Volume 62, Number 4, 1995

FR:

La période de renouvellement des traités de réassurance approche. Elle s’annonce plutôt calme même si les changements survenus depuis 5 ans dans le domaine de la réassurance au Canada sont sans précédent. L’auteur tente de dégager, chiffres à l’appui, certains aspects importants que ces changements ont occasionnés dans le domaine de l’assurance I.A.R.D. Il aborde aussi certaines questions aiguës comme les mouvements de fusion et d’acquisition, la réassurance financière et la nécessité de se doter de solides connaissances techniques pour faire face aux nouveaux défis de l’innovation. Il faudra, selon lui, trouver des solutions et faire preuve non seulement de beaucoup d’imagination, car elle seule pourrait s’avérer insuffisante ; il faudra trouver les bonnes solutions. « The solutions have to work ».

EN:

Mrs. Jobin-Laberge is a well-known author and legal practitioner. We are pleased to publish the speech she gave in Montréal on November 10, 1994, at a seminar organized by Les Éditions Yvon Blais Inc. Mrs. Jobin-Laberge comments on the recent Quebec Superior Court decision, by way of a Motion for a Declaratory Judgment, in the Allstate of Canada v. Royal lnsurance case. This is the first Quebec decision involving serial damages over a long period of time and the determination of the respective obligations of insurers, as primary and excess liability underwriters. While this issue has generared a considerable flow of American and European decisions, the "multiple trigger theory" had until now been untouched in Quebec. The Court studied the American decisions with caution and reserve in a Canadian context. The primary policy in force for the one-year period from December 31, 1979 to December 31, 1980 was found to be the sole primary policy engaging the responsibility of the insurer. Consequently, the applicable excess policy is the one issued for the period from April 30, 1980 to April 30, 1981.

EN:

The debate is heating up. Does exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) present health risks? In the United States and Canada, there is a growing body of literature and studies that point to the dangers of EMF, while certain parties argue that the findings are inconclusive. This article presents an overview of the EMF controversy and its impact on the insurance and reinsurance industry.

EN:

The following paper was presented by l'Association des intermédiaires en assurance de personnes du Québec before the Senate Banking Committee on September 28, 1994. Mr. Guy Duhaime, President of the Association, describes the mandate of the AIAPQ, then highlights some of the consequences resulting from the collapse of Toronto-based Confederation, the country' s biggest-ever insurance company failure. New rules are needed for the legitimate protection of insureds. These include, maintaining the link between the insured and the intermediaries after settlement in bankruptcy proceedings and restricting the selling of insurance by banking institutions except when such institutions are subject to the same rules as insurance intermediaries.

EN:

The Bureau has two main objectives: to prevent insurance crime by providing underwriters with loss information that will help evaluate poor risks; to help claims personnel and independent adjusters discover attempted fraud before settlements are paid, or alternatively, identify legitimate daims quickly so that payment may be made.

EN:

Professor Didier Lluelles examines two enigmatic insurance provisions introduced in the new Quebec Civil Code: the disappearance of the term "reasonable insurer" contained in the previous Code, but which does not appear in the new one and the ambiguity of the new article 2466, paragraph 1, on any change in the policy period "that increases the risks stipulated in the policy and that results from events within his (the insured's) control". He also discusses innovations regarding the designation of a beneficiary (article 2447 paragraph 2) and the non-application of the rules respecting representation with respect to insurance matters (article 2456).