Articles of Interest
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ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE FACT CHECK 
The real problem with Ontario auto insurance is excessive claims costs. There are legitimate auto accident victims who need compensation in order to return to their pre-accident life. But then there are those who defraud or abuse insurance accident benefits. If illegitimate claims costs go down, premiums will follow. It has started to happen already.
May 18, 2012
Insurers allege clinics stole signatures to bill
Four insurers have sued a Toronto doctor and operators of six clinics and assessment centres for a total of $1.7 million, alleging they used digital signatures of 11 doctors without their consent to bill for services they did not provide.
April 21, 2011
Criminal charges may rise due to cell phone laws
Three white crosses still mark where Charles Manty became an unlikely criminal. He was convicted of dangerous driving for becoming distracted, missing warning signs and colliding with another vehicle at a Manitoba intersection, causing three deaths. Now, evidence of cell phone use prior to fatal collisions could be used to convict motorists of dangerous driving, a criminal offence.
April 11, 2011
Ontario actions to combat fraud please insurers
Insurers were pleased Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced plans in his budget to arm insurers with new tools to combat fraud, days after Superintendent of Financial Services Philip Howell signaled the government will back insurers who stand firm against attempts to circumvent the province’s regulations and price-cap for treatment of minor injuries.
April 1, 2011
New billing system to help track soaring auto injury costs
Anyone treating injuries from Ontario vehicle collisions must now send reports and bills to auto insurers via the new Health Claims for Auto Insurance system. Data on injuries and treatments is to be analysed, with patients' identities protected.
February 3, 2011
Driver is certain his car crash was a set-up
Michael Malcolm came upon three cars stopped near a mall entrance. He hesitated, but the driver of the first car waved him to turn left. The all three raced forward. “I knew I got hustled,” he fumed after one car struck his new BMW.
November 26, 2010
How a scratched van became a $150,000 bill
Lawyer Ian Kirby successfully sued a Hamilton driver and two passengers who won a hefty claim for injuries from Waterloo Insurance after they scraped a van in a parking lot in 2000. They now face a bill for $150,000.
November 12, 2010
Toilet hose column sent readers scurrying
A column on defective toilet hoses that James Daw wrote for the Toronto Star prompted a number of readers to inspect their own homes, and ask for more information about what are formally called flexible stainless braided risers.
July 10, 2010
Flooding from cheap toilet hoses prompts court battles
Forensic engineers report defective water hoses under toilets have caused extensive water damage to homes. They urge installers to use only certified hoses, and to never tighten the polymer attachment nuts with a wrench.
June 24, 2010
Why GTA car insurance rates can give you whiplash
Two Ford Econoline vans suffered similar damage when bumped from behind. But the difference in the cost of injury claims and medical assessments between Toronto and London, ON, was more than $50,000. Insurers say that has been quite typical, although new limits on spending on minor injury effective Sept. 1, 2010, may help.
October 3, 2009
Ten injury claims show difference between Toronto and
other cities
A major insurer supplied details of 10 auto insurance claims to illustrate the sort of requests for treatment and benefits that are received in Toronto, compared with in the rest of the province. The cases were selected for illustration purposes only, and were not chosen randomly by an independent researcher.
October 3, 2009
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