IBC takes stand on publication of rate filings

Insurers are taking umbrage with the idea of making their regulatory rate filings public. In a submission to hearings being conducted by Nova Scotia’s Insurance Review Board (IRB), the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says insurers rate filings contain proprietary information which should be kept private for competitive reasons.”We believe that certain rate filing information should be publicly released at the appropriate time to both protect consumers and foster a competitive marketplace,” says Don Forgeron, IBC’s Atlantic region vice president. “The real issue centers on what that information is, and when it should be released.”Some information contained in auto insurance rate filings is “confidential, strategic and proprietary”, IBC says. “If the NSIRB was to release all of this information publicly, it would create conditions that Canadian competition laws forbid by effectively allowing competitors to exchange such information,” notes a bureau press release.Forgeron says the public will see no benefit either if insurers rates are disclosed in advance because this effectively reduces competition. Once rates have been approved, the IBC has no issue with some information, including prices, being made public.