IBC voices insurer concerns over Bill-30

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says Newfoundland’s Bill-30 is a “short-term fix” that does little to relieve the pressure on auto insurers and their customers in the province.Bill-30 was signed into law earlier this week, despite opposition from insurers who say the bill does nothing to reduce the claims burden at the same time it calls for the industry to reduce auto insurance premiums.”The fact of the matter is that the legislation is merely short-term relief,” says IBC CEO Stan Griffin. “It just won’t produce the long-term savings for consumers that the government has promised.” The government has mandated a 15% rate cut.Griffin also takes issue with the fact that the government has called for public hearings on insurance after the legislation has already been passed rather than before it was conceived. He says insurers are eager for the hearings set for this fall, so they can show consumers why the government legislation does not add up.The IBC points to other Atlantic provinces which mandated rate decreases but also put caps on “pain and suffering” (i.e. non-economic) awards for accident victims as a means to rein in claims costs. Newfoundland, on the other hand, has put a deductible on non-economic awards, a move the IBC says will not prevent “costly lawyer-driven settlements for these minor injuries”. Griffin notes that reforms in New Brunswick have increased the availability of insurance there, while several insurers have already announced their intention to withdraw from Newfoundland.