Insurance Contracts
By Gary Courtney, Barrister & Solicitor
Providing Information to
Assist Small Businesses
Typically most businesses will have fire
insurance, business interruption insurance, and general liability insurance.
Less common types of insurance include motor vehicle insurance, life insurance
for owners and employees, and disability insurance for owners and employees.
Obviously insurance contracts can be
critical to the life of one’s business, or for yours or your employees well
being. For virtually all of us, the only time insurance policies are gone
through in detail is when a claim is being made. Sometimes the policy will
first be reviewed when the insurance company has denied a claim.
Insurance policies tend to be very long,
very difficult to read and understand, and have a good deal of “fine print”. In
spite of this, these agreements need to be thoroughly reviewed BEFORE one needs
to make a claim. If is important for any business to obtain the advice of a
good insurance broker or agent, with experience in assisting business owners.
If one does not have the time or
inclination to review insurance policies exhaustively, one can lessen the risk
of not obtaining proper coverage by making it clear to the insurance
agent/broker, what kind of insurance coverage is desired, to cover what
eventualities. Your request for advice from the agent/broker should be in
writing, keeping a copy for yourself. In the event that a claim is made for
insurance coverage of the kind you instructed the agent/broker you wanted, and
it turns out that coverage was not provided, it is possible that one
will be able to claim negligence against the agent/broker,
It is good practice to ask the insurance
agent/broker to explain (in writing), the exclusions under the insurance
policies. In the event your claim is later denied for an exclusion that was not
set out, one may be able to successfully claim against the agent/broker,
or insurance company for coverage.
Never give false information, or omit to
provide relevant information to an insurance company. Information that one
fails to mention in an insurance application, often will be grounds for a
denial of coverage when a claim is made.
It is good practice to review the adequacy
of insurance coverage periodically as one’s business grows and changes.
In the event that a claim for insurance is
denied, consult with a lawyer. When one makes a claim on insurance, one becomes
a liability to the insurance company, which liability the insurance company
often attempts to minimize. Sometimes an over zealous insurance adjuster will
interpret terms of the insurance contract in ways that will not stand up if
challenged. It may be that a letter from the lawyer will change the adjusters
decision. Courts generally will interpret provisions of insurance agreements
strictly against the insurance company.
For more information contact Courtney Aarbo
Barristers & Solicitors at 3rd Floor 1131 Kensington Road N.W. , Calgary
Alberta T2N 3P4
Gary C. Courtney
Courtney Aarbo Barristers & Solicitors
