Duty To Defend And A Consideration Of "Residency"

In contemporary Canadian society, a multitude of different living arrangements exist as a result of increased divorce rates, the return of adult children to the home, extended family residing together, and the rise of maintaining residences abroad. If the fluctuating nature of residents in a home is not adequately contemplated by an insurance policy, this can lead to coverage disagreements between the insurer and the insured.

The BC Court of Appeal in Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada v. Araujo, 2013 BCCA 324, looked at one such case involving a child whose divorced parents maintained a shared custody living arrangement. The child's mother maintained his primary residence, but he stayed with his father at the paternal grandparents' house between two  and three times per month for one night, usually from Friday evening to Saturday morning.