Kathleen Wynne has gone to battle in the board rooms of
the auto insurance industry, and has snatched defeat from the jaws of
victory. In fact, while she was fighting for our cause with tea and crumpets,
she gave the ‘enemy’ several lucrative gifts for good measure. So, please, ‘Blunder
Woman,’ don’t do us any more ‘favours.’
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The
Ontario legislature has passed a bill aimed at reducing car insurance premiums
an average of 15 per cent by next
August.
The
government says the bill will help tackle fraud to lower costs for insurance
companies, which "is expected to
help lower insurance rates for Ontario drivers."
The
bill, which was supported by the Progressive Conservatives but opposed by the
New Democrats, is also supposed to help those injured in collisions settle
disputed claims faster.
The
NDP forced the then-minority Liberal government to agree to legislate a 15 per
cent cut in car insurance rates in exchange for allowing the 2013 budget to
pass.
The
government promised to bring the rates down an average of eight per cent in the
first year, but admitted last month that
so far they have seen only a six per cent decrease.
New
Democrat Jagmeet Singh says insurance companies saved $2 billion a year when
the Liberals changed regulations in 2010 to cut the cap on payouts for routine
accident claims in half, but never passed the savings on to drivers.
The
bill calls for more oversight of the billing practices of health clinics that
treat accident victims, and allows only
licensed service providers to be paid directly by insurers.
It
also moves a dispute resolution system for injured drivers from Ontario's
insurance regulator to an existing tribunal run by the Attorney General's
office, which the industry has said would eliminate one step in the appeals
process.
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