By SooToday.com Staff
SooToday.com
Monday, November 02, 2009

NEWS RELEASE

MINISTRY OF
FINANCE

*************************
Ontario providing choice in auto insurance

Consumers to choose coverage that meets their protection needs and budgets

November 2, 2009 - Ontario would provide consumers with more choice and flexibility in their auto insurance coverage under new proposals introduced today.

Drivers could opt for a new basic level of auto insurance coverage that could help reduce their auto insurance premiums, or choose additional levels of medical and rehabilitation coverage.

This would allow drivers to buy coverage that best meets their individual protection needs and budgets, while stabilizing insurance premiums in Ontario.

Ontario's basic medical and rehabilitation benefits would remain the most generous of any province with a similar auto insurance marketplace in Canada.

The government will work with the insurance industry, health care providers and consumer groups to enhance drivers' awareness and understanding of new choices available to them.

Ontarians would also benefit from 17 consumer protection measures also being proposed.

This includes clarifying that certain objectionable quoting practices are prohibited, including using credit scoring to determine whether a driver is insurable or how much to charge a driver for auto insurance.

The reforms would also streamline a number of processes to reduce transaction costs and create a less complex auto insurance system, ensuring more accident benefit dollars go to treating accident victims.

"This balanced set of reform lays the foundation for an auto insurance system with greater price stability. Drivers can choose coverage that provides them with the protection they need based on their own preferences and circumstances. Drivers renewing or buying new policies should talk to their companies and brokers about how they can pay less for car insurance, while ensuring that they are adequately protected," said Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance,

Quick facts

Provinces with similar auto insurance marketplaces, such as Alberta and New Brunswick, have $50,000 in medical and rehabilitation coverage.

Insurers in PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland provide $25,000.

These provinces do not provide a higher level of benefits for people with catastrophic injuries.

The proposals introduced today are based on the recommendations from the government's first Report on the Five-Year Automobile Insurance Review.

Average auto insurance premiums remain lower than they were in October 2003.

Learn more

Learn more about new choices available for Ontario drivers purchasing auto insurance.

See a complete list of the Ontario government's proposed auto insurance reforms.

Learn more about automobile insurance in Ontario.

Read the Financial Services Commission of Ontario's Report on the Five-Year Automobile Insurance Review.

*************************