Arbitrability of Insurance Claims: Update
Arbitrators have been divided as to whether the traditional
Brown & Beatty "four categories" approach had been replaced by a
new, expansive "but for" test of arbitrability. In its decision in London
Life v. Dubreuil, July 13, 2000 and the companion decisions of Honeywell
and Longlac, the Court of Appeal has re-affirmed the Brown &
Beatty "four categories" test of arbitrability, and discarded the
idea that there is any additional new right to litigate benefits claims. So,
we are back to the original position, which is:
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Brown & Beatty’s Four Categories of
Insured Benefits Provisions
- The agreement makes no reference to the insurance plan or the
benefits provided under the plan – benefits not arbitrable.
- The agreement provides for the provision of specific benefits
– those benefits only are arbitrable.
- The agreement provides only that the employer will be
responsible for payment of insurance premiums – benefits not
arbitrable.
- The agreement incorporates the insurance plan – all benefits
arbitrable.
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This certainly raises the
possibility of bargaining towards 4.
