Client Update: Auto Insurance – Direct compensation for property damage is coming to PEI
In our May 20, 2014 client update, we reported on significant changes affecting automobile insurance in Prince Edward Island, including changes to no-fault benefits available under section B and changes to the damages cap for minor personal injury. Most of those changes went into effect on October 1, 2014. The final change provides for direct compensation for property damage (“DCPD”), and was recently proclaimed to come into force on October 1, 2015. The amendments to the PEI Insurance Act setting out the DCPD regime can be viewed here.
DCPD entitles an insured to obtain payment directly from his or her own insurer for damage to an automobile. Recovery is based on the insured’s degree of fault, as established under a set of fault determination rules (“Rules”) prescribed by regulation. The Rules provide specific fault determinations for described accident scenarios, and prescribe that:
- the insured’s degree of fault is to be determined without reference to the point of contact between the vehicles, and without reference to circumstances such as weather conditions, road conditions, visibility, or the actions of pedestrians;
- if two Rules apply, and one Rule would result in the insured being 100% at fault and the other would result in the insured not being at fault, the insured is considered to be 50% at fault;
- otherwise, if more than one Rule applies, the Rule that attributes the least degree of fault to the insured is determinative; and
- if the accident is not captured by any of the Rules, or if there is not enough information to determine the degree of fault, fault shall be determined using the ordinary rules of law.
A complete copy of the fault determination Rules can be found in the regulations available here. The Rules for DCPD apply on and after October 1, 2015.
The foregoing is intended for general information only and is not intended as legal advice. If you have any questions, visit our firm website at stewmac.arrdev.ca to contact or learn more about our Prince Edward Island lawyers practicing in the area of Insurance.
Archive
By Brian Tabor, QC and Colin Piercey Bill 81 and Bill 15, receiving Royal Assent in 2013 and 2014 respectively, are due to take effect this month. On June 30, 2017, amendments to the Builders’…
Read MoreNew Brunswick continues to be a thought leader in the field of regulation of recreational cannabis and provides us with a first look at what the provincial regulation of recreational cannabis might look like. New…
Read MoreRick Dunlop and Richard Jordan In Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corporation, 2017 SCC 30, a six-judge majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) confirmed a Tribunal decision which concluded that the dismissal of an…
Read MoreBy Kevin Landry New Brunswick’s Working Group on the Legalization of Cannabis released an interim report on June 20, 2017. It is a huge step forward in the legalization process and the first official look at how legalization…
Read MoreRick Dunlop and Kevin Landry As we explained in The Cannabis Act- Getting into the Weeds, the Cannabis Act introduces a regulatory regime for recreational marijuana in Canada. The regime promises to be complex. The details of legalization will be…
Read MoreOn April 1, 2017, the New Brunswick Lobbyists’ Registration Act was proclaimed into force (the “Act”), requiring active professional consultant or in-house lobbyists to register and file returns with the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of New…
Read MoreJoe Thorne and Jessica Habet How far can an insurer dig into the Plaintiff’s history to defend a claim? And how much information is an insurer entitled to have in order to do so? In English v.…
Read MoreNeil Jacobs, QC, Joe Thorne and Meaghan McCaw The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal recently confirmed that accounting/auditing firms may take on several mandates in respect of companies that may or do become insolvent in Wabush Hotel Limited…
Read MoreJoe Thorne and Brandon Gillespie An independent medical examination (“IME”) is a useful tool for insurers. An IME is an objective assessment of the claimant’s condition for the purpose of evaluating coverage and compensation. Where a…
Read MoreOn June 2, 2017 the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Saadati v. Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28, clarifying the evidence needed to establish mental injury. Neither expert evidence nor a diagnosed psychiatric illness…
Read More