TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2002 – The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) maintains that the government’s auto insurance reform legislation will control costs and ensure the long-term affordability of car insurance for Ontario drivers.
“The rising cost of health care is the single greatest pressure faced by the auto insurance industry,” says Mark Yakabuski, Ontario Vice President, IBC. “These costs have quadrupled in the past ten years and continue to rise by at least 16 per cent annually.”
“The legislation puts in place a structure to manage health care expenses effectively and will ensure that auto insurance remains affordable in the future,” Yakabuski says.
The legislation will spare injured accident victims from exceptionally long delays in getting the health care they need. “The legislation will substantially reduce the time and expense dedicated to multiple assessments of injured accident victims. It will also reduce the incentive for abuse including over-treatment. Instead, claimants will get the health care they need sooner,” says Yakabuski.
The legislation is careful not to, in any way, reduce the accident benefits to which people are entitled. In fact, benefits for children and seriously injured claimants are expanded under the bill.
All of the reforms contained in the legislation have been negotiated collaboratively between the insurance industry and health care providers.
“This co-operative approach represents a significant improvement in the way the auto insurance system has operated to date,” Yakabuski says. “This bodes especially well for the improved management of the system in the future and can only be of great benefit to auto insurance policy holders.”
