A January 2026 judgment of the Superior Court of Ontario held that where a policy provided that all demands and allegations arising from a common set of circumstances would be considered as a single claim, the policy responded to a lawsuit that commenced after the policy period because the circumstances that gave rise to the claim related to a common set of circumstances first reported during the policy period.

The policy defined a claim as an allegation of breach of professional services or a written or oral demand for money arising from a breach reported during the policy period where circumstances of which any reasonable person would expect to give rise to a claim were reported during the policy period the insurer undertook to consider the claim even if formal demand only came after termination of the policy. The policy continued that “all demands or allegations arising from a common set of circumstances shall be considered a single claim regardless whether all such demands are made concurrently”. The court held that the plain wording of that quoted provision meant that the definition of a claim qualified that all demands or obligations arising out of a “common set of circumstances” would be considered as one claim under the policy, regardless of when they are made and reported. All such claims were deemed to be a single claim and would have been reported in time if on the facts there was a common set of circumstances. The court has yet to decide in further proceedings whether there was commonality in the circumstances giving rise to the claims that occurred during and after the policy period.

Where extended reporting and common circumstance wording is added to claims-made policies, careful thought must be given to the implications extended the scope of the policy well beyond the date of termination. In this matter the policy terminated on 3 July 2019 and the action in question commenced on 19 November 2021.

Krandel v CPA Professional Liability Plan Inc. 2026 ONSC 262 (14 January 2026