2021 QCCQ 2320, 2021 QCCQ 2320

Iacono c. Canada Life Assurance Company of Canada 2021 QCCQ 2320 COUR DU QUÉBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF MONTREAL Civil Division No: 500-22-258756-199 DATE : April 7, 2021 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE JEAN-FRANÇOIS ROBERGE, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ JOANNE IACONO Plaintiff v.

THE CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA Defendant in continuance of proceedings ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] Ms. Joanne Iacono ( Client ) is asking for the payment of $25,000 from The Canada Life Insurance Assurance Company of Canada ( Insurer ) based on an Optional Spousal Life Insurance she allegedly took out in 2005 for her common-law spouse Mr.

John Cleary deceased in 2006 [1] . [ 2 ] The Client alleges that she filed her Enrollment Form for Optional Spousal Life Insurance and was never advised that the coverage was not in force. She claims that she paid a premium for such coverage through her group insurance policy, and more specifically by using the Benefit Credit Allocation granted to her by her employer Investors Group Financial Services. [ 3 ] The Insurer claims that the Optional Spousal Life Insurance was never granted. The application was made, but the additional medical information requested by the Insurer from Mr. Cleary was never provided.

Therefore, the Insurer closed the file and never took a premium for such coverage. [ 4 ] The burden of proof rests on the Client who must demonstrate in a probative way [2] that the coverage for Optional Spousal Life Insurance is in force at the time of Mr. Cleary's death. This is the question the Court has to decide. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION [ 5 ] The Client applied on June 29, 2005, for Optional Life Insurance coverage for her common-law spouse Mr. Cleary [3] .

She does not receive a refusal from the Insurer and therefore assumes that the coverage is in effect. [ 6 ] The Client pays a premium for medical coverage in her employer's group insurance plan through Benefit Credit Allocation [4] . She assumes that the Optional Spousal Life Insurance requested is included. [ 7 ] The group insurance coverage period is from September 1, 2005, to August 31, 2006, and Mr. Cleary dies on August 5, 2006 [5] .

Therefore she believes that she is entitled to the $25,000 insurance premium payment. [ 8 ] The Client’s version is made on false assumptions according to the Insurer. [ 9 ] The Insurer points out that the Client has never received confirmation that the Optional Spousal Life Insurance coverage requested has been accepted. In fact, the application was never accepted by the Insurer. At the hearing, the Insurer explains why. [ 10 ] On July 8, 2005, the Insurer sent a letter to the Client [6] .

Insurer informed the Client that further to the receipt of her enrollment from 2005-2006 in which she applied for Spousal Life Insurance, Evidence of Insurability had to be provided and coverage would only

be effective on the date of approval. [ 11 ] On July 20, 2005, the Client and her late spouse Mr. Cleary filled out and signed the Evidence of Insurability Coverage Detail as well as the Medical and Lifestyle Questionnaire requested by Insurer [7] . [ 12 ] On August 2, 2005, the Insurer sent a letter to Mr. Cleary [8] . In order to assess the application for life insurance submitted in Client’s Enrollment Form, Mr.

Cleary was asked to provide detailed medical information from his attending physician, including a health history, blood pressure, pulse rate, urinary tests and complete details regarding the treatment of his throat cancer. The Insurer advised in the letter that the file will be closed, if Mr. Cleary does not provide the requested information within 45-day delay. [ 13 ] Mr. Cleary did not follow up on Insurer’s request to obtain the medical information necessary to assess whether he was admissible to life insurance. [ 14 ] The Insurer explains that the letter was sent only to Mr.

Cleary and not to the Client based on the Insurer’s policies and legal duties regarding rights to privacy.

At trial, the Client testifies that she does not remember having been informed of this letter. [ 15 ] In addition, the Insurer brings to the Court the evidence that the Medical Coverage in the Group Insurance Plan does not include Spousal Life Insurance, that it is not possible to pay such insurance with Benefit Credit Allocation and that the Client did not pay a premium for it [9] . [ 16 ] Furthermore, that the Client addresses her claim to the Insurer 13 years after her husband passed away [10] , despite the fact that she was the liquidator of his estate, cast doubts on the credibility of her assumptions.

Her explanations of Mr. Cleary’s little patrimony, and that this memory came back when a client of her own lived a similar situation, are unconvincing. [ 17 ] The Court concludes that the evidence submitted by Insurer has probative force, and offers a better answer to the question on spousal life insurance coverage than the assumptions made by the Client. In fact, the necessary information requested by Insurer to establish insurability and premium was not provided [11] .

Medical coverage in the Group insurance Plan does not include Spousal Life Support, and the Client never paid premium for such optional coverage. [ 18 ] The Court concludes Optional Spousal Life Insurance was never granted and was therefore not in force in August 2006 when Mr. Cleary passed away. WHEREFORE THE COURT HEREBY: DISMISSES the application for a claim of Life Insurance Policy; WITHOUT LEGAL COSTS. ______________________________ JEAN-FRANÇOIS ROBERGE, J.C.Q .

Ms Joanne Iacono Plaintiff Me Mélanie Dugré The Canada Life Assurance Company of Canada Defendant in continuance of proceedings Hearing Date : February 18, 2021