Economics and the Law
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Premiums, Profits, and Costs of Business in Alberta’s Automobile Insurance Industry, 1996-2006
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 now completed this work, having prepared two reports on Alberta and one on each of the other four provinces.… Continue reading
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Fatal Accident Calculations Under the New Legislation
In this article Kelly Rathje discusses the treatment of survivor pension benefits in fatal auto accidents, in light of the new rules defined by Alberta’s Insurance Amendment Act. Continue reading
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The Impact of the “Net Income” Provisions of the Insurance Amendment Act, 2003
The article examines the implications of the changes to section 626.1 of the Insurance Act that were introduced in The Insurance Amendment Act, 2003. Dr. Bruce argues that these changes will: (i) require that income taxes be calculated for every year of both the with-accident and without-accident income streams in all personal injury cases; and… Continue reading
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How are Automobile Insurance Premiums Determined?
In this article Christopher Bruce Christopher Bruce provides a brief introduction to the process by which automobile insurance premiums are determined. He discusses actuarial rating, rating classes, and experience rating. Continue reading
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Experience-Rating of Automobile Insurance: A Good Idea that Won’t Work
In this article Christopher Bruce identifies some of the weaknesses of legislation that requires automobile insurance companies to use “experience rating” – a system in which the only factor that determines your premiums is your driving record. Continue reading
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Assessment of damages in wrongful birth cases
Gerald Robertson is a Professor of Law at the University of Alberta, and a practising barrister and solicitor in the areas of civil litigation and personal injury. He is co-author of Legal Liability of Doctors and Hospitals in Canada (3rd ed.). He is also a director of the Robertson Personal Injury Newsletter, an on-line weekly… Continue reading
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Duty to Care for Orphaned Minors
In this article Christopher Bruce considers cases in which the courts have been asked to calculate the loss of dependency of orphaned minors – who have been taken into the care of close relatives. The important issue that is raised by this arrangement is whether the expenditures incurred by the surrogate parents should be set… Continue reading
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The awarding of costs and payment of legal fees in a case brought before the Court: is there a potential injustice?
This article shows that there may be a potential injustice due to the tax treatment of an employee-plaintiff versus a corporate-defendant. We show that the costs imposed on a losing employee-plaintiff impose a greater burden than the same level of costs imposed on a losing corporate defendant. This is because the employee-plaintiff must such pay… Continue reading
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Destruction of evidence
In this article Christopher Bruce discusses situations in which information required to establish negligence remains in the possession of one of the parties. In the absence of any penalties, a party who believes that this evidence may suggest that he or she should be held liable will have an incentive to destroy the evidence. The… Continue reading
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No-Fault Automobile Insurance
In this article Christopher Bruce and Angela Tu Weissenberger respond to a recent paper which recommends that Alberta adopt a no-fault automobile insurance system. In their response, Dr. Bruce and Ms. Tu Weissenberger examine the deterrent effect of tort rules; the high cost of no-fault insurance systems; arguments concerning the role of lawyers; evidence concerning… Continue reading