For most of us, driving is a necessity. All drivers in the province of Ontario must have car insurance. Paying these ever-increasing premiums is also a necessity. Despite the fact that premiums keep increasing, the car insurance policy is shrinking.
Most injured people get only $3,500 in rehabilitation coverage. Even those with more serious injuries, including catastrophic injuries, have had their benefits cut in half. Ontario is the only province in Canada with a $38,000 deductible on pain and suffering damages. Tomorrow, if your family member is seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident by a drunk or distracted driver, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will still get to reduce pain and suffering damages by $38,000. Those in need of Virginia Car Accident Attorneys following an accident may want to reach out to Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward, P.C. These are only a few examples of the 17 cuts that the government has made to auto insurance policies since 2010. A full list of the changes is available here.
Why are these cuts happening?
The Ontario government is trying to save the insurance companies money. All of the 17 cuts to benefits made since 2010 are simply meant to reduce costs for insurance companies. The government is planning further cuts to the car insurance policies in hopes of saving insurers even more money.
What is happening with the money saved by auto insurers?
Even though car insurance is mandatory, they do not have to provide audited financial statements to the government before receiving a rate/premium increase. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is the government regulator for auto insurance. The regulator sets targets for auto insurance profitability. Dr. Lazar, professor of economics at the Schulich School of Business (York University), has been studying auto insurance profits and the FSCO targets. After thorough analysis of available data, Dr. Lazar concluded that in 2016 auto insurers made up to 3x more profit than the regulator’s target. As a result, Dr. Lazar has determined that the drivers in the province of Ontario have overpaid insurance premiums by approximately $1 billion per year over the last 5 years ($5 Billion).
What can we do?
Ask your candidates what they intend to do about protecting the rights of car accident victims. Ask them to stand up for the rights of car accident victims and the premium-paying public. WE deserve better!
OTLA Position
- Restore rights of victims of car accidents.
- Eliminate red tape such as the threshold, so that innocent accident victims can claim pain and suffering damages without restriction.
- Reduce the deductible so that innocent accident victims can claim more of their damages.
- Restore 5% prejudgment interest.
Restore full economic loss for innocent accident victims.
