Multiple vehicle collisions are all too common.  But a multiple vehicle collision involving a computer driven car…not so much.

A sharp eyed observer saw several cars pulled off the road, evidently having collided.  Recognizing the last in line as Google’s self-driving auto, they were quick to take a photo. 

Ironically, a human was operating the vehicle at the time of the incident. 

And more than one, if memory serves.

Enter the bogus Auto Insurer.

FSCO have advised us that a company doing business under the name of LIMA are taking premiums from drivers, and not placing coverage.

Stands to reason – they have no legal right to operate! 

They are luring drivers with ‘too good to be true’ auto premiums.

And when something seems ‘too good to be true’…follow your instinct, and head for the door.

The best Insurance you can get is through a Provincially licensed and recognized Insurance Broker.  We don’t steer drivers wrong.

But what about LEI for individuals? 

What if:

You were discriminated against in the workplace, or unlawfully dismissed?

Your newly renovated kitchen cabinets are a showcase of shoddy workmanship?

You and your neighbour can’t agree on the fence line?

You purchased a faulty home stereo system, and no one returns your calls?

Your vacation in paradise was a total disaster?

You’re faced with a traffic ticket that you believe was wrongly assessed?

The replacement value of your vehicle is quoted far below what you believe it’s worth?

Your local repair shop does a terrible job and you’re stuck with a bill and a vehicle that still isn’t working properly?

As I keep saying – LEI is affordable – and as with the Business Owners coverage, you get access to 24/7 Legal Advice included with your Policy. 

But that is only one way in which Title Insurance protects a property owner. 

And notice I said Property Owner – not just Homeowner.  There are title challenges in all kinds of real property.

Issues have arisen in the past where a party has purchased a home in good faith, to find out later that a renovation has been done without a permit, and legally they are required to make changes that comply, or even restore the property to its original conditon, at their expense.  And with no way to recover their losses from the former owners. 

Fraud and Forgery are only two areas in which property owners can be exposed.  Also to be considered are matters such as By-Laws, Zoning, Surveys..the list goes on.

Generally speaking, Real Estate Lawyers today, and for the past decade or so, simply include Title Insurance Policies in closing documents.  In fact, they have a duty to inform clients of the availability of such coverage, as well it’s import.  But they don’t have a duty to place the coverage for you, so as in so many other parts of life – so Buyer Beware!  Ask!

And if you currently own a property and don’t know if you have Title Insurance, again – ask!  It can be purchased after the fact. 

First Canadian Title is a highly regarded provider of Title Insurance. They provide an excellent summary of coverages here. 

Employment Disputes
• Legal action is being brought by a former employee who is demanding to be reinstated with retroactive compensation. This employee was fired for cause which
is documented.
• An employee is dismissed from work for being late and missing important meetings.  As a result, she is fired. She commences a wrongful dismissal action alleging discrimination based on her sex and her hearing disability.

Legal Defense
• A shopkeeper performed a citizen’s arrest on a shoplifter and was charged criminally.  General Liability would not respond to legal expenses for criminal charges.
The trial alone would have cost him in the region of $10,000 a day.
• An employee has been sued for allegedly failing to comply with privacy legislation.

Contract Disputes and debt recovery
• The printing company a business employs has printed substandard product and is refusing to honor its quality commitment.
• A customer is refusing to pay their invoices.
• A client incorrectly alleges that a company did not provide all the services agreed upon and so has refused to pay his account.

Statutory License Protection
• A restaurant inspector has cited a restaurant for serving an underage customer and has suspended its operating license.
• The City suspends a bakery’s license because it failed a Health and Safety inspection.

Property Protection
• A neighbor is interfering with the operation of a business by repeatedly parking his vehicles on the property preventing customers from using the lot.
• A sports club rents the second floor of a building. Noxious vapors from the cabinetmaker on the ground floor are turning members away and threatening the sports club’s livelihood.

Bodily Injury
• An employee is injured in the course of carrying out her employment duties and there is no workers’ compensation scheme.
• A sales representative of a company injures himself at a client’s premises while doing a presentation.

Tax Protection
• A company has received a notice of tax audit.
• CRA requires proof from a business of the GST they have paid in a past taxation year.  Briefly, they want corroboration that the input credits are accurate.
• The PST department would like to audit all the invoices of a company to confirm that the correct amount of PST was remitted back to the government.

Life Insurance is only really of benefit when the Insured person dies.  And it isn’t of much benefit to them – only to their loved ones, or any other party they have chosen to name as a Beneficiary.

Life Policies – whether Whole Life, Term, Universal etc. are designed to pay a Death benefit.  The person named on that Policy triggers the payment by their passing.

Critical Illness Insurance, like Disability Insurance is a Living Benefit – the Named Insured actually receives the funds.  In the case of Critical Illness Insurance, a lump sum is paid out upon the diagnosis of a covered condition (stipulated within the policy), if the person claiming survives 30 days or more following the event.  The money can be used as they see fit; for treatment, medication, lifestyle changes such as renovations or moving…really, there are no limits. 

Some Policies include a complete Return of Premium should the Policy Holder survive until 65 without making a claim.  A kind of Retirement Savings, if you will. 

Studies show that we are living longer, and over 1/3 of us will be diagnosed with a Critical Illness in our lifetime.  Imagine the peace of mind knowing that should such an event come to pass, you wouldn’t have to deal with the financial impact along with the life impact?

And that is the real benefit – a Living Benefit enjoyed by the Policy Holder vs. a Benefit only enjoyed by those who survive the Policy Holder.

But don’t be deceived.  Not all CI Policies are the same.  You should talk to a qualified Advisor to learn about the different products and select what is best for you.

By Michael Phillippo

Bill C-45 made it possible for criminal charges to be laid where deemed appropriate – described below:

Bill C-45 added Section 217.1 to the Criminal Code which reads:

"217.1 Every one who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task."

Bill C-45 also added Sections 22.1 and 22.2 to the Criminal Code imposing criminal liability on organizations and its representatives for negligence (22.1) and other offences (22.2).

The implications are considerable; Criminal Acts are specifically excluded from Commercial Coverages.  The solution?  A Legal Expense Insurance policy.  Such Policies will respond to pay the Legal Expenses (defence costs, among other things) arising from a criminal charge under Bill C-45. 

Any claims submitted from the below named service providers after August 8, 2011 will not be honored by Sun Life.  As a public service, Adriatic wishes to inform you so that alternate arrangements can be made by you.

The Facilities are:

• Sarwarmed Medical and Health Clinic (Brampton)
• Conestoga Foot Clinic Inc. (Brampton)
• Dynamic Footcare & Therapy Inc./Happy Feet are Healthy Feet! (Brampton)
• Malton Foot and Ortho Clinic (Mississauga)
• Gore Health Centre (Brampton)
• Dynamic Optical (Brampton)
• Woodbine Foot and Orthotics Clinic Inc. (Toronto)
• Castlemore Optical Inc. (Brampton).

For further information Consumers are advised to contact Sun Life’s Customer Care Centre at 1 (800) 361-6212.

Check back for updates on this continuing investigation.

But which is it: day/month/year, or month/day/year? Or year/month/day?

If you are dealing with issues that are sensitive to dates, then ambiguity is the last thing you can afford. And, when using the standard 2 character numerical values only to describe a date, there are 12 days and 12 months where you can potentially go wrong. And until 2013, 12 years in which you can be unclear!

The smart money is on spelling out the name of the month to eliminate the risk of miscommunication.

And for the record, I wrote this on October 5th, 2010. Not 10/5/10, 05/10/10, nor 10/10/05 – all possible ways of describing the date. 3 ways to go wrong on this one!

Make it right. Wherever you can tighten up on your communication, you reduce the risk of being misunderstood, and the potential problems that arise from it.