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An Insurance Defence Firm |
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The Firm » An Insurance Defence Firm Our lawyers have worked through the maze of complex litigation and coverage issues, managed the class action juggernaut, and represented employees of insurers that come under attack by plaintiff's litigation. Some of the problems we face are front page news, most are not. They are all problems that are important to our clients, and to us.Samis & Company has maintained its commitment to being at the forefront of legislative changes. Lee Samis met the needs of the industry by developing a leading program in Environmental Law and Insurance. This very popular program was successively put on by the Insurance Institute of Ontario and was a leading edge effort to overcome the barriers involved in insuring environmental risks. In 1990, 1994 and 1996, successive provincial governments introduced major reforms to insurance legislation in the province of Ontario. Each of these major reforms had the possibility of significantly impacting our client's business interests. Anticipating the changes to be made in 1989, we decided to become leaders in the new insurance world. We successfully took on the challenge of providing services to property and casualty insurers with respect to the new statutory accident benefits legislation in Ontario. Lee Samis has been the leading voice on accident benefits insurance issues since 1989, and has maintained that position of leadership. Notwithstanding significant change in the insurance litigation environment brought upon by legislative changes, we have been careful to be on the cutting edge of changing legal issues. Recently Samis & Company lawyers have lead the charge to assist insurers that face health care cost challenges. We identified this as a looming problem in 1991. Lee Samis was a member of Ontario's Task Force on Long Term Care and Rehabilitation in 1993 and in 1994 called for the insurance industry to anticipate significant financial consequences from health care costs. We have advocated for industry efforts to address health care cost issues and are proud to participate and support the Insurance Bureau of Canada's Steering Committee on Health Issues. Samis & Company is strictly an insurance defence law firm. Our lawyers (plus articling students) provide legal services for property and casualty insurance companies in a broad range of areas including motor vehicle accident benefit and tort claims. Our lawyers each have individual specialties as well as overlapping skills in common practice areas. We thus provide significant services for the defence of a wide variety of property and casualty disputes and various business liability issues arising out of commercial general liability policies. We are also advisers to various insurers and reinsurers with respect to insurance coverage issues arising out of their contractual obligations. We are frequently asked to support insurers in their product development and policy wording projects. We are proud to have the opportunity to assist our clients in meeting the challenges of a changing environment. Individually and collectively our clients benefit from our ability and willingness to provide in house training and guidance on the challenges of the day. Lee Samis is seen to be a leader in the area of Statutory Accident Benefits legislation and we are consulted frequently by many different insurers on legislative changes. In fact, a significant assignment for our firm has been to represent the property and casualty insurance industry in ongoing government relations and efforts with respect to the changing legislation over the past few years. Our other lawyers are experts in various other areas of insurance defence as indicated in their profiles. Samis & Company is often retained to provide services to government and to insurance trade organizations with respect to various legislative issues. While our firm can easily handle a high volume of property and casualty tort and coverage work, we excel at dealing with more complex insurance matters that challenge our clients. |
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