TRY drhowell.net SEARCH

Consumer advocates says Ontario's auto insurance industry is turning people's pain into record profits with the help of government regulations.

Richard Halpern of the Ontario Bar Association's auto insurance group says profits have skyrocketed since the province made regulatory changes in October 2003.

The current regulations deduct $30,000 off insurance compensation awards and toughens a victim's responsibility to prove real harm after an accident.

Former associate chief justice Coulter Osborne likens the deductible to a "tax on pain." [...]

TRY drhowell.net SEARCH

CANADA LAWMAKERS MAY RAISE INSURANCE

Albertans who suffer soft-tissue injuries in auto accidents can now seek damages over $4,000 -- though how long they'll be able to do so is uncertain.

The judge who dealt a blow to the Alberta government's 2004 auto insurance reforms dismissed a government application today to put the decision's impacts on hold until an appeal is heard.

It was a little more than two weeks that Court of Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice Neil Wittmann concluded it was unconstitutional to have a $4,000 cap on compensation for people who suffer soft-tissue injuries in car accidents. [...]

TRY drhowell.net SEARCH

ING Canada Inc., which describes itself as the largest property and casualty insurer in Canada, expects to raise car insurance rates this year, citing rising costs in Ontario and legal uncertainty in Alberta. [...]

TRY drhowell.net SEARCH

After years of complaints, Alberta drivers finally got a break in 2004 when the provincial government instituted reforms to what many considered were inflated insurance premiums. Since that time, the AIRB has played a regulatory role, reducing mandatory insurance rates for exemplary Alberta drivers by 18 per cent. At the same time, premiums for new- or less-experienced drivers were capped by a grid, and as they gain experience and drive without claims and convictions, they move down the premium grid.

During public consultation this past Monday and Tuesday, insurers pressed the AIRB to raise premiums, arguing that current rates are not sustainable.[...read more...]