Lawyers in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver have filed a number of lawsuits against car insurance companies in courts in Ontario and Alberta.

An Ontario Court of Appeal decision that policy holders whose cars are written off should get the full value of their vehicle has been allowed to stand, after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal from the Co-Operators General Insurance Co of the issue.

As many as two million Canadians in six provinces and the three territories who have written off their cars in the last 10 years could be eligible for refunds of their insurance deductibles ranging from $250 to $50,000 as a result of the ruling.

Three law firms have filed more lawsuits on behalf of clients. Anyone in Canada whose car was written off and who paid a deductible could be affected. Future lawsuits against other insurance companies are planned.

The court ruling states that people should be paid the actual cash value of their car, not the actual cash value less the deductible, says Kirk Baert of Toronto law firm Koskie Minsky.