COLUMN: Ducking the solution to sky-high auto insurance
The Liberals and New Democrats vaguely promise to lower Ontario’s sky-high auto insurance rates. Yet for reasons of history and embarrassment, neither is promoting the obvious solution: public auto insurance.
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The New Lazar Report Confirms that Auto Insurer Income is up 60% in last four years while accident benefits continue to drop for injured drivers
The Lazar Report confirmed what those of us dealing with auto insurance daily already knew. Accident benefits have steadily decreased over the years, insurance companies have been making record profits, and consumers have no choice but to pay the record high premiums in Ontario for coverage that is in many cases far from adequate in the event of personal injury in an accident.
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This percentage of consumers believe auto insurance fraud is an “accepted practice”
Nearly half of customers polled for an Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (
ICBC) survey believed that committing auto insurance fraud is an “accepted practice” in B.C., with most saying that claims contain an “element” of fraud.
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Drivers take on car insurance companies for coverage you can’t get in Canada
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With CAA MyPace, drivers in Ontario will have the option to pay for their auto insurance in 1,000-kilometre increments. Those who sign up will be charged a base rate, after which they’ll pay every time they hit that kilometre milestone, up to 9,000 kilometres, when the pay-as-you-go charges will equal what the driver would pay under a standard auto insurance program. At this point, they will not be charged for further increments.
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IBAO wants brokers to explain insurance basics to Ontario political candidates
The association wants a broker to meet every candidate to explain some basics of the industry. For example, candidates will be told the difference between agents, direct sellers, and brokers. It seems auto insurance will play a role in this election, but Hancock says few politicians understand the market.
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“We’ve consistently held the protection of the plaintiff as our highest priority, and our policyholder in our insurance products is the plaintiff, not the law firm,” said Dominique Zipper (pictured), ATE manager. “The DAS ATE policy is in place to protect the plaintiff, and the policy actually travels with the plaintiff if they move law firms. The plaintiff is the owner of the insurance policy and the law firm is really the distributor of the insurance.”
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Capping damages
It’s been 40 years since the Supreme Court of Canada released its trilogy of rulings that affected the way non-pecuniary damages have been awarded in Canada. Fearing an escalation in damages awards, those rulings limited the maximum amount of non-pecuniary damages a plaintiff could receive in a civil action.
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Here, There and Everywhere, Chasing Fraudsters
The United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, has charged five individuals with defrauding businesses and insurance companies of more than $31.7 million in an elaborate slip and fall scheme dating back to 2013.1
