ZR
04-14-2017, 11:21 PM
Liberals, need I say more???
The inescapable conclusion of a new Ontario report on auto insurance is that drivers in this province are being bilked for billions of dollars.
And that our mandatory car insurance system is both perilously broken and fundamentally fails to serve victims.
But it is the staggering scale of the swindling, under the nose of a complicit government, that should shock and outrage drivers.
In many ways, it’s on par with the mess the Liberals have made of hydro.
The report, Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered: A Review of the Auto Insurance System in Ontario, was written by former Workplace Safety and Insurance Board CEO David Marshall, who was hired by the government to review auto insurance.
In it, Marshall notes Ontario drivers pay a staggering $10 billion annually in insurance premiums, with an average bill of $1,458 per vehicle.
That’s 24% higher than premiums in Alberta, double what drivers pay in Quebec and almost 55% higher than the Canadian average outside of Ontario, Marshall found.
“Overall, Ontario has one of the lowest levels of auto accidents and fatalities in Canada and the most expensive auto insurance premiums,” he wrote in his report.
And if the government managed to reduce Ontario rates to anything near the Canadian average of $930 “it would save Ontario drivers almost 40% off its current level — about $4 billion a year or some $20 billion over a five-year period,” Marshall wrote.
Despite consistent reductions in automobile accidents, especially serious ones, the cost of claims have consistently risen, thanks to “one of the least effective insurance systems in Canada.”
“It is filled with disputes and inefficiencies, and a very high percentage of premiums are being used to pay experts and lawyers and not going directly to injured persons,” Marshall wrote.
“No one in the system is actively managing medical care for accident victims,” he added. And cash settlements for catastrophically injured persons “are being drained by having to pay legal fees” and fail to meet actual needs.
Small wonder the Liberals quietly released the report this week with no fanfare.
Marshall rightly points out that successive governments have played a role in the current sorry state of Ontario’s auto insurance system.
However, the current government has been in power since 2003!
Credit the Liberals for asking for the report. Expect it now, to be major issue in next year’s election campaign.
The inescapable conclusion of a new Ontario report on auto insurance is that drivers in this province are being bilked for billions of dollars.
And that our mandatory car insurance system is both perilously broken and fundamentally fails to serve victims.
But it is the staggering scale of the swindling, under the nose of a complicit government, that should shock and outrage drivers.
In many ways, it’s on par with the mess the Liberals have made of hydro.
The report, Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered: A Review of the Auto Insurance System in Ontario, was written by former Workplace Safety and Insurance Board CEO David Marshall, who was hired by the government to review auto insurance.
In it, Marshall notes Ontario drivers pay a staggering $10 billion annually in insurance premiums, with an average bill of $1,458 per vehicle.
That’s 24% higher than premiums in Alberta, double what drivers pay in Quebec and almost 55% higher than the Canadian average outside of Ontario, Marshall found.
“Overall, Ontario has one of the lowest levels of auto accidents and fatalities in Canada and the most expensive auto insurance premiums,” he wrote in his report.
And if the government managed to reduce Ontario rates to anything near the Canadian average of $930 “it would save Ontario drivers almost 40% off its current level — about $4 billion a year or some $20 billion over a five-year period,” Marshall wrote.
Despite consistent reductions in automobile accidents, especially serious ones, the cost of claims have consistently risen, thanks to “one of the least effective insurance systems in Canada.”
“It is filled with disputes and inefficiencies, and a very high percentage of premiums are being used to pay experts and lawyers and not going directly to injured persons,” Marshall wrote.
“No one in the system is actively managing medical care for accident victims,” he added. And cash settlements for catastrophically injured persons “are being drained by having to pay legal fees” and fail to meet actual needs.
Small wonder the Liberals quietly released the report this week with no fanfare.
Marshall rightly points out that successive governments have played a role in the current sorry state of Ontario’s auto insurance system.
However, the current government has been in power since 2003!
Credit the Liberals for asking for the report. Expect it now, to be major issue in next year’s election campaign.