Facility N.B. depopulation ahead of schedule

The Facility Association (FA) is celebrating early success in its goal to depopulate the New Brunswick pool for high-risk drivers, having reduced market share to 2.5% in just two months.”While the May numbers are early projections, I’m thrilled to see our market share shrink continuously on a monthly basis,” says FA CEO David Simpson. “These numbers also confirm that New Brunswick has a lower percentage of drivers insured through Facility Association than any of the Atlantic provinces.”FA had targeted August as the date by which it market share could be lowered to the 2.5% mark in the province. But since February, 7,650 drivers have moved out of FA and found insurance in the voluntary market.Simpson attributes the depopulation to an industry-wide effort, as well as the positive impact of government auto insurance reforms on the voluntary market making it more attractive for insurers to write business in the province. The move to get drivers out of FA has included work by brokers and agents, as well as a hotline established by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and other aids to drivers wanting to find coverage elsewhere.