Case information

Insurance — Property insurance — Limitation of Actions — Whether a claim that engages specialized provincial insurance legislation that provides for a comprehensive dispute resolution process to resolve questions of valuation where an insurer has admitted liability under a policy, has tendered partial payment, and continues to engage in negotiations with an insured towards determination of the amount of the loss is supplanted by generalized limitations legislation.

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The applicants are owners of a property insured by the respondent Co-operators General Insurance Company (“insurer”). A fire occurred at the property in 2014 and a dispute arose between the parties as to the amount payable pursuant to the terms of the policy. Dissatisfied with the payout as calculated by the insurer, the applicants issued a statement of claim against the insurer in 2020. The insurer applied to dismiss the claim on the basis that it was statute-barred. The applicants applied for judgment to be granted in the event the claim was not dismissed.

In the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench, the chambers judge dismissed the claim against the insurer as statute-barred and dismissed the application for judgment. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the applicants’ appeal.