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    Autopilot: Driver Education Disrupted

    December 4, 2015 by

    There have been huge changes in technology for the automobile. Evidence of this is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where car manufacturers including Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Audi dominated last year’s keynote agenda. They boasted their vision of computers as an…

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    insBlogs Auto Legal Legislation / Regulation

    Claimant hits grand slam at FSCO hearings

    December 1, 2015 by

    A November 30, 2015 Law Times article titled “Arbitrator orders rare special award against insurer” reports on an unusual FSCO case between Thomas Waldock and his auto insurer. The case not only highlights the constant risks associated with relying on insurer…

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    insBlogs Auto Business Risks Business Strategy

    Hold ’em or fold ’em?

    November 27, 2015 by

    Not that buying or selling an insurance brokerage is a game of poker, but I am reminded of the song by Kenny Rogers. ‘You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk…

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    The Two-edge Sword of Technology: Disrupting the Disruptors

    November 27, 2015 by

    New technology options offer a rich environment of functionality combined with an engaging user experience. This combination can produce intended and unintended consequences. We believe the winners will be those that can plan for the unknown as well as the…

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    insBlogs Auto Legal

    ONCA Rejects BC Motor Vehicle Accident Claim

    November 26, 2015 by

    A five-member panel of the Court of Appeal for Ontario has released a new decision dealing with out-of-province accidents and conflict of laws issues. In Forsythe v. Westfall, the claimant appellant was an Ontario resident who was insured under an…

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    insBlogs Auto Business Risks Business Strategy Technology

    Have we hit the ceiling for the sale price of insurance brokerages?

    November 23, 2015 by

    According to a report released by Moody’s Investor Service earlier this month, the global market for mergers and acquisitions is at its highest level in many years. The report from Moody’s deals mainly with international insurers and reinsurers, including US…

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    insBlogs Auto

    Random Thoughts: Emotions

    November 16, 2015 by

    Hard to get back to “normal” blogging after seeing the news from Paris over the weekend, so just short today. Thanks to Jean Jullien (@jean_jullien on Twitter) for putting out the image on the left to the public domain. My thoughts go out to the Continue reading

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    insBlogs Auto Legal Legislation / Regulation

    ONCA: No Laches in Loss Transfer

    November 12, 2015 by

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has released a long-awaited decision on whether the equitable doctrine of laches applies to loss transfer matters. The Court held that there is no laches in loss transfer. The doctrine of laches issue arises when…

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    insBlogs Auto Legal

    Birthday Party Fall from Fire Truck not an “accident”

    November 6, 2015 by

    A FSCO arbitrator has ruled that a child who fell off a fire truck at a birthday party was not involved in an automobile “accident”. In Carr v. TD, the five-year-old claimant was attending a birthday party for a classmate…

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    FSCO Mandate Review Undecided on Auto Rate Regulation

    November 5, 2015 by

    The preliminary report by Panel reviewing the mandate of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario (DICO) has been made public by the Ministry of Finance.  Panel members are George Cooke, …

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    Rough road may await Ontario auto insurers

    October 19, 2015 by

    It is fair to say that the profitability of many Canadian insurers is largely influenced by their Ontario automobile results. With this in mind, the industry may be in for a rough ride. Ontario automobile, so often the Canadian property…

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    Ontario Rate Approvals Fall in the Third Quarter

    October 16, 2015 by

    FSCO approved 45 private passenger automobile insurance rate filings during the third quarter of 2015.  A total of 40 insurers submitted the filings.  These 40 insurers represent 77.45 percent of the market based on premium volume.  Appr…

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    FSCO Prepared to Introduce New Minor Injury Protocols

    September 18, 2015 by
    Why is FSCO releasing new treatment protocols?

    In the Superintendent’s report on the Five Year Review released in 2009, a recommendation was made to develop a treatment protocol for minor injuries that reflects current scientific and medical literature.  This recommendation was accepted by the government and confirmed in the 2012 Ontario Budget, which acknowledged that newer scientific and evidence-based approaches can be applied to the treatment of minor injuries resulting from automobile accidents.

    How were the new treatment protocols developed?

    In 2012, Dr. Pierre Côté, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, was awarded a consulting contract to develop the Minor Injury Treatment Protocol (MITP) after an open competitive Request For Proposal process.

    The Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management Collaboration includes a multidisciplinary team of expert clinicians (from medical, dental, physiotherapy, chiropractic, psychological, occupational therapy and nursing disciplines), academics and scientists (epidemiologists, clinical epidemiologists and health economists), a patient liaison, a consumer advocate, a retired judge and automobile insurance industry experts.  I played a small role on the project team.

    Over the 2-year course of the project, the project team drew upon three sources of information concerning traffic injury rehabilitation.

    1.    The team critically reviewed the contents and evidentiary basis of published clinical practice guidelines for the management of traffic injuries.

    2.    They carried out an exhaustive search followed by a rigorous methodological evaluation of the current scientific literature concerning the management of traffic injuries published in peer-reviewed journals in the English language. They screened 234,995 abstracts and conducted in depth reviews of 597 scientific papers. This effort was summarized in 43 new systematic reviews of the literature.

    3.    They also conducted a new study in which they gathered and carefully considered the narratives of Ontarians who have sustained injuries in traffic collisions and received health care.

    The Final Report of the Minor Injury Treatment Protocol Project, titled “Enabling Recovery from Common Traffic Injuries: A Focus on the InjuredPerson” (Final Report) was delivered to FSCO at the end of December 2014

    What does the Final Report recommend?

    The Final Report recommends a new classification of traffic injuries. The natural history of the initial injury is the basis for classification. A Type I injury is likely to recover within days to a few months of the collision; but during the period of recovery the patient may benefit from education, advice, reassurance and time-limited evidence-based clinical care. Type I injuries are the focus of this report. A Type II injury is not likely to undergo spontaneous recovery, and the injured person may require medical, surgical and/or psychiatric/psychological care. Type III injuries are a subset of Type II injuries, that involve permanent catastrophic impairment or disability. The care for Type II and Type III injuries is not covered in this report.

    Persons with Type I injuries should be educated and reassured from the outset that their own inherent healing capacities are likely to lead to a substantial recovery. They should also be informed that only a discrete set of treatments show evidence of any benefit; and that the same evidence shows that benefit is largely on the basis of pain alleviation. Healthcare professionals need to listen to the patient’s concerns and emphasize measures to assist them to cope, recognize and avoid complications.

    The MITP includes clinical prediction rules to screen for patients who may be at higher risk for developing chronic pain and disability. In addition, it focuses on treatment outcomes, and provides health care providers with numerous milestones to measure progress.

    Interventions for Type I injuries should only be provided in accordance with published evidence for effectiveness, including parameters of dosage, duration, and frequency; and within the most appropriate phase. The emphasis during the early phase (0-3 months) should be on education, advice, reassurance, activity and encouragement. Health care professionals should be reassured and encouraged to consider watchful waiting and clinical monitoring as evidence-based therapeutic options during the acute phase. For injured persons requiring therapy, time-limited and evidence-based intervention(s) should be implemented on a shared decision-making basis, an approach that equally applies to patients in the persistent phase (4-6 months).

    Sixteen care pathways have been developed to cover the clinical management of:

    ·         Neck pain and associated disorders

    ·         Soft tissue disorders of the upper extremities

    ·         Temporomandibular disorders

    ·         Mild traumatic brain injuries

    ·         Low back pain

    What’s next?

    FSCO had been conducting a consultation process with stakeholders.  Before any final guidelines can be implemented, the government will need to make changes to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. 

    The complexity of the proposed changes will require a substantial educational initiative.  Clinicians and insurance company claims staff will need to be educated and trained on the recommended care pathways.  In some cases there may be resistance.  In addition, it is advisable that a public education campaign be undertaken to educate the general public on the proper management of soft tissue injuries.  It is not clear who would fund such a significant education campaign.  

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    insBlogs Auto Legal Legislation / Regulation

    More Changes Coming to SABS in June 2016

    September 15, 2015 by

    Published in the K-W OIAA September 2015 Bulletin by Dan Strigberger On August 26, 2015, the Ontario Legislature filed Bill 251/15, which amends the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule in a number of remarkable ways. For the most part, the amendments…

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