Car Insurance in Ontario: It’s Time For a Change

For years the liberal government had promised to do more to reduce insurance premiums, but as most automobile owners know, that never happened.  In fact many people saw their rates increase, while available benefits were reduced.

This summer, reports were released that show Ontarians have the second highest auto insurance rates in the country (second to B.C.) despite also having one of the lowest levels of accidents and fatalities.

And recently one auto insurer made headlines when it was revealed that they had developed an unwritten policy of refusing to provide insurance to drivers based only on where they lived.

Given that insurance coverage in Ontario is mandatory, none of this seems fair and it is clear that Ontario’s insurance regime is in desperate need of change.

On January 9, 2019 the current Ontario Government released an online survey that they say is part of a consultation process set to coincide with a review of Ontario’s auto insurance rate regulation system.  They call it “Putting Drivers First”.

There’s no guarantee what if anything will come of these consultations, but I’d like to think that if the government sees significant results showing that Ontarians want a change that something will be done to effect that change.  Certainly, the worst thing that we can do is to do nothing at all.  As such, I encourage friends, colleagues and especially clients to complete the survey and have your opinion be heard.  It is available online until February 15, 2019.

 

The Ontario Government’s News Release

Click here for some additional information about the Survey

Click here to complete the Survey