Christopher Clifford

Following a fatal motor vehicle accident, the deceased's partner and her two children applied for spousal and dependant death benefits.

The insurer initially denied the claims due to insufficient evidence of cohabitation and dependency.

The applicants sought interest on the delayed benefit payments and arbitration expenses.

The arbitrator found that the partner was not entitled to interest because she failed to correct an error in her initial statement regarding the cohabitation date, which prevented the insurer from determining entitlement.

However, the children were awarded interest as the insurer had sufficient evidence of their dependency but delayed payment.

The applicants were also awarded their arbitration expenses, and a further hearing was ordered to determine if a special award was warranted for the delayed payments to the children.

The applicant sought a spousal death benefit following the fatal injury of her partner in a motor vehicle accident.

The insurer denied the benefit, arguing she was not a spouse under the Insurance Act, and paid the benefit amount into court pursuant to section 271 of the Act.

The insurer argued this payment transferred jurisdiction to the Superior Court of Justice, precluding arbitration.

The arbitrator held that section 271 does not interfere with an insured's unfettered right to choose the forum for dispute resolution under section 281.

The applicant was not precluded from proceeding to arbitration, and the request to stay the arbitration was denied.