Two consolidated appeals concerning the standard of review applicable to insurance arbitral decisions resolving priority disputes under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS).
The first appeal involved a claimant listed as an excluded driver on his parents' policy who was injured as a passenger in another vehicle.
The second involved a claimant similarly listed as an excluded driver who was injured while driving an uninsured motorcycle.
The central issue was whether excluded drivers could qualify as "insured persons" under the SABS definition and thus trigger priority coverage under their parents' policies.
The Court of Appeal held that the appropriate standard of review for such arbitral decisions is reasonableness, not correctness, and that arbitrators' interpretations of the SABS and insurance policies within their specialized expertise warrant deference.
