The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Stewart v. Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Co., 2024 ONCA 730 (“Stewart v. Bay of Quinte”), offers insights into the responsibilities of insurers, particularly in assessing the value of lost property, and managing risk.
Stewart v. Bay of Quinte arose out of a dispute with respect to the coverage of a property and its contents that were severely damaged in a fire. The respondent, the Estate of Mr. Dennis Lynch, claimed that the Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Co. (“Bay of Quinte”) had negligently under-insured the property and its contents.
One of salient issues on appeal concerned whether the court has jurisdiction to evaluate the value of the lost personal property even where the appraisal process set out in s. 128 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. 1-8 (the “Act”) is not followed.
The Court of Appeal decided that the failure by Mr. Lynch to comply with the statutory requirements did not amount to prejudice to Bay of Quinte, or impact its approach to litigation. Therefore, the circumstances warranted a discretionary approach to assessing the value of lost property and the statutory requirements therein. The appeal was dismissed.
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