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 www.stewartmckelvey.com to contact or learn more about our Prince Edward Island lawyers practicing in the area of Insurance.
Archive
By Sarah Dever Letson, CIPP/C, Meaghan McCaw and Bertina Lou[1] Two decisions earlier this month from the Court of Appeal for British Columbia left open the question as to whether so-called “database defendants” can be held…
Read MoreIn conjunction with our upcoming sponsorship of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce luncheon, featuring the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources the Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, we are pleased to present a Thought Leadership article highlighting…
Read MoreBy Jennifer Taylor & Marina Luro A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision has clarified how to interpret exclusion clauses in sale of goods contracts. The Court in Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v Pine Valley…
Read MoreBy Mark Tector and Tiegan A. Scott Decision On April 3, 2024, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench (“ABKB”) upheld a decision of the Chief of the Commissions and Tribunals (the “CCT Decision”), which held…
Read MoreBy Erin Best, Stephen Penney, Robert Bradley, Megan Kieley1 and Elizabeth Fleet1 Expropriation is a live issue in Canadian courts. The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to broaden the test for constructive expropriation in Annapolis…
Read MoreBy Killian McParland and Sophie Poulos There have been many changes in recent months affecting employers governed by federal labour and employment laws. In September 2024, Stewart McKelvey will be hosting a webinar to review…
Read MoreBy Mark Tector and Annie Gray What’s changing? Currently, workers’ compensation coverage in Nova Scotia applies to only a narrow subset of psychological injuries. Specifically, in Nova Scotia – as in all Atlantic Provinces –…
Read MoreBy Sean Kelly & Michiko Gartshore Professional regulators can incur substantial costs through discipline processes. These costs are often associated with investigations, hearings as well as committee member expenses and are an unfortunate by-product of…
Read MoreBy Christine Pound, ICD.D., Twila Reid, ICD.D., Sarah Dever Letson, CIPP/C, Sheila Mecking, Hilary Newman, and Daniel Roth Introduction The first reports under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the…
Read MoreBy Sheila Mecking and Sarah Dever Letson A recent decision out of the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick,[1] upheld the Municipality of Tantramar’s decision to withhold a Workplace Assessment Report under section 20(1)…
Read More