Step By Step Appraisals – The New Kid On The Block

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled in Truscott v Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2023 ONCA 267, that the appraisal process under Ontario's Insurance Act may be iterative. Where the parties limit the appraisal, the award that results need not decide the entire valuation dispute between the parties.

The alleged facts in the case were troubling. The plaintiff, Truscott, had a fire in an old Victorian house that he used as an office. Without insurance proceeds he did not have the funds to rebuild, but the insurer would not accept interim proofs of loss to start reconstruction while the total cost of the repairs was still being determined. Allegedly, it told Truscott to submit a final proof of loss, and that he could subsequently amend it. When he did so, and the insurer disagreed on the quantum, Truscott triggered the appraisal process under s. 128 of the Insurance Act. Notwithstanding that both parties knew there were quantum issues outstanding, and the