Ontario drivers could see a decrease in their insurance rates.
ONTARIO - Ontario residents may soon see a decrease on insurance rates.
In Queen's Park Thursday, the Liberals with support of the Progressive Conservatives, passed a bill originally presented in 2013 that would work to decrease insurance rates by up to 15% by August 2015.
The bill works to target insurance fraud and reduce costs for insurance companies, which can then be passed on to drivers in the form of insurance breaks. The bill will also help people injured in collisions settle claims faster by moving a dispute resolution system from Ontario's insurance regulator to an existing tribunal run by the Attorney General's office, which the industry has said would eliminate one step in the appeals process.
Finance minister Charles Sousa wants drivers with "clean records" to benefit from the 15% cut the government is fighting for.
When the bill was presented by a then Liberal minority, the New Democrats supported the bill only after making a 15% reduction a mandatory condition for the 2013 budget. Now faced with the real numbers, the NDP were not in favour of the bill passing Thursday.
"Removing more protections for people is not the right way to go," said NDP critic Jagmeet Singh. "It's a significant loss of our rights, and this is not a good bill."
The Insurance Bureau is in favour of the legislation however, saying it "strikes a blow" at those who profit from insurance fraud, and said even the industry agrees auto premiums in Ontario are too high. "We realize the financial hardship it can create for vehicle owners," said spokesman Ralph Palumbo. "Now we have an opportunity to begin fixing the system once and for all."
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