Ontario auto rates drop 8.75% in third quarter: FSCO

The average rate on auto insurance dropped 8.75%, according to filings approved by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) for the first nine months of 2004.While the average decline in the third quarter alone was just under 2%, this follows a drop of 3.59% in the second quarter and the 10.15% decrease seen in the first quarter of 2004. The 8.75% overall decline is weighted by marketshare third quarter filings represented the largest portion of writers at 73.1% marketshare.While the first three months of 2003 saw rates go up 7.32%, 8.48% and 8.22% respectively, since that time auto insurers have filed successive rate declines in response to government auto reforms. Of note, many of the insurers who had already filed their government-mandated 10% rate reduction in the first or second quarter, followed up with smaller decreases in the third quarter.