Has The Requirement Of Fortuity In Insurance Gone To The Dogs? No, But The Ontario Court Of Appeal Says It Is Inapplicable Where An Insurer Expressly Agrees To Cover Intentional Acts

Insurance is a contractual arrangement providing a guarantee of payment in the event of a specified event or loss. Usually, only fortuitous or contingent losses are covered under a liability insurance policy. A fortuitous loss is one that is neither intentional nor inevitable. The obvious policy concern is that it would not be desirable to encourage people to injure others intentionally by indemnifying them for the civil consequences. As a result of the "fortuity principle", most liability insurance policies exclude coverage for intentional acts.

But does the fortuity principle apply to all liability insurance policies ? This was the issue before the Ontario Court of Appeal in the recent case of Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Sovereign...