Extraterritorial Application Of Insurance Act? ONCA Is Having None Of It

• Published date: 18 June 2020
• Author: Ms Julianne Brimfield
• Law Firm: Strigberger Brown Armstrong LLP

This priority dispute/coverage case has an unusual set of facts. The claimant was involved in a single vehicle accident in Nunavut while working in Nunavut. The vehicle she was driving at the time was owned and insured in Nunavut. However, the claimant was from Ontario and had a policy of insurance in Ontario. As allowed under her Ontario policy, she claimed Ontario benefits from her own insurer, CAA. CAA commenced payment of benefits and commenced a priority dispute in Ontario against Travelers, the insurer of the Nunavut vehicle.

The arbitrator released a decision concluding that Travelers was the priority insurer and was required to pay Ontario-level accident benefits to the claimant, because it was an...