Mantha’s Notes from the Park
Michael Mantha, MPP Algoma-Manitoulin
Everyone has a gripe about auto insurance in Ontario and when you look at the facts, it’s easy to see why.
Ontario has the highest auto insurance rates in the country. According to a recent Auditor General report, Ontario premiums – which average just over $1,400 per vehicle – are as much as 75% higher than other provinces.
Ontario’s provincially-run dispute resolution service is in total disarray. In fact, resolutions are taking on average 10 to 12 months rather than the 60 days the law says it should take.
Recent insurance industry estimates indicate that we have a serious fraud problem in Ontario and suggest that fraud-related costs may have accounted for between 10% and 15% of auto insurance premiums in 2010, or as much as $1.3 billion.
And finally, drivers in many areas of the province are being hit by punishingly high premium rates and are sometimes paying twice as much as the same age driver, in the same city, with the same clean driving record, driving the same car.
In other words, Ontario’s auto insurance system is a mess!
To find some solutions to these problems, Ontario’s New Democrats have put forward two major initiatives.
We have launched an all-party legislative committee to look at all aspects of the auto insurance system and to come up with creative solutions to bring premiums down for all Ontario drivers – regardless of where they live. We simply need to roll up our sleeves and deal with serious problems like fraud, a broken dispute resolution system and out-of control premiums.
Secondly, we have proposed new legislation (known as Bill 45) that ensures that all good drivers who live in the same sized city or town pay pretty much the same for auto insurance. That’s only fair.
Some people have made claims about this new legislation that simply aren’t true. Bill 45 is specifically designed not to have any impact on good drivers in northern and rural Ontario. My colleagues and I work hard to get a fair deal for the North, and this bill is no exception.
New Democrats at Queen’s Park are working hard to get out-of-control insurance premiums down for all drivers across the province. We’re rolling up our sleeves, doing the hard work to find creative solutions, and fighting for everyday drivers through-out the province.
As always, please feel free to contact my office about this issue, or any other provincial issues. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710.
