The battle lines are clearly drawn between The Industry and The Stakeholders, but who is manning the barricades? Leading the charge for the insurance industry is the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), one of the savviest and best-financed lobby groups in the country. On the other side are the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA), representing lawyers who negotiate and litigate for accident victims, and the Fair Associations for Victims of Accident Insurance Reform (FAIR), the victims’ lobby group.
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Ontario MPPs discuss Bill 171 in the legislature
FIGHTING FRAUD AND REDUCING AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE RATES ACT, 2014
“A more accurate title might be the “Christmas comes early for the insurance companies act.” This is an act in which the government is proposing to hand out another gift to huge insurance companies, at the expense of all auto insurance policyholders and accident victims.”
“It looks like it’s going to be a lot more money going back into the insurance industry. “
“Payment delayed is payment denied. Many people have low incomes and are struggling to get by; when a company says to them, “We are just going to sweat you out and wait you out,” many will be compelled to settle for a lower dollar amount because they can’t afford to wait. They need the money to get on with their lives.”
“The reduction in the interest rate that is meant to give insurance companies an incentive to settle and make payment only serves the interest of insurance companies, only serves to undermine policyholders, only serves to undermine justice in this province. Speaker, this part of the bill—and there are other problems—is an unconscionable change.”
“Let’s be serious here: This bill is nothing more than the Liberal government, without any consultation with the victims of automobile accidents and without any consideration for the victims of automobile accidents, handing yet another gift to the big insurance companies. You know what, Speaker? It’s a gift from the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals that comes at the expense of all of us who drive and buy car insurance, the policyholders; and all of us who will ever be in an accident that wasn’t our fault, the innocent accident victims.”
“This government is proposing to wipe out recourse to an independent judicial system that safeguards the fundamental rights of citizens, rights we have all come to expect in this great nation we call Canada, and to replace the courts with a tribunal. What happens if you’re injured, you can’t work, and the insurance company refuses to pay your income replacement? You can’t sue. It’s false to suggest that this will provide cost savings to the insurance industry and reduce insurance premiums.”
“There are 22 pages and I still haven’t found anything on fighting fraud. I just find incentives for insurance companies to make more money and nothing at all about reduction for the payers of this province who are mandated to have auto insurance, which is a good thing, we know. But we would hope that people would be able to claim the benefits when they need this service the most.”
“It will cost us all more in the long run, and it will put more money into the fur-lined silk pockets of the insurance companies. Don’t be fooled. Don’t be fooled again by this half-baked scam. Don’t be fooled by what’s on the table. Yes, get it to committee, but let’s correct it. It has a lot of faults, a lot of difficulties, and it needs great improvement. ”
“These changes will make it even harder for victims, as many will not be able to afford it and will just give up the fight. And what do these changes have to do with fighting fraud? Absolutely nothing. All they do is make it easier for insurance companies to wrongfully deny benefits and delay settlements.”
Will you get a cheque in the mail? ICBC paying up after overcharging 40,000 customers
If you’re a British Columbia resident with a vehicle, there’s a pretty good chance you think you pay too much for auto insurance.
As it turns out, tens of thousands of you are actually correct, and that’s coming straight from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Will+cheque+mail+ICBC+paying+after+overcharging+customers/9734814/story.html#ixzz2yshn8fe7
As it turns out, tens of thousands of you are actually correct, and that’s coming straight from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Will+cheque+mail+ICBC+paying+after+overcharging+customers/9734814/story.html#ixzz2yshn8fe7
Want to keep teen insurance costs in check? Start them young, start them early
Some Canadian provinces – Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and partially in Quebec – have government-owned auto insurance; the rest have standardized wordings and government oversight. While there are arguments for and against, Ontario continues to pay the highest premiums. Recent provincial government efforts to bring rates down is helping in some instances, but “lower” is relative when the rates were insanely high to begin with.
Canadians’ mental-health info routinely shared with FBI, U.S. customs
Privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian found attempted suicide calls uploaded to international database – “Ontario’s privacy commissioner has discovered that the mental-health information of some Canadians is accessible to the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol”.
Our information, their files Why do Ontario residents have to pay exorbitant fees to access their own medical records?
Or wait until you need some records for a personal injury case and have to pay $120 for nine pages of notes, or $350 for six pages. How about $500 for a five-page printout of notes, or $100 for a three-page page summary of prescriptions from your pharmacist?These are just a few of the examples provided by Liberal MPP Bob Delaney at Queen’s Park in late 2013 when he demonstrated the need for a regulatory remedy.
The numbers are all over the place because there’s no law governing what custodians of medical information can charge. Many take advantage of this regulatory gap to gouge patients or customers. http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/11/our-information-their-files
Suspect a staged car crash? Maybe it was all a fraud
Clues that you’re a target include drivers who want to call emergency vehicles, especially an ambulance, for a minor crash; passengers who complain of neck or back injuries when paramedics show up; drivers with older cars whose insurance was recently issued; “witnesses” who suddenly show up in remote areas; and tow truck drivers who respond almost immediately and offer to take your car to a specific body shop.
Lawyers want more say on changes to auto insurance
The Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association is asking for a bigger role in the making of regulatory changes to the province’s auto insurance, and specifically is calling on Queen’s Park to repeal a regulation that defines permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function for the purpose of lawsuits for health care costs resulting from injuries from vehicle operation.
Ontario Improving Care for Chronic Pain Sufferers
Chronic pain is a serious condition affecting one in five Ontarians. It causes moderate to severe frequent pain, sometimes on a daily basis. It is a condition where pain persists beyond the expected healing time of a condition or problem and may require ongoing management.
http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2014/04/ontario-improving-care-for-chronic-pain-sufferers.html
Slight decrease in auto insurance rates in New Brunswick in 2013 …
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s consumer advocate for insurance says drivers continue to benefit from competition among companies as the average …