Law360 Canada ( June 24, 2024, 12:22 PM EDT) -- Action by plaintiff for insurance broker negligence arising from a motor vehicle accident. The defendant was a brokerage that sold auto insurance policies. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s agent failed to give him adequate advice about underinsured motorist protection (“UMP”) coverage. He regularly purchased his auto plan policy from the defendant’s sales office, which included $1 million worth of basic underinsured motorist protection (“Basic UMP”). For an additional premium of $25, however, $2 million worth of underinsured motorist protection (“Excess UMP”) could be obtained instead. The plaintiff never chose to get the optional Excess UMP coverage before the accident. At the time of the accident, he only received $665,000 in compensation, a lesser amount than what he estimated as his actual losses. He sued the defendant for not having properly counselled him about the benefits and costs of Excess UMP coverage. He argued that if he had understood that he could get an extra $1 million worth of UMP for just $25, he would certainly have bought it. He asserted that the defendant should be liable for its agent’s negligence in not offering him the Excess UMP coverage. The defendant denied any liability. Its agent, Ouellette, did not remember the transaction with the plaintiff. Ouellette said her standard practice was to always offer and explain Excess UMP to each of her customers. The defendant submitted that its agent did not fall below the applicable standard of care and did not cause the plaintiff’s losses....