ING to stay in Nova Scotia

ING is the first insurer to publicly state it will continue to write auto insurance in Nova Scotia despite introduction of a bill to freeze rates for the next six months in that province.Recently the provincial government introduced Bill-45 which would freeze rates until January, 2004.ING said that despite its intention to stay in Nova Scotia, it is dismayed by the government’s plan. ING Atlantic division vice president Dennis Furlong says the bill addresses only the consequences of problems in the Nova Scotia auto market, not the cause of those problems. “The main issue is the cost of protecting Nova Scotians and the solution resides in controlling the costs of providing this protection, not in a freeze of premiums.” The primary driver of increased costs is rising bodily injury claims, he says.ING says it is committed to working with government and other stakeholders on Nova Scotia’s problems.