download icon down chevron

An insurer's reputation for fairness and competence may be its most valuable asset. Harper Grey lawyers have protected the reputations of insurers and their insured since the firm was founded in 1907.

Our insurance lawyers work with clients to resolve claims with the best interests of their insureds and organizations in mind.

We serve regional, national and multinational insurers. We represent major self-insured businesses, working with their insurance partners to resolve claims. We also work with professional associations to develop and defend errors and omissions and risk-management programs.

We are conscious of an insurer’s relationship with its insureds. Harper Grey respects your budgets, service requirements and the accountability structures within your organization. Our clients can benefit from value-added services such as in-house education, unbilled advice and departmental structure reviews.

The services we provide include:

  • Representation in meetings, negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, hearings and court proceedings. Our lawyers have appeared at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.
  • Working with claims executives, managers, examiners, adjusters and other insurance professionals to determine risk and resolution procedures.
  • Developing risk management programs.
  • Determining legal budgets, litigation plans and reporting structures.
  • Institutional clients benefit from designated team leaders and team members at a variety of levels.
  • Audits and reviews of all aspects of our client service to insurance companies and institutions for whom we perform large volumes of work.
  • Subscriptions to our complimentary monthly Insurance Law Update e-newsletter, which is also published in a longer format on Quicklaw.

 

Did you know that Harper Grey publishes the Canadian Insurance Law Blog?  Stay current with new case law and emerging issues – read more here.

 

Services

  • Bodily injuries.
  • Commercial general liability.
  • Commercial lines products - construction deficiencies, property loss, business interruption, products liability.
  • Complex, multi-party claims.
  • Criminal acts.
  • Directors and officers liability.
  • Environmental contamination.
  • Errors and omissions.
  • Occupiers liability.
  • Personal lines products - property loss, motor vehicle liability, social host liability, defamation.
  • Professional liability.
  • Reinsurance.
  • Subrogated matters such as geographic torts.
  • Transportation related claims including aviation and marine cargo and equipment damage.

Typical Situations

  • A landslide caused by a winter storm destroys five houses on one block located below a steep embankment. It also destroys a partially built house just above the block.
  • A teenager is caught vandalising a  commercial property adjacent to his home. The property owner sues his parents for damages.
  • A hotel guest slips and falls in a bathtub, sustaining a concussion and serious spinal injuries. The hotel has recently signed a contract with a new cleaning supply company. Other guests have complained about the slippery tubs on a popular hotel rating website, but not directly to hotel management.

Representative Work

  • Appearing twice before the Supreme Court of Canada to address the deductibility of collateral benefits paid to tort victims.
  • Appearing in the BC Supreme Court in Swagger Construction v. ING Insurance Canada, the leading case regarding construction deficiency claims.
  • Organizing a subrogated claim resulting from a power surge that prompted 200 property damage claims from a residential neighbourhood.
  • Extracting a client from lengthy and expensive litigation relating to the failure of a key component in a helicopter that crashed.
  • Managing all professional liability claims for a provincial organization of home inspectors. We developed the errors and omissions program for this organization. It is now used throughout Canada.
  • Handling the majority of occupiers liability claims from one of the largest grocery store chains in the province.
  • Defending an insurer in an action against them by an insured who was alleged to have made misrepresentations in the application for insurance and renewal of that insurance. The insured had been sued in California for $250 million and sued the insurer who had denied defence and indemnity to the insured as a result of the misrepresentations.
  • Addressing the issue of the vicarious liability of an insurer for the intentional and wrongful acts of its agents.

25 Lawyers Recognized as Leaders in their field by Benchmark Canada® 2022

Benchmark Canada® 2022

Harper Grey lawyers receive 58 rankings from Best Lawyers® in Canada 2022

Best Lawyers® in Canada

Harper Grey recognized as a "Leading Firm" in the area of Litigation - Commercial Insurance (Repeatedly Recommended) by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®, 2015-2021, 2023

Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®

24 Harper Grey lawyers recognized for litigation expertise by Benchmark Canada®, 2021

Benchmark Canada®

19 Harper Grey lawyers recognized as “Leading Practitioners” by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®, 2021

Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®

Harper Grey receives 51 rankings from Best Lawyers® in Canada 2021

Best Lawyers® in Canada

Guy Brown, QC recognized as Vancouver Insurance Law ‘Lawyer of the Year,' 2020

Best Lawyers® in Canada

Harper Grey recognized as a “Top-Listed” firm in Vancouver and in British Columbia in the area of Insurance Law by Best Lawyers® In Canada, 2018-2020

Best Lawyers® in Canada

Harper Grey recognized as a "Leading Law Firm" regionally in the area of Dispute Resolution by Chambers Canada®, 2017-2020

Chambers Canada®

29 Harper Grey lawyers recognized across 19 specialty areas by Best Lawyers® in Canada, 2020

Best Lawyers®

Harper Grey receives highest firm ranking as a “Highly Recommended” local litigation law firm in British Columbia from Benchmark Canada® 2014-2020

Benchmark Canada®

Kim Yee receives prestigious Lexpert® 2016 Rising Stars Award honoring Canada’s Leading Lawyers Under 40

Lexpert®

Martindale Hubbell® recognizes 13 Harper Grey lawyers across 27 practice areas

Martindale Hubbell®

Harper Grey receives the TAGLaw Membership Award of Distinction acknowledging 15 years of outstanding service

TAGLaw

Jennifer Woznesensky receives prestigious Lexpert® 2014 Rising Stars Award honoring Canada’s Leading Lawyers Under 40

Lexpert®

Harper Grey recognized as a Top 10 Regional Firm in British Columbia, Alberta and the Territories by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, 2012 and 2014

Canadian Lawyer Magazine

Harper Grey recognized as a "Leading Practitioners" in the area of Professional Liability by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®, 2023

Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®

“They were amazing to work with! They were incredibly competent and resolution based. They kept me centered in the midst of the storm and got me a great result in very short time frame.”

Benchmark Canada® 2022

“Harper Grey has a 100-year-old profile in this market,” testifies one senior-level peer, adding, “but the talent there now is mostly all younger than me!”

Benchmark Canada® 2022

"The Harper Grey team is a well-oiled machine. All the lawyers I deal with are well-trained and hardworking. They communicate well and are always available for questions."

Benchmark Canada® 2020

“Incredibly strong skill set, knowledge of litigation and strategic, and keen ability to solve problems.”

Benchmark Canada® 2020

"We trust and value Mr. Trevethan's work with our association."

Benchmark Canada® 2019

“These lawyers are all subject matter experts, and leaders in their field, whose knowledge and skill are matched by their excellent client service.”

Benchmark Canada® 2019

“This team has provided outstanding legal service. They are prompt, responsive, and communicative. They are strong strategists and provide well researched, experienced legal advice. We work with many firms, and Harper Grey stands out. One member of the team remembers every interaction, memo, pleading and document. They understand a very complicated file and address it with ease and candor. We very much appreciate their strong advocacy.”

Benchmark Canada® 2019

“The firm is top notch. They have many lawyers specialized in medical defense work who are highly skilled in their legal acumen and practice management, but who also recognize the importance of carrying out their work in a practical, results-oriented manner. They actively look for ways to more efficiently partner with their clients for effective management of the work, while at the same time not weakening their excellent service delivery, their responsiveness, or their effectiveness in the work.”

Benchmark Canada® 2019

“The firm’s lawyers are principled and have deep integrity. Their work is thorough and of consistent high quality.”

Benchmark Canada® 2019

“They are careful in their opinions and remain objective. They understand our tolerance for risk and our objectives as an insurer, from good faith handling to reputation.”

Benchmark Canada® 2018

“They dominate in medical practice, insurance, and product liability, and even have more specialties like bankruptcy, aviation, defamation, securities, even environmental.”

Benchmark Canada® 2018

“They are a top insurance firm with expertise on our wordings, and they look for ways to resolve issues in conjunction with litigation, such as mediation and arbitration.”

Benchmark Canada® 2018

“Excellent response time, good talent from junior and intermediate to senior levels and reasonable service costs.”

Benchmark Canada® 2018

"They are careful in their opinions and remain objective. They understand our tolerance for risk and our objectives as an insurer, from good faith handling to reputation."

Benchmark Canada® 2018

"[They are a] top insurance firm with expertise on our wordings, and they look for ways to resolve issues in conjunction with litigation, such as mediation and arbitration."

Benchmark Canada® 2018

"Excellent response time, good talent from junior and intermediate to senior levels, and reasonable service costs."

Benchmark Canada® 2018

“Harper Grey’s celebrated insurance capacity is brimming with regionally and nationally recognized talent, such as Jonathan Meadows and Nigel Trevethan.”

Benchmark Canada® 2015

“They exceeded all my expectations. I am very satisfied with their work and very happy to recommend them.”

Chambers Canada® 2017

“Harper Grey is one of the best firms in Vancouver. They have excellent service, knowledge and their cost structure is excellent.”

Benchmark Canada® 2017

“A Vancouver staple, Harper Grey is perhaps the most BC-centric of the “highly recommended” firms, owing largely to the firm’s bench strength in several key areas.”

Benchmark Canada® 2018

“Every day it seems like I am dealing with someone at Harper Grey, and I always find them professional, courteous and effective.”

Benchmark Canada® 2017

“Harper Grey has niches, and in those niches they are the best of the best.”

Benchmark Canada® 2017

“They are historically known more for insurance but there’s a lot more there than meets the eye.”

Benchmark Canada® 2015

“Harper Grey is primarily championed for its insurance capacity, which is said to ‘rival that of anyone else’s in Vancouver’ as well as its aviation niche.”

Benchmark Canada® 2012

“The firm has real quality people, and they’ve put three people on the bench there in six years.”

Benchmark Canada® 2015

“Harper Grey lawyers are ‘dedicated to their clients and focused on finding and implementing practical solutions for them. The lawyers are prompt, intelligent and insightful, and provide a high level of customer service’.”

2012 Canadian Lawyer Magazine Embracing Regionalism - Canadian Lawyer’s Top 10 firms from B.C., Alberta, and the Territories are in the Sweet Spot Right Now, October 1, 2012

“A lawyer who refers work to Harper Grey wrote it has ‘great service, a breadth of practice and I have never received a negative comment from referrals to the firm.”

2014 Canadian Lawyer Magazine Stronger than Ever - Top Western & Northern Firms, September 1, 2014

“Harper Grey is a trial lawyer’s firm, and they’ve got a big deep bench of well-trained litigators.”

Benchmark Canada® 2017

“Harper Grey has a stellar pedigree as a litigation firm, and they’ve put a ton of people on the bench”, observes one peer.”

News & Knowledge

 

People

Lawyers

Paralegals

View More

How can we help?
Contact Insurance Law