Insurance

Our main practice areas are general corporate / commercial law, commercial litigation, and labour and employment. We have specialty practices in insurance, agribusiness, banking and commercial finance, class actions, corporate finance, insolvency and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, mining and natural resources, and tax.

Insurance defence work is a significant part of our practice. Our firm rarely handles plaintiff files, and our policy is to not act against insurers whom we represent, except in subrogation matters, a dynamic that is understood and accepted in the insurance industry.

MLT Aikins represents general, property, automobile, casualty, life, health, disability, aviation, course or construction, and boiler and machinery insurers. MLT Aikins also has a dedicated area of practice relating to subrogated matters. We assist our clients in the following areas:

• Defending liability claims on behalf of insureds, from catastrophic and complex claims to small court actions
• Professional errors and omissions with respect to all manner of professionals including defence of covered discipline proceedings
• Directors and officers claims
• Complex class actions
• Construction, business interruption, professional malpractice, product liability, premises liability and oil and gas liability claims
• Environmental claims
• Providing coverage opinions on general liability, motor vehicle, commercial property, errors & omissions, directors and officers and manuscript forms of all descriptions
• Policy drafting
• Appeal opinions and conduct of appeals at all levels
• Transportation and cargo claims
• Prosecuting subrogated claims
• Defending insurers against claims for coverage and allegations of bad faith
• Boiler and machinery claims
• Legal opinions on tort and contract liability as well as the impact of new and proposed legislation on claims practices
• Arbitrations involving coverage disputes between multiple insurance policies
• Extensive knowledge of Saskatchewan’s unique no-fault motor vehicle insurance system
• Motor vehicle liability and injury claims defence at all levels of complexity

• Zurich Life Insurance Co. v Branco, 2015 SKCA 71, [2015] 10 WWR 246
• Bautz v. Advantage Credit Union, 2011 SK QB 215, an action for negligence or breach of contract on a disputed insurance policy
• Insurance Company of Pennsylvania et al. v. Global Aerospace, 2010 SKCA 96, an action to determine whether claims for indemnities by co-insurers on a paid out claim were barred by statute or a claim of estoppel
• De Balinhard v. Butler Byers Hail Insurance Ltd., 2010 SK PC 13, disputing insurance coverage relating to hail
• 601260 Saskatchewan Inc. v. ING Insurance Company of Canada, 2008 SK QB 470, a dispute over the interpretation of a commercial insurance contract and duty to defend