensing-process-FSCO-1410.php
Petition against Ontario auto insurance reforms
You can find the petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ontariansagainstfsco/
Ontarians Against FSCO Recommendations for Auto Insurance
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s (FSCO)”Report on the Five Year Review of Automobile Insurance”, dated 31 March 2009, has been presented to the Minister of Finance. The Report contains recommendations to “improve the effectiveness and administration” of, among other things, Statutory Accident Benefits (SABS). The SABS are regulations under the Insurance Act, “purchased” with auto insurance policies, governing benefits for income replacement, medical and rehabilitation services, and attendant care. The FSCO recommendations will negatively impact access to rehabilitation for Ontarians injured in auto accidents.
AUTO INSURANCE: Bill 171 l Bill 189
IBAO strongly supports this legislation and is urging the government and all parties to pass Bill 171 as soon as possible.
We’re happy to see the government continue to implement these much needed reforms to fight fraud and lower rates for drivers; the faster fraud can be combatted, the faster premiums can be lowered.
IBAO Response:
The current generous PJI is incenting certain bad actors who are abusing the system to delay dispute resolution as long as possible in order to take advantage of the generous interest rate. This measure alone will save millions of dollars and speed up dispute resolution without affecting a deserving victim’s benefits in any way.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/220786096/Auto-Insurance-l-Bill-171-Bill-189
Driverless car coverage? Forget driver history
What do brokers think should be the most important factor when determining premium point for the driverless car? No one thinks it should be driver history.
http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/driverless-car-coverage-forget-driver-history-182579.aspx
Update On Fraud
t has been nearly two years since Ontario’s Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force delivered its final report to the Liberal government. The task force’s final report was the result of a 16-month review and contained 38 recommendations dealing with fraud prevention, fraud detection, investigation and enforcement, as well as regulatory responsibilities. http://williehandler.blogspot.ca/
B.C. court fees tossed by SCC
The Supreme Court has struck down onerous courtroom user fees in British Columbia, ruling that provinces cannot administer justice in a way that denies Canadians access to the superior courts.
http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=34&number=22&article=2
Disability can and does happen
The article ‘Disability – it can’t happen to me,’ garnered some personal experiences from readers about their own experience of going through the system.
http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/disability-can-and-does-happen-182544.aspx
Lawyer’s correspondence doesn’t meet threshold for incivility: hearing panel
A Law Society of British Columbia hearing panel has found a Surrey lawyer did not act unprofessionally when he wrote a letter calling a paralegal “an uneducated person striving to be what she is not.”
While acting for the plaintiff in a personal injury matter, Thomas Harding received a letter from a paralegal working for opposing counsel regarding an independent medical examination.
While acting for the plaintiff in a personal injury matter, Thomas Harding received a letter from a paralegal working for opposing counsel regarding an independent medical examination.
Harding, who took issue with the choice of doctors for the examination, wrote a colourful letter to the opposing counsel about his wish not to communicate with the paralegal, who had cited case law in her last correspondence with him.
“While it is delightful that you have an uneducated person striving to be what she is not, it is not my job to educate her. A child may dress in her mother’s uniform, but it does not make her a general,” he wrote…………….