With the pending arrival of autonomous vehicles, are the insurance industry’s days numbered?
It would seem that way. Self-driving cars have the potential to save lives and save consumers money in premiums – and experts say the industry must change drastically and be creative with its products to survive.
Dr. Angela Mailis is the founder of the Pain and Wellness Centre in Vaughan and the founder and former director of the comprehensive pain program at Toronto Western Hospital. She argues that the provincial crackdown aimed at curbing opioid abuse is making family doctors afraid to prescribe even small amounts of the narcotics, leaving too many patients suffering in pain.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ toronto/ontario-painkiller- drug-doctors-investigation-1. 3835356
Frequently, appointments with people who have sustained a brain injury are not as productive as they could be because both the person with a brain injury as well as the professional are not as prepared as they could be.
http://www.brainline.org/ content/2009/08/ask-the- expert-how-best-to-deal-with- professionals.html
As Canada nears the likely legalization of marijuana for recreational use, a host of issues will impact on users for medical purposes. As a result of growing awareness, more claims from motor vehicle accident victims are likely to be made for this treatment.
Ontario is seeking public input to help inform the design of a basic income pilot, which is an innovative new approach to providing income security.
https://news.ontario.ca/mcss/ en/2016/11/ontario-seeking- input-on-basic-income-pilot. html
https://www.ontario.ca/page/ finding-better-way-basic- income-pilot-project-ontario
We’re launching a pilot project to study how giving people a basic income might reduce poverty and improve health, housing and employment outcomes in Ontario.
Complete the survey below by January 31, 2017 and help us explore new ways to deliver income support across the province.
https://www.ontario.ca/form/ basic-income-pilot-public- survey
A constitutional challenge to Ontario’s auto accident benefits dispute resolution system is scheduled for a three-day hearing next February, but the retired judge who recommended that AB disputes go before a public sector administrative tribunal suggested Wednesday that it would have “seriously undermined” the proposals to reform the system if AB disputes could be brought to court.
Justice Cunningham is himself now wary of his February 2014 recommendation that the province appoint a “public sector administrative tribunal” for SABS disputes and get rid of the court option for MVA victims. He now acknowledges that few of the LAT adjudicators actually have experience resolving AB disputes, saying “Clearly many of my recommendations were not adopted.” “There was a lot of cherry picking that went on here.” WHY IS HE SURPRISED? As an accident victim I certainly am not. And herein lies the problem.
Shop Insurance Canada has criticised the price hike in Ontario auto rates, describing it as a “blow to the province’s quest to lower premium rates,” which will mean increased costs for consumers.
The Court of Appeal recently considered the issue of when interest starts to accrue under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule in situations where there is a disputed catastrophic impairment designation (“CAT”). In Van Galder v Economical, the insurer paid attendant care benefits and housekeeping/home maintenance benefits until the two year mark and stopped at that time based on the fact that the claimant was not catastrophically impaired.