Wednesday 2 May 2012

Insurance News - Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Why Fewer Car Thefts Doesn’t Mean Cheaper Car Insurance

Dramatic declines in car theft will not likely translate into cheaper car insurance, drivers may be sad to learn.

Diligent police work and new anti-theft devices have cut thefts by half, or about 9,800 cars per year in the Greater Toronto Area, for instance.

But when it comes to insurance, nearly a third of all car owners already pay nothing because they have no theft coverage, and those who do, pay very little for it.

The average premium for what’s called comprehensive coverage — for everything from theft to broken glass — was only $107 per car in Toronto, Peel and southern York regions in 2010, down from $134 in 2006.

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Auto Insurance Rates Stabilizing


The average auto insurance premium in Ontario declined slightly last quarter – a sign that rates may finally be stabilizing after years of sky-high increases.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the body that regulates auto insurance, said the average premium fell 0.18 per cent.

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Ontario Sees Average Car Insurance Rates Go Down 3.6%

Ontario witnessed the largest reduction in car insurance rates among the three provinces considered in Kanetix Ltd.’s latest quarterly, year-over-year review.

Customers saw rates go down 3.6% compared with 2011 Q1, notes a statement from Kanetix, an online insurance marketplace. Suggesting an early positive trend fueled by Ontario’s auto reforms in 2010, the decrease is the first in more than a year.

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FSCO's Settlement Disclosure Notice May Be Inadequate

A FSCO Arbitrator has ruled that the FSCO prescribed Settlement Disclosure Notice might be inadequate to effect settlement. In Parveen vs. Aviva, a preliminary issue was whether Ms. Parveen had rescinded her accident benefits settlement and was entitled to move to arbitration.

The Arbitrator found that important information in the Settlement Regulation was not conveyed by the text of the prescribed Settlement Disclosure Notice. Specifically, she noted that Paragraph 3 of subsection 9.1(3) of Ontario Regulation 664 sets out the information that must be included in the disclosure notice with respect to the right to rescind a settlement. It requires:

A statement that the insured person may, within two business days after the later of the day the insured person signs the disclosure notice and the day the insured person signs the release, rescind the settlement by delivering a written notice to the office of the insurer or its representative and returning any money received by the insured person as consideration for the settlement.

The arbitration decision is here.

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