Insurance News - Saturday, June 18, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Saturday, June 18, 2016:

• A recent FSCO survey revealed that 90% Ontarians do not know much about their auto insurance coverage.
• New York legislators want to make self-driving cars accessible, but must first fix a 1971 law that requires at least one hand on steering wheel.
• Three threats to incumbent car companies are converging into a tidal wave of disruption.
• Almost half of marijuana-smoking Canadian drivers say that they can safely operate a vehicle while stoned.
• How data analytics will change the insurance sector as never before.

Insurance News - Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Wednesday, June 8, 2016:

• Ontario consumers satisfied with auto insurance despite government failures to reduce rates according to a J.D. Power survey.
• A CCIR paper confirms that no legislative changes are needed to introduce electronic pink slips.  See my recent post on electronic insurance cards.
• Florida officials are calling for a $125,000 study to consider dropping state’s system of no-fault Personal Injury Protection auto insurance.
• Google has registered a patent for a glue would stick pedestrian to a self-driving car after a collision in order to reduce injuries.
• Will the convenience and accessibility provided by self-driving cars increase auto usage, and congestion?
• With reduced SABs coverage, brokers who fail to offer their customers sound advice run the risk of an E&O lawsuit.

Insurance News - Monday, May 30, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, May 30, 2016:

• Auto insurance is a sore spot for many Canadians. Many believe they are paying too much for premiums while receiving too little in return. Although customer satisfaction is improving.
• It's almost June 1 and mandatory accident benefit coverage in Ontario will be shrinking.
• Speakers at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's first forum on the topic offered mixed opinions about whether the arrival of self-driving cars should be slowed or sped up.
• GM and Lyft will be using Chevy Bolts as autonomous taxis in selected U.S. cities in 2017.
• An Ontario woman blindly followed her car's GPS straight into Lake Huron. Self-driving cars got to be better than this.
• The owner of a Tesla Model S says that his semi-autonomous car crashed into the back of a trailer while he thought it was parked. Tesla Motors isn't so sure that's what happened.

LAT Have Mercy

On April, 1, 2016, Ontario's Licence Appeal Tribunal's (LAT) Automobile Accident Benefits Service (AABS) was officially open for business. After 26 years, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO)'s Dispute Resolution Group stopped accepted new applications. The transfer of responsibility has created considerable apprehension among its users. FSCO was flooded with new applications in the weeks leading up to April 1st. For many, it's a matter of 'better the devil you know.' What will this change mean for stakeholders? Will it really be different?

How did we get here?

The establishment of the AABS at LAT brings to a conclusion a process that began with the appointment of the Honourable J. Douglas Cunningham in August, 2013. Justice Cunningham was asked to review the auto insurance dispute resolution system. He was asked to make recommendations to the government to address a significant backlog, in disputed autoinsurance claims pending mediation and arbitration, that existed at the time - and to propose system improvements. His report - delivered in February 2014 - included 28 recommendations. As a result, Bill 15, the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014 included a provision transferring responsibility for resolving disputes over statutory accident benefits from FSCO to LAT. Regulation changes filed by the government on March 7, 2016 - which came into effect on April 1 - was the final step in implementing the new dispute resolution system.

What are the changes?

• The only dispute resolution process available to parties is an arbitration through LAT.
• Mandatory mediation is no longer part of the dispute resolution process.
• No court action can be commenced for statutory accident benefits disputes, even where there is a companion tort action.
• There is no right of appeal, other than a reconsideration option with the Executive Chair of the Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals of Ontario (SLATSTO) for exceptional circumstances and the Divisional Court on a question of law.
• A total of 22 new full-time and part-time LAT adjudicators have been appointed to date. Auto insurance stakeholders will be interacting with a largely unknown group of adjudicators as only three have had experience resolving disputes at FSCO.
• LAT is committed to resolving most (90%) disputes within six months.

What happens to FSCO?

Applications for mediation, neutral evaluation and arbitration have not been accepted since March 31, 2016. A mediation, arbitration, court proceeding, appeal, variation or revocation that was commenced before April 1, 2016 may be continued at FSCO after that date. If a mediation fails before April 1, 2016 , an application for arbitration can only be made to the LAT on or after April 1, 2016. Applications to the Director of Arbitrations - for appeals, variation or revocation - may only be made where the application for arbitration was received by FSCO before April 1, 2016.

How does LAT work?

Since there is no longer mandatory mediation, an applicant will be able to apply for arbitration following the denial or termination of statutory accident benefits. The applicant (an insured or insurer) files an Application for Arbitration with LAT. The other party files a response.

It is intended that all procedural issues, lack of production, or failures to attend insurer examinations are to be dealt with upfront by the Registrar. LAT may dismiss an application without a hearing if (1) the claim is an abuse of process, (2) the matter is outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction, (3) the statutory requirements for bringing the application have not been met, or (4) the party filing the application has abandoned the process. This is a significant departure from the FSCO process which included preliminary hearings. However, if LAT is reluctant to dismiss these applications, then the gatekeeper function, envisioned by Justice Cunningham, will not be put into practice.

The first step in the arbitration process is a case conference. This is the settlement meeting described in Justice Cunningham's report. It must take place within 45 days of the date LAT receives an application. The case conference is analogous to a FSCO pre-arbitration meeting except most will take place over the phone instead of in-person. Prior to the case conference, the parties are required to outline the documents to used at a hearing, any production issues, the preference for the type of hearing (written, video/telephone or in-person), a list of witnesses and details of the most recent settlement offer.

Should the dispute not be resolved at a case conference, then a hearing will take place within 60 days. The type of hearing will be decided by the adjudicator at the case conference. Decisions will be issued within 30 days for written hearings, within 45 days for video/telephone hearings and 60-90 days for in-person hearings.

Lingering concerns

There is no LAT appeal process other than the possibility of a reconsideration by the Executive Chair of SLATSTO if there is a clear error that was made by the adjudicator. Appeals based on merit are not available. A party can apply for judicial review where there is a question of law.

Is this a significant departure from the FSCO process?

 The simple answer is yes. But how much different can only be determined over time. The forms and practice rules are simpler. In an attempt to create a different culture, very few FSCO arbitrators have been appointed to LAT. Some see this as a good thing while others are concerned. But it does add an element of uncertainty for an initial period. 

There are other elements of the new process to be concerned about. Justice Cunningham recommended the creation of statutory timelines and sanctions regarding settlement meetings (case conferences), arbitration hearings and the release of arbitration decisions. He felt that there need to be strict adherence to timelines and that creating statutory obligations was the most effective way of accomplishing this. However, no statutory timelines have been created and instead LAT will manage timeline requirements. This is essentially how things existed at FSCO. What will happen if the parties are not ready for a quick hearing? Will adjournments become common occurrences? Stakeholders will be waiting to see if the promised timelines will be met or erode over time.  

In response to criticism of FSCO practices in conducting mediations, Justice Cunningham recommended that settlement meetings (case conferences) be conducted in-person or by video conferencing. He rejected telephone meetings.  LAT will predominantly be conducting case conferences over the phone. Considering that FSCO pre-arbitration meetings are in-person, this is really a step backwards.

Justice Cunningham wanted hearings to follow three streams: paper reviews, expedited in-person hearings and full in-person hearings. He recommended criteria be adopted to determine which stream a case falls under. Those criteria have not been adopted. Instead, the LAT adjudicator will exercise his or her discretion to determine the format of a hearing. At FSCO, similar discretion existed but all hearings were in-person.  Although LAT has suggested that many hearing will be paper reviews, will stakeholders pressure adjudicators to provide more in-person hearings? 

A number of other recommendations by Justice Cunningham seemed to have been abandoned. The settlement of future medical and rehabilitation benefits were to have been prohibited until two years after the date of the accident. The SABS have not been amended and settlements will still be permitted one year after the date of the accident. In addition, every insurer was to establish an internal review process as the first step in the new dispute resolution process. It does not appear that all companies have established an internal review process.

Conclusion

A lot of time and effort has gone into creating the AABS at LAT to replace the dispute resolution process at FSCO. One of the problems identified by Justice Cunningham has been the culture surrounding the previous system.  LAT has made a considerable effort to create a new culture. However, the new adjudicators will be dealing with the same clientele and will need to interpret the same complex and frustrating statutory accident benefits. It will take some time to determine how much different the new system is.

Insurance News - Monday, May 16, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, May 16, 2016:

• Uber, Google and Ford form self-driving car coalition to urge government action on self-driving car tech.
• Regulatory change demands insurers show regulators using telematics data for claims management would help consumers.
• There is a lot of speculation around what the world will look like when there are self-driving cars on the road. For example, one in four drivers (the person behind the wheel) are expected to sleep while in self-driving car.
• An expert from the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence warns that there will be a lot of sex behind the wheel.
• Then there is the NATO security expert who warns that Islamic State technicians are working to produce driverless car bombs.

Insurance News - Saturday, May 14, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Saturday, May 14, 2016:

• Is an outdated loyalty system the only thing keeping brokers from oblivion?
• Canadians can now rent their personal vehicle to others through a U.S. company that has just launched in this country. It's like AirBnB for car owners. But should you do it?
• A new ride-hailing app made exclusively for women will now launch in the U.S. nationwide this fall after being met with overwhelming demand from users.
• Auto insurance rates in Ontario have dropped about 10 per cent on average in the past few years, putting the Liberal government two-thirds of the way to a goal that passed eight months ago.
• Who's responsible when a self-driving car crashes? In short term it will be drivers but in long term it will likely be manufacturers.
• Classifying the different levels of vehicle autonomy. Most cars will not be at the top level for many years.

Insurance News - Friday, April 29, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Friday, April 29, 2016:

• The driverless car revolution is taking the world by storm, but Canada has been slow to join. Only one Canadian province, Ontario, has allowed autonomous cars to be tested on its roads.
• Self-driving cars are at the mercy of crappy roads where it is common to see faded lane markers, missing signs and other side effects of our aging roadways.
• It looks like Toronto will have separate rules for taxis and ride-sharing companies.
• The next step in autonomous vehicles:  Toyota's ‘guardian angel’ self-driving vehicles allows drivers to control vehicles until they mess up.  Then the vehicle takes control from the driver to prevent a crash.
• There are rumours circulating that the Tesla 3, which will be available beginning March 2018, will be the first truly self-driving car.
• Uber, who has largely introduced the ability to measure usage in miles not months, has led to the creation of new models.

Benefit Cuts Lead To Modest Rate Reductions

FSCO's latest quarterly rate approval numbers have been released and suggest that some savings have been accrued from the statutory accident benefit cuts that become effective on June 1.

FSCO approved 50 private passenger automobile insurance rate filings during the first quarter of 2016. All 50 filings were automobile insurance reform filings. These 50 insurers represent 83.36% of the market based on premium volume. Approved rates decreased on average by 3.07% when applied across the total market.  This is the largest drop in rates since the fourth quarter of 2013 when approved rates decreased on average by 3.98% when applied across the total market.

Although the government has begun to distance itself from the 15% rate reduction promise made in August 2016 (likely an admission that it can't be achieved), most people are, at least, curious how close the latest round of cuts got us to 15%.  If you aggregate all the rate changes since the 2013 announcement, the total rate reduction is 10.17% when applied across then total market.  There may be further reductions in the next quarter but it's safe to say that this is about it.    

Insurance News - Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Tuesday, April 5, 2016:

• Self-driving vehicles will learn everything about you—and influence your behavior in ways you might not even realize.
• Telematics will revolutionize insurance by transforming it from a fixed-cost operation into a variable-cost one.
• Zoox is the latest entrant in the self-driving-car derby wanting to develop Uber-like driverless service.
• MIT suggests interconnected roads and self driving cars will not need traffic lights or road signs (although pedestrians still will).
• UberX car is collateral damage in high-speed police chase of an SUV leaving three people with very serious injuries. Is Uber's "auto insurance policy" going to cover these possibly catastrophic claims?

Insurance News - Monday, March 21, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, March 21, 2016:

• Nova Scotia will allow drivers to voluntarily pay back their insurer for minor damage and have the accident registered as not at-fault.
• Existing U.S. laws pose few barriers to adoption of autonomous vehicles so long as they allow humans to take control.
• Undercover investigators hired by Aviva capture alleged car insurance fraud on video.
• Uber to begin replacing drivers with 100,000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class self-driving cars starting in 2020.
• Google wants U.S. Congress to create new federal powers that would let the technology giant receive special, expedited permission to bring to market a self-driving car that has no steering wheel or pedals.

LAT Will Not Be Following All of the Cunningham Recommendations

The Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) begins accepting applications to resolve auto insurance disputes on April 1, 2016.  LAT has completed a first round of recruitment for adjudicators and case management staff.  Adjudicators are Order-in-Council appointments.  Training of adjudicators and staff is underway.

FSCO will continue to operate beyond April 1, 2016.  If mediation has been completed, but the arbitration process has not begun, a party can apply to LAT and begin the new process.  If the case already has been assigned an arbitration case number by FSCO, the case remains at FSCO.  Existing cases will not be transferred from FSCO to LAT.

Although the new system follows the recommendations put forth by Justice Cunningham in 2016, a number of recommendations have been modified: 

Justice Cunningham recommended that mandatory mediation (along with pre-arbitration hearings) be eliminated and that a settlement meeting be held before arbitration (Recommendations #4 and #13).  LAT has created a case conference prior to arbitration which follows the intent of settlement meetings proposed by Cunningham.

Justice Cunningham recommended that statutory timelines and sanctions regarding settlement meetings, arbitration hearings and the release of arbitration decisions be created (Recommendation #6).  However, no statutory timelines have been created and LAT will manage timeline requirements.  This is essentially the status quo.

Justice Cunningham recommended that the policy of no application fees for claimants at the settlement meeting stage be continued (Recommendation #7).  LAT has introduced a $100 application fee.

Justice Cunningham recommended that settlement meetings be conducted by video conferencing rather than by telephone in cases where it is not feasible for the parties to meet in person (Recommendation #14).  LAT is continuing the current practice and most case conferences will take place over the phone.

Justice Cunningham recommended an adjournment fee be charged to the party requesting an adjournment in the absence of exceptional circumstances (Recommendation #16).  No adjournment fee has been established.

Justice Cunningham recommended that the settlement of future medical and rehabilitation benefits be prohibited until two years after the date of the accident (Recommendation #17).  The SABS have not been amended and settlements will still be permitted one year after the date of the accident.

Justice Cunningham recommended that each insurer establish an internal review process (Recommendations #19, #20 and #21).  A company internal review process has not yet been established.

Justice Cunningham recommended criteria for streaming disputes to paper reviews, expedited in-person hearings and full in-person hearings (Recommendations #25, #26 and #27).  The criteria have not been adopted.  LAT adjudicators will exercise his or her discretion to determine the format of a hearing, which is the status quo.

Below is the full dispute resolution process: 

Insurance News - Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Wednesday, March 9, 2016:

• It was inevitable that a Google self-driving car would cause an at-fault accident.  A Google car got into a minor fender-bender struck a bus on a city street and Google admits fault.
• Fleets of coordinated, self-driving cars could bring an end to parking as we know it and help make our urban future cheaper, greener and much more pleasant.
• With driverless cars soon to be a reality, should humans be allowed to drive?
• Mississauga city councillors vote to halt Uber services while they debate a solution.
• This is an interesting article on how self-driving cars may be following similar path as elevators.

Insurance News - Monday, February 29, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, February 29, 2016:

• Bramalea-Gore-Malton MPP Jagmeet Singh wants industry profits used to drive down auto insurance rates.
• The U.S. National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration told Google that the artificial intelligence system that controls its self-driving car can be considered a driver under federal law.
• Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to about 25 million passengers to settle two San Francisco class actions over the way it advertises its services.
• Google is killing off the car-insurance comparison tool that it rolled out last year.
• Uber's popularity is prompting Canadian insurance companies to introduce coverage for drivers carrying paying passengers in their personal vehicles.

Electronic Proof...Still Not in Canada

Three years ago, I wrote an article about the status of electronic insurance cards.  Despite the fact that smartphones, tablets and other technological gadgets are now part of everyday life, providing proof of auto insurance coverage is like a nostalgic trip back to the days of our parents or grandparents.  In Canada,insurance companies and brokerages continue to mail, fax and e-mail copies of the standard pink insurance slips to policyholders upon renewal or policy changes.

Back in 2012, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) reported that 11 U.S. states had laws or regulations on the books that allow for electronic insurance cards to be used for both vehicle registration and when being pulled over by the police.  The PCIAA now reports that 43 U.S. states have enacted legislation which permits some form of electronic proof of insurance including electronic delivery and the use of an electronic image as evidence of coverage.  Clearly, electronic insurance cards are well accepted in the U.S.

Why is the U.S. and Canadian experience so different?

For one thing, not all Canadian jurisdictions use the standard 'pink slip.'   The public insurers in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have combined the insurance card with and the provincial motor vehicle registration card.  Quebec is a little different because private insurers sell physical damage coverage and must provide an insurance certificate.  There is no colour requirement and the document can be emailed, although electronic proof of insurance is still not permitted.

In Canada, there has been a perception that electronic delivery of insurance cards or electronic proof of insurance might be more at risk to fraud.  In fact, the paper insurance card is quite susceptible to fraud.  Police officers have no way to validate whether a pink slip provided by a driver is valid and unexpired, and therefore are inclined to just accept it.  

There are also concerns regarding privacy and liability.  When a driver hands over his or her mobile device to a police officer to show proof of insurance, can the officer access other information on the device?  What happens if the police officer drops and damages a mobile device while verifying insurance coverage?  Who Is liable for damages?

The U.S. experiences provide numerous examples of statutory or regulatory approaches to addressing these issues.  In Canada, many legal barriers to e-commerce have been eliminated.  Yet the insurance sector has clung to paper insurance cards. 

In Ontario, there is no legislative requirement that insurance cards be in paper form.   The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act (sections 3 and 6) requires that a driver must always have an insurance card in their vehicle and must make it available to a police officer for inspection.  It does not stipulate what the card is to look like.  The Ontario Superintendent of Financial Services sets out the content, size and colour of the insurance card through a bulletin.  Consequently, the Superintendent has the authority to approve an electronic insurance card.  No statutory amendment is likely required.

It is inevitable that electronic proof of insurance will come to Canada. The technology exists.  It just seems that no one particularly wants to be the first to make the move.

Insurance News - Friday, February 12, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Friday, February 12, 2016:

• Trial lawyers and victims group call for inquiry into the use of medical evidence by auto insurers in insurance claims.  Personally, I believe this is symptomatic of a much bigger problem.
• A startup at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hopes to replace insurance agents with artificial intelligence and make buying auto insurance as easy as texting a photo of your license plate.
• Uber lost its bid to freeze a lawsuit bound for trial over California drivers’ demands to be treated as employees while the company appeals rulings that dramatically increased the stakes in the case.
• A recent Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) study forecasts that 380 million semi, highly or fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) will be on the road by 2030. In the decade preceding 2030, the penetration of active safety and autonomous vehicles will reduce the number of accidents by more than 30%, leading to a significant reduction in insurance premiums.
• Uber is piloting a new way to check the quality of its drivers — by monitoring their driving, speed and distractedness via their smartphones, using the devices’ geolocation information, accelerometers and gyrometers (which reveal whether a person is, for example, moving their phone around while driving) - essentially a telematics application.

Insurance News - Thursday, February 11, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Thursday, February 11, 2016:

• Developers of driverless cars promise fewer deaths and injuries from car accidents.That could also mean fewer cases for lawyers who handle auto injury litigation, but opinions differ on how much of a threat driverless cars pose to lawyers' livelihoods.
• The guy who solved Uber’s insurance problem has no insurance background.
• Google is disappointed to learn that driverless cars will need a driver in CaliforniaThe state's Department of Motor Vehicles wants someone behind the wheel in case something goes wrong.
• Meanwhile, the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration told Google that the artificial intelligence system that controls its self-driving car can be considered a driver under federal law.
• Edmonton will become the first Canadian city to allow ride-sharing companies like Uber to legally operate after city council approves a ride-sharing bylaw.

Insurance News - Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Wednesday, January 27, 2016:

• Kathleen Wynne says pledge to cut auto insurance 15 per cent was a ‘stretch goal’ - classic govt speak!
• Ontario's finance minister is hard-pressed to explain why he continued to declare publicly that the government would meet an election pledge to cut auto insurance rates despite being aware that keeping the promise would be challenging.
• Canadians are wary of self-driving cars.  They would rather see technology make driving safer.
• Google's monthly report for its self-driving car project is in, and according to data recorded by onboard computers, the car's human drivers intervened 13 times between September 2014 and November 2015 to avoid an accident.
• Is State Farm preparing for the end of auto insurance?
• The biggest roadblock facing driverless cars is not government regulation but lawyers.
• Windsor wants to become test site for self-driving vehicles.

Insurance News - Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Tuesday, January 26, 2016:

• Town of Stratford has built connected infrastructure to attract self-driving cars for testing over the past decade.
• Uber's impact being felt as San Francisco's largest cab company Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy.
• Why baby boomers embrace sensor-driven cars, but doubt self-driving cars.
• While claiming their self-driving cars have not caused an accident, Google also reports self-driving car mistakes: 272 failures and 13 near misses.
• Google wants to form more partnerships with automakers and suppliers in 2016 to accelerate work on self-driving cars.
• Obama boosts self-driving car development with $4 billion investment.

Ontario's Failed Rate Reduction Strategy

The promise to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15% is a failure.  

In August 2013 the Ontario government announced a two-year rate reduction strategy. What has ensued since that announcement has been a series of reforms to bring down the cost of insurance. Many of those reforms include no-fault accident benefit reductions.  

So how successful has the strategy been?  Last week FSCO posted the fourth quarter rate approvals for 2015. The FSCO post indicates that rates fell a minuscule 0.15% in the quarter. For the entire year, rates fell by just 1.0%.  Since August 2013, rates have only come down by 7.1%.  That's not even half of what the government has been trying to achieve.

Premier Kathleen Wynne now calls the 15% rate reduction strategy a "stretch goal".  That's as close as you're going to get a government to admit to failure.  

Another round of no-fault accident benefit cuts are to be introduced on June 1 of this year but don't expect them to bring down rates by a significant amount. The accident benefits portion of the Ontario in 2014 was only 33.5% of claim costs (see the chart below).  That would mean for a further 8% reduction in premiums, accident benefit costs would have to go down by about 24%.  Meanwhile, some of the accident benefit cuts will drift over to third party liability costs since not at-fault accident victims will be able to sue for benefits no longer available through no-fault.

It's time the government undertake a comprehensive review of the auto insurance system and resolve the systemic problems plaguing the system.  Half measures lead to "stretch goals" and chronically high insurance premiums.

Insurance News - Monday, January 11, 2016

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, January 11, 2016:

• Sidecar, the third-biggest U.S. ride-sharing service, has ceased operating as the company is squeezed out by better-known competitors Uber and Lyft.
• Plaintiff’s lawyers are encouraged at the prospects for big court awards from accidents self-driving cars. With no one behind the wheel, lawyers say they can go after almost anyone even remotely involved.
• General Motors and ride-sharing company Lyft are forming an unprecedented partnership that could help them beat their rivals to the self-driving future.
• The big data of bad driving, and how insurers plan to use technological to assess risk and set premiums.
• Aviva Insurance plans to support Uber drivers in Canada with special coverage, a move that could give comfort to users of the ride-sharing service, and one that will likely disrupt the taxi industry further.