Find Lawyers in Toronto, Ontario for Insurance Law
Practice Area Overview
Insurance law is a wide-ranging practice area that involves providing insurers with advice on governance issues, regulatory compliance, and the interpretation and application of insurance policies, as well as representing insurers and their insured before the courts.
Insurance law practitioners generally also provide advice and counsel to a range of other participants in this industry, including agents, brokers, claims adjusters, and reinsurers, on all aspects that are incidental to the market for insurance products and services, whether litigious or not.
Specialists in insurance law must have an in-depth understanding of the statutory and regulatory framework for the industry and the ability to draft and interpret insurance policies, manage complex litigation files, and provide effective advocacy and representation before the courts in a variety of coverage categories, including life and health insurance, liability and professional liability insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, property-casualty insurance (which includes automobile insurance, aviation insurance, boiler and machinery insurance, and builder’s risk insurance), reinsurance, surety and fidelity insurance, credit insurance, legal expenses insurance, as well as in matters of insurance fraud.
The statutes, regulations, and directives of regulatory bodies to which insurers are subject are numerous, complex, and constantly evolving, particularly since the global financial crisis. The consequences of regulatory non-compliance can have a major impact on the financial and operational levels, and in terms of reputational risk. One important facet of insurance law consists of advising insurers on regulatory compliance and providing guidance on strategic decisions to be taken in wide variety of contexts, such as the creation of new insurance products, regulatory inspections, the protection of personal information, and the distribution of financial products and services.
Kevin enjoys practising law and loves the challenges of civil litigation. He has broad experience in all aspects of insurance claims litigation, including personal injury, products liability, property losses, professional negligence, class proceedings, and coverage disputes. He is an expert in handling first-party accident benefits claims and disputes between insurers (loss transfer and priority disputes). Kevin is proud to assist many of the firm’s longstanding clients with tailored, p...
Tim is an experienced litigator recognized by both clients and his peers for his skillful handling of a broad range of insurance claims. Tim works in partnership with his clients, sophisticated litigants who appreciate his talent for quickly analyzing and assessing claims and bringing them to a prompt and fair resolution. He has defended financial advisors, insurance brokers, real estate agents, and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines. He has extensive experience in automobile insura...
Rick Aucoin is a partner at Beard Winter LLP with a wide range of litigation experience before all courts and tribunals. The focus of his practice is civil litigation with an emphasis on property, casualty, tort and negligence cases, commercial insurance, product liability and coverage issues. Rick’s practice also focuses on professional errors with a recent appointment to the preferred counsel list for the defence of lawyers in their professional capacity. Rick has been providing litig...
Shanti has focused on building an insurance defence practice in property and product liability loss, including subrogation work. She has worked extensively on files involving condominium construction. Shanti consistently represents Long Term Care Facilities and nurses providing care to patients at home. She has acted as an Appraiser under s.128 of the Insurance Act. She has extensive experience with professional negligence and enjoys BI tort work. Since being called to the bar, she was worked...
Robert Betts joined the firm in 2008 and has worked for the insurance industry since 2004. His years of experience have provided him with an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by insurers. As a partner in the firm’s Insurance Litigation group, he handles a wide range of civil and commercial litigation with an emphasis on recreational liability, commercial host disputes, occupier’s liability, professional negligence, construction and property claims, product liability and c...
Chris Blom is an experienced insurance litigation lawyer with a practice that concentrates on insurance defence work in connection with both tort and accident benefits cases, including out-of-province and cross-border cases. Chris acts on behalf of insurers in the province of Ontario with respect to claims across Canada and in the United States regarding all aspects of general insurance liability, including motor vehicle accidents, fire loss, construction negligence, CGL claims, occupier&rsqu...
Dominic practises principally in the area of insurance litigation encompassing both coverage and defence matters. A “go-to” counsel for insurers both nationally and internationally, Dominic’s expertise is frequently sought out on large and complex coverage claims. He specializes in advising and representing insurers with respect to commercial general liability, directors’ and officers’ liability and commercial property policies. Dominic has significant experience...
Alex Curry is one of Beard Winter LLP’s managing partners. A civil litigator, Alex practises exclusively in the area of insurance defence litigation. He has a special interest in disability-related matters including claims arising from long-term disability policies (both group and individual), critical illness policies, mortgage life, and life insurance claims. Alex takes a common sense approach to resolving all variety of matters including coverage disputes, statutory accident benefits...
Frank S.M. Devito is a civil litigator and senior partner at Beard Winter LLP, with more than 20 years of insurance defence litigation expertise. Bringing sound advice and a deep understanding of the Canadian insurance industry, Frank has a lengthy track record of successfully defending insurers in relation to various types of claims. These include motor vehicle tort claims, personal injury claims, general liability claims, property/casualty claims, construction claims, contractor liability c...
Thomasina’s litigation practice focuses on defending professionals in errors and omission claims, including financial advisors, appraisers, lawyers, engineers, insurance and mortgage brokers, and various health professionals (nurses, massage therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers and speech pathologists to name a few). For over two decades, clients have relied on Thomasina’s strong analytical skills and pragmatic approach to litigation to achieve favourable re...
Valerie is a senior member of our Litigation Group and is a highly respected member of the litigation bar. In addition to her extensive experience as trial counsel, she has appeared as appellate counsel before both the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. With more than 25 years of experience at the Bar, Valerie has demonstrated established expertise in damages analysis, including business loss claims, business and share valuations, and real property valuations. She has ex...
Colin is a partner in Blaney’s Insurance Coverage Counsel Group. His primary practice area relates to insurance coverage opinions and coverage litigation. His secondary practice area involves insurance related defence work and subrogation claims. As coverage counsel, Colin provides advice and litigates in relation to liability policies of every description, including commercial general liability, automobile, homeowner and directors’ and officers’ policies. He also provides a...
Al Esterbauer is a senior counsel in the Koskie Minsky Civil Litigation practice. With more than 38 years of experience litigating a diverse spectrum of complex actions, Al has recently added mediation and arbitration to his practice. He has a broad range of litigation expertise in areas of professional liability, real estate, insurance and commercial cases. Al’s litigation practice has concentrated in the area of professional liability in the defence of claims against lawyers, but he h...
Tim articled with Blaney McMurtry in 1991 and has been with the firm ever since. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1993 and became a Partner in 1999. Tim has acted for Insurers for most of his career. The current focus of his practice is on defending professional negligence claims, including the defence of errors & omissions claims against engineers, accountants, mortgage brokers, medical professionals and others. Additionally, he has represented directors and officers on insured D&a...
Mark Frederick leads Miller Thomson’s insurance defence practice, representing a wide range of professionals including engineers, architects, lawyers, insurance agents, appraisers, financial professionals, and real estate agents. He acts for his clients in claims, or defence of claims, of professional liability and errors and omissions, specialising in multi-party construction related claims and municipal liability matters. He also defends manufacturers in product liability claims and p...
Christine’s practice is almost exclusively dedicated to the defence of class action proceedings. She has significant experience litigating claims involving product liability, medical malpractice, complex bodily injury, abuse, sports and recreation, professional liability, construction andproperty damage. She has represented clients in a number of trials, arbitrations, applications, motions and tribunal hearings. Prior to joining Dolden Wallace Folick LLP in 2017, she maintained a busy p...
Penny Georgoudis is a partner at Beard Winter LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance Litigation Group. A seasoned civil litigator with more than 30 years of experience in the area of insurance defence, Penny acts on behalf of numerous insurers throughout Ontario on tort and negligence claims, property and casualty, product liability, coverage issues, commercial insurance, and general liability claims. She regularly appears before all levels of Ontario Courts, representing clients at t...
Jennifer obtained her BA from the University of Toronto in 1992 and her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1995. She was called to the Bar in 1997 and joined Zarek, Taylor, Grossman, Hanrahan in 1999. In 2008 she joined the partnership. Jennifer currently practices predominantly in the area of first party accident benefits with an emphasis on catastrophic claims. She also assists insurers with priority disputes, loss transfer claims and cases involving interface with the Workplace Safety a...
Eric was called to the Ontario Bar in 1989 and has been certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1999. Eric has been named by Best Lawyers International as Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Litigation, Toronto, for 2018, and is recognized annually as a Best Lawyer in Canada in personal injury and insurance law by that organization. Eric continues to be recognized by Lexpert as a leading practitioner in personal injury law. He has attained an AV ...
Susan Gunter, partner since 2002 at Dutton Brock LLP, holds an LLM in Civil Litigation (Osgoode), an LLB (UNB), and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1996. She is recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada (Products Liability Law, Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation). Her litigation practice defends domestic and international corporations and insurers. She has appeared before federal and provincial tribunals, at all levels of court in Ontario and at the Federal Court of Canada. She is c...
Kathryn Kirkpatrick is Counsel and an experienced litigator in the Construction and Infrastructure and Insurance Practice Groups at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP. Her extensive experience includes representing large institutional, private and municipal clients in diverse civil proceedings. She has represented clients in claims involving large multi-party construction projects; malicious prosecution, false arrest, negligent investigation, assault and breach of Charter rights; negligent...
Alf earned his JD from the U of T in 1970. He and Morris Singer founded the firm in 1974. He has appeared at all court levels including the Supreme Court of Canada, where he appeared on behalf of the successful plaintiff in the landmark decision of Oldfield v. Transamerica Insurance. Alf has achieved some of Canada’s largest jury awards for punitive damages against an insurer. He acted for the plaintiff in the milestone case of Kamin v. Kawartha Dairy, which reduced the onus on plaintif...
Matthew is originally from Nova Scotia and attended St. Mary’s University for his undergraduate degree where he was the recipient of academic and athletic scholarships. Matthew later obtained his LLB from Schulich School Law at Dalhousie University. Matthew spent the first 15 years of his career working at a large downtown Toronto law firm working exclusively for insurance companies. Matthew has appeared at all levels of Court in Ontario and has extensive experience relating to complex ...
Clients value David’s common sense and value-driven advice. Practicing in the areas of insurance coverage and reinsurance litigation - representing carriers, cedants and reinsurers in respect of commercial liability, technology, information and privacy, professional indemnity and first party property claims - David has extensive dispute resolution experience both as a litigator in trial and appellate courts as well as in mediation, arbitration and negotiation. David frequently advises i...
When police and other first responders are in trouble, they turn to Eugene Mazzuca. For more than 15 years, Eugene has been the first contact for provincial and municipal entities and their insurers accused of false arrest, excessive force, malicious prosecution, negligent investigation, defamation, personal injury, property damage and other serious torts. He also handles claims against security guards as well as roads liability cases and unusual and novel claims for municipal and provincial ...
Andrew completed his M.A. in English at the University of Guelph in 2004. He then obtained a Master of Library and Information Science degree at the University of Western Ontario in 2006. He went on to earn his LL.B. at the University of Windsor and was called to the bar in 2010. Andrew has a diverse practice that focuses largely on the defence of first party auto and tort claims. He also acts for select plaintiffs involved in serious car accidents. In addition, Andrew’s practice includ...
John’s practice and that of his firm, McLeish Orlando LLP, is dedicated exclusively to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage. John also represents family members in wrongful death cases. John is a frequent lecturer and is published widely on continuing legal education programs on trial advocacy and matters related to actions for personal injury and wrongful death damages. He is a co-author of four te...
Aaron Murray is one of the founding partners of Leone Murray LLP. He handles a wide variety of personal injury and civil litigation cases. Aaron has trial experience in jury and non-jury settings. He has successfully argued numerous Divisional and Superior Court matters. This has included the conduct of long and document intensive jury trials, resulting in successful results for his clients. Aaron handles a full variety of personal injury and civil litigation claims for his clients and he con...
Josh Nisker is a founding partner of Beyond Law LLP, a Toronto-based litigation firm focusing on serious personal injury cases including medical malpractice, wrongful death and insurance disputes. The firm prides itself on its hands-on and personalized approach. Josh completed his law degree at the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated with distinction and placed in the top 5% of his graduating class. After being called to the Bar in 2007, Josh pursued graduate legal studies at th...
John A. Olah practises Civil Litigation. He specializes in complex tort litigation ranging from cases involving product liability, a wide variety of sports cases and the liability of hotels, resorts and bars. He is involved in private international law cases, complex environmental law litigation as well as business litigation matters. John is the recipient of the 2020 Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Insurance Law. John has appeared at all levels of courts, often appears at the ...
Peter Pliszka, a senior partner in Fasken’s Litigation Group, is regarded as one of Canada’s leading litigation lawyers. Peter’s practice is focused primarily on product liability, class action, commercial and insurance litigation matters, and it is national in scope. Peter manages litigation proceedings across Canada and has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and other Canadian provinces as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. Peter is Co-Leader of Fasken’s Li...
Dan Rabinowitz is one of Miller Thomson’s leading insurance litigation and sports law partners. Dan represents insurers and self-insured entities with respect to general liability, product liability, professional negligence, and motor vehicle claims. He also specializes in municipal law. Throughout his career, he has defended road liability and general liability claims for a number of municipalities as well as the province of Ontario. In his sports practice, Dan represents a number of N...
Alan Rachlin earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mineralogy and a Juris Doctor degree, all from the University of Toronto. He was admitted to the Bar in 1987 and since then has divided his time between representing injured people and defending claims on behalf of insurers. His practice is concentrated in automobile accidents, slip and fall, medical malpractice, disability and accident benefits cases. He has handled cases at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario,...
Regularly sought out by corporate bodies and insurers to handle and defuse complex and sensitive disputes, Larry Reimer is one of Blaney McMurtry’s established partners. Concentrating in areas of challenging property, casualty and commercial litigation, Larry has particular expertise in sports law, product liability, environmental and construction claims, and sensitive matters involving public and private associations. With over 25 years of litigation experience before all levels of Ont...
Bruce Reynolds has earned a stellar reputation in the construction industry for settling disputes and drafting and negotiating contracts. Who’s Who Legal has recognized him as “one of the foremost construction practitioners in the world,” while his clients have praised him for his legal skills, integrity and clarity of insight. Bruce is Co-Managing Partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s International Construction Projects Group. He specializes in the resolution of construc...
David has a wide-ranging civil litigation practice covering almost all aspects of insurance related litigation, including municipal liability, occupiers’ liability, commercial host, sports & entertainment facilities, education law and events related liability as well as professional negligence and automobile claims litigation. He is often called upon to advise casualty and property insurers along with policy holders and self insured entities on insurance related issues, including im...
David Rosenbaum practices in the areas of civil litigation and health law. He has assisted clients in all types of commercial litigation, as well as estate litigation and insurance litigation and he provides advice on health regulatory matters. David represents clients in commercial disputes, including large commercial fraud cases. His extensive experience dealing with complex legal and factual issues includes acting in several large cases involving disputes arising from commercial lease fina...
Nathalie graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a B.A. (Hons.) in Sociology in 1999. She received her J.D. from New York Law School in 2002 and was called to the bar in New York in 2003. Nathalie practiced real estate litigation in New York City for several years until she returned to Ontario and was called to the bar in 2006. She articled with the firm and became a partner in 2011. Nathalie’s practice includes commercial general liability/occupier’s liability/munic...
Stephen’s practice involves civil litigation matters related to insurance law, the defence of personal injury actions, and medical-legal issues. In particular, he focuses on serious injury and wrongful death claims, as well as cases at the appellate court level. Stephen is a widely published author on a variety of legal matters, including recent commentaries on appellate advocacy, expert evidence, and on summary judgment in the post-Hryniak world. Stephen believes in the finer tradition...
Philippa G. Samworth is a partner at Dutton Brock and her area of practice is in insurance defence (Accident Benefits), as well as providing Mediation and Arbitration services.. Miss Samworth has a number of achievements and was retained by the Ministry of Finance of Ontario as a consultant to provide analysis and technical advice to the Ministry on its preparation and drafting of the new Automobile Insurance Legislation: Bill 59 and its regulations. In May 1997, Philippa was appointed to the...
A Natural Leader Maria’s career has been devoted to finding effective solutions for her clients while contributing to the management and growth of Blaney McMurtry while appointed in a variety of management roles. Maria is currently the firm’s General Counsel. In her role as the firm’s former Managing Partner, Maria spent almost a decade developing her leadership skills. Maria combines her expert litigation, mediation and negotiation skills with a proven ability to solve prob...
Jonathan has worked as a litigator since his call to the bar in 2000. He focuses his practice exclusively on advocacy, trials and arbitration matters. Jonathan became partner of a highly regarded civil litigation firm in 2008 and was managing partner of that firm between 2008 - 2013. Jonathan joined the ZTGH partnership in 2020. Jonathan has a special interest in jury trials and Estate Litigation matters and he is co-chair of the Estate Litigation practice group. Jonathan also works with insu...
Jason’s practice is dedicated exclusively to acting on behalf of plaintiffs in the areas of personal injury, insurance claims and medical malpractice. Jason is recognized as a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Ontario. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in Canada in the areas of Personal Injury Litigation and Insurance Law. He was selected by his peers as a Leading Practitioner in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. ...
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