What do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Since you can’t actually respond, we’ll just assume you said “the good news”. In 2011, the Fraser Institute released a study of Canada’s various provincial automobile insurers, analyzing the public vs. private systems, and found that, generally speaking, Canada’s private insurers benefit the consumer above public, government-run systems. Since Ontario’s insurance providers are entirely privatized, this should be good news for us. So what’s the bad news? In truth, Ontario’s auto insurance premiums are the most costly in the country—virtually double the average Quebec driver’s premium. As any accident claim lawyer knows, adjusting the problems in Ontario’s system won’t be easy, and a Toronto personal injury lawyer might be necessary to get you through the weeds of our current format.
The History
Any Ontario driver who’s been paying premiums for the past decade or so knows the perverse relief of griping about our ridiculous premium payouts. Indeed, Ontario’s high premiums have been widely acknowledged for some time; so much so that, in 2010, the provincial government passed reforms aimed at reducing premiums. The reforms promised a 15% reduction in premiums. The downside, however, is that they promised to secure this reduction by in turn reducing legally mandated insurance benefits. Needless to say, people weren’t happy. Oh, and by the way, though the benefits reductions have been established, premiums have thus far only dropped by a modest 4.66%.
Benefits Reductions
While perhaps it’s possible that, in the next few years, the insurance industry will in fact be able to meet the 15% premium reduction (an undoubtedly positive development for the average driver), as an accident claim lawyer knows, the car accident victims are the ones who will take the brunt of the damage. The benefits reductions targeted “minor injuries”, changing their mandatory benefits from $30,000 to $3,500. No, we didn’t miss a zero on that second figure. On top of that, deductibles rose to $30,000 in order to discourage lawsuits in disputed claims cases. The problem, as if it wasn’t flawed enough on its face, is that 80% of car accident injuries fall into the “minor” category.
What It All Means
Considering all this, its not hard to imagine a scenario: an honest, long-time driver who’s been paying Ontario’s nationally unsurpassed premium rates for years gets into a car accident. While she’s more or less alright, a case of whiplash and a fractured arm cause her to spend time in hospital, miss a few weeks at work, and go through physical therapy. Her insurance covers $3,500 for her “minor injuries”, but she has to pay more out of pocket, not to mention lost income, and her coverage’s high deductible means she can’t be compensated for those pecuniary losses. Toronto personal injury lawyers can tell you that this predicament is hardly far-fetched. If, even with your faithful (albeit begrudging) premium payments, you still aren’t protected after your motor vehicle accident, contact an accident claim lawyer as soon as possible.
Sources:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/news/the-problem-how-to-fix-ontarios-broken-insurance-system/article18024824/
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/regulatory-severity-in-the-canadian-auto-insurance-market_csr-fall-2011.pdf