St. Boniface MLA, family sue insurance company, broker after losing cottage in spring wildfire

A New Democratic Party politician and his family are suing their former insurance company and broker after their cottage in Nopiming Provincial Park burned in this year’s wildfires.

Michel, Richard and Robert Loiselle filed a lawsuit in Court of King’s Bench late last month, naming Westland Insurance Group and SGI Canada Insurance Services as defendants.

Robert Loiselle is the NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly for St. Boniface.

The Loiselle cabin on Beresford Lake burned in May amid the massive wildfire that swept through large swaths of Nopiming and elsewhere in the province’s east.

“As a result of the fire, the cottage and its contents were destroyed,” reads the court filing.

The lawsuit accuses insurance company SGI and broker Westland of failing to inform the family that their coverage of the property had lapsed prior to the blaze.

The court papers say the property had been insured through SGI policies placed by Westland from 2005 through 2023, with the policy automatically renewed in the years prior.

But on May 13, Westland personnel informed the Loiselles for the first time that the policy had not been renewed by Westland in June 2023, the lawsuit claims.

“At no time prior did the plaintiffs receive a notice of non-renewal of the policy, or a notice of purported termination of the policy,” it says.

The Loiselles claim that they discovered in August that SGI had sent an offer of renewal to Westland in May 2022 along with information advising that the company would not, as of June 2023, be insuring the cabin again unless the family made insurance changes.

“On or about May 1, 2023, SGI told Westland that it required at least one of the plaintiffs to insure their principal dwelling with SGI, and that if SGI did not have confirmation of such coverage in place, the policy would not be renewed as of June 16, 2023.”

The court papers say the Loiselles were never advised of the issue and received no notice indicating that SGI refused to renew the policy or that it had lapsed.

“The plaintiffs say that they renewed the policy annually for almost 20 years, and had they been so advised by Westland or SGI, they would have either met SGI’s condition for renewal, or secured a replacement policy,” reads the court claim.

The lawsuit claims the Loiselles have demanded payment for the loss, but both the company and the broker have refused.

Neither Westland or SGI have responded to the claims in statements of defence.

The Loiselles accuse Westland of breach of contract, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. They accuse SGI of breach of duty.

The family is seeking damages for repairs and remediation costs, the loss of the cabin and its contents, costs to replace the building and its contents and the loss of sentimental items.

The specific figure sought is not included in the court papers.

It was the second family cabin burned in a wildfire, Richard Loiselle — Robert’s brother — told the Free Press in May.

The log cabin that burned in May had replaced the decades-old original that was razed by a forest fire in 1983.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca