The insured’s property was damaged as a result of the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta on May 3, 2016. The insured’s home was not consumed by the wildfires but was damaged by the fires and the smoke from the fires. The insurer attempted to handle the insured’s claim outside the claims process. After having performed some repairs the insurer determined that no further repairs were required.
The insured retained the services of experts to conduct testing on the interior of the home. With the expert reports in hand the insured asserted a claim in a Proof of Loss for just over $1.5 million. The insurer responded to the claim by rejecting the claim asserted in the Proof of Loss. The insurer offered no additional compensation and put the insured’s entire claim into dispute.
The insurer elected to have the dispute resolved by the Dispute Resolution process. We were retained by the insured. We prepared a file brief with all of the evidence gathered by the policyholder. We attended to a hearing and we were successful in proving the policyholder’s claim to the Umpire. We were awarded 99.99% of the damages as claimed. An award was prepared by the Umpire.
The insurer did not wish to pay the award so they “appealed” the award by making an Application for Judicial Review. The insured was forced to retain counsel to deal with this Application. The insurer lost their application. After that the insurer “appealed” the decision of the Judicial Review and lost. After that the insurer refused to pay the award and the insured eventually came to an agreement to get their claim resolved.