ING adds voice against public auto for New Brunswick

Responding to the recent release of a report on potential public auto in New Brunswick, ING Insurance says if product reforms were achieved in the province, private insurers could provide a cheaper product that any public system.”Essentially, the Select Committee [on Public Automobile Insurance] found that there may be benefits to offer a different product than the one currently mandated by the government,” says Dennis R. Furlong, president of ING’s Atlantic division. “However, most of the benefits stem from the committee’s proposal to adopt a no fault plan as well as the elimination and/or capping of benefits, not from the establishment of a Government monopoly.” ING, the largest auto writer in the province, is the latest company to point out that the public system proposed is actually proof that claims cost, specifically tort costs, are plaguing the system rather than the method of product delivery. The public system proposed would eliminate tort access and specifically deny any compensation for pain and suffering, costs which the private industry is currently subject to.The government has already proposed a “no-frills” auto policy, which would see insurers offer a basic level of coverage for a low cost and then optional covers for higher premium. Furlong says insurers could offer cheaper coverage under such a system. He adds that insurers would see reduced costs if the premiers of the Atlantic provinces would take steps towards harmonizing the auto product.