S.J. v. Aviva Insurance Canada (17-002899)

The claimant’s mother died as a result of an automobile accident. She applied for death benefits. The insurer argued that the claimant was not dependent on her mother at the time of the accident, and therefore not an insured person under the policy. Adjudicator Watt agreed with the insurer. Although the claimant resided with her mother at the time of the accident, she was employed full-time for over one year, earned well over the low-income cut off level for her geographic region, and had a large amount of savings. As such, the evidence did not support the position that more than 51 percent of the claimant’s financial needs were provided by her mother.