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Winter 2012 issue of the Expert Witness newsletter (volume 16, issue 1)
Contents: In every personal injury or fatal accident case in which the plaintiff’s loss continues into the future, it is necessary to calculate the rate of interest at which the damages will be invested. This interest rate is commonly called the discount rate. In this issue of the Expert Witness, we provide two articles concerning… Continue reading
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Implied Rates of Return on Structured Settlements
In this article, Derek Aldridge and Christopher Bruce contrast our recommended discount rates with those used by one important set of sophisticated investors, the insurance companies who write structured settlements. They find that our recommended rates are greater than those being offered by these companies, suggesting that our rates may be too high. Continue reading
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The Discount Rate Simplified
In this article, which was written collaboratively by Christopher Bruce, Laura Weir, Kelly Rathje, and Derek Aldridge, we begin by setting out a number of criteria that we believe should be met when selecting the discount rate. We ultimately conclude that a portfolio of Government of Canada bonds of varying maturity dates meets our criteria.… Continue reading
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Autumn 2011 issue of the Expert Witness newsletter (volume 15, issue 1)
Contents: In 1999 and 2005, Economica conducted surveys of the cost of providing various household services, such as cooking, cleaning, yard work, and child care. As the results from those surveys have come to be widely accepted by the courts and by other experts in the personal injury field, we felt that it would be… Continue reading
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The Cost of Household Services, Alberta, 2010: A Survey
Perhaps the most important difference between this survey and the previous two is that whereas the 1999 and 2005 surveys were conducted primarily using telephone and newspapers, the 2010 survey relied almost exclusively on the internet – either Kijiji and Craigslist or agencies’ websites. We found that, with respect to most of the services that… Continue reading
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Factors that Influence Retirement
In this article, Derek Aldridge summarises recent research from Statistics Canada concerning factors that influence retirement. He finds support for an assumption that is often made in expert reports: that a plaintiff with substantial residual deficits will likely retire earlier than he or she would have in the absence of the accident. Continue reading
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Summer 2009 issue of the Expert Witness newsletter (volume 14, issue 1)
Contents: Alternatives to the Minor Injury Regulation by Christopher Bruce In our first article, Alternatives to the Minor Injury Regulation, Chris Bruce identifies numerous alternative policies that could reduce automobile insurance premiums, not by reducing benefits, but by reducing the incidence and severity of automobile accidents. Testifying in Singapore by Derek Aldridge In the second… Continue reading
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Testifying in Singapore
In the second article, Derek Aldridge discusses his experience testifying in a personal injury matter in Singapore earlier this year. Continue reading
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Alternatives to the Minor Injury Regulation
In our first article, Alternatives to the Minor Injury Regulation, Chris Bruce identifies numerous alternative policies that could reduce automobile insurance premiums, not by reducing benefits, but by reducing the incidence and severity of automobile accidents. Continue reading
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Winter 2008 issue of the Expert Witness newsletter (volume 13, issue 2)
Contents: Premiums, Profits, and Costs of Business in Alberta’s Automobile Insurance Industry, 1996-2006 by Christopher Bruce and Jason Strauss In February 2008, Economica was retained by the Canadian Bar Association to prepare a series of reports on automobile insurance premiums in five provinces: Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. We have… Continue reading