Penny Unwise And Pound Foolish: Punitive Damage Awards

The Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan has sent a strong message to insurance companies in the recent Branco v American Home Assurance Co. decision by setting new high-water marks for punitive damage awards. After a comprehensive review of the jurisprudence on punitive damage awards and the specific behaviour of the insurers involved, Justice Acton held that insurance companies had not received the message sent by the Supreme Court of Canada in Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co. Using very strong condemnatory language, Justice Acton stated the purpose of these higher awards was to “gain the attention of the insurance industry [so that it] … recognize the destruction and devastation that their actions cause in failing to honour their contractual policy commitments to the individuals insured.”