Alberta Govt to target soaring insurance
Interesting read...
http://www.canada.com/calgary/story....D-0AA84F188D03
fulltext here:
The Alberta government will consider dramatic measures to curtail soaring insurance rates, including setting fixed payments for injuries, and lowering premiums for young drivers until they have an accident or break the rules of the road.
Establishing a payment schedule for injuries would basically usher in no-fault insurance to replace the tort system -- cutting out injury lawyers and hefty settlements as injured parties are guaranteed compensation, but can't sue for damages.
The Herald has also learned Tory MLAs will consider a hybrid no-fault system similar to what's in place in Ontario, where a schedule exists, but injured motorists are able to sue for "catastrophic" injuries, including serious brain and spinal injuries.
Insiders don't expect MLAs to embrace a full no-fault scheme, because of the heavy government involvement in regulation and the perception it takes away freedoms from people is contrary to the Tories' philosophy of hands-off governance.
During a meeting Monday in Calgary, MLAs will also consider banning insurance companies from hiking rates for drivers not at fault in an accident, or from penalizing motorists who inadvertently miss a payment or bounce a premium payment.
Tory MLA Rob Renner, chairman of an Alberta government committee looking at the insurance industry, will brief government members on recommendations during the meeting.
Feedback from caucus will form final recommendations, expected by the end of summer.
Renner would confirm little about specific proposals he'll present to his colleagues, but said two issues have to be dealt with in tandem -- insurance rates, and claims payouts.
"There are two sides to the equation," said Renner. "You want to deal with premiums, but you have to have control over what is being paid out. We want to have a situation that rewards good drivers and penalizes bad drivers."
Renner acknowledged exploding costs for young drivers is front and centre.
"We should . . . not convict someone before they have done something wrong," he said. "Maybe we say, You're fine until you've had an accident, but then you start to pay for it."
If Alberta opts for no-fault insurance, payouts for pain and suffering will be eliminated. These are identified by both the industry and government as being the root of soaring rates.
In 1986, bodily injury claims and adjustments came in at $151 million, said Jim Rivait, regional vice-president for the Insurance Bureau of Canada. That reached $725 million in 2002, with hundreds of soft tissue, hard-to-disprove injury claims winning tens of thousands of dollars.
"We believe if we don't deal with the pain and suffering amounts for the low-level, minor injuries, we're not going to be able to fix this problem," said Rivait.
Lowering rates for young drivers, and generally reducing the number of risk categories may well lead to higher rates for most.
"As a class, young drivers are in four to five more accidents than someone in their mid-40s," said Rivait. "If the company doesn't charge you very much, then all of a sudden they're hit with a $100,000 claim, do you think they'll ever get that money back?"
Rivait agreed, however, that limiting injury payouts would potentially save insurance firms from massive bills.
Premier Ralph Klein will take proposals agreed to Monday to a meeting of provincial and territorial leaders next week in Prince Edward Island. Ontario Premier Ernie Eves will also bring ideas for changing the industry.
Soaring premiums are a national problem, and came to a head as the major election issue in New Brunswick, nearly toppling Premier Bernard Lord.
A senior source in Klein's office said the premiers want to take a Canada-wide approach to combatting the problem. Eves is facing an election in the fall; the Klein government wants to solve the crisis long before heading to the polls within two years.
The government is leery of promising rates will tumble by a specific amount, promising instead to make the system "fairer."
In Nova Scotia, officials pledged cuts of 20 per cent, and are now under intense pressure to follow through.
Injury lawyers oppose no-fault insurance, which smacks of "Big Brotherism," said Ron Everard, president of the Civil Trial Lawyers' Association.
"We are hoping the government will see the merits of the existing system and not make any changes," Everard said. "Ideally, that's what we want to see for our clients."
He said a no-fault system would benefit insurance companies: "I don't want to live in a society where business, and particularly that big business, are allowed to make more money on the backs of injured people."
source: Tom Olsen; With files from Mike Sadava, CanWest News Service
Calgary Herald; CanWest News Service
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either way i'm scared shitless for when i renew my insurance. However i haven't EVER had any kind of close call in the almost 4 years i've been driving and i'm actually a really good driver IMO even though i like to cruise at a bit over the speed limit...either way now i'm gonna be considered a HUGE risk to society and get bum fucked for that by the insurance company
Fu*king ambulance chasers!! 
