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Columnist Andrew Mitchell calls out the private insurance lobbyists and their friends in this piece. Remember also that the "statistic" about BC's rates being highest comes from those same lobbyists and don't contain actual real numbers from any public insurers and were calculated using debunked methodology. Read more…
"Imprudent, inflexible and immoderate" was how an adjudicator described the behaviour of a private car insurance company. Even as the private insurance lobbyists campaign to cut people's benefits, they still want you to believe that private insurers will take care of you. But, let's face it, it's just a money game for them. Read more…
While advocates in Alberta are questioning how truthful private insurers are about their claims costs, the private insurance lobbyist group - the Insurance Bureau of Canada - insists that they are being truthful and say their system is in crisis and that premiums are way too high. And yet, the Insurance Bureau of Canada then turns around and suggests that same broken system will be just fine in BC? Read more…
The changes to the collision and glass repair programs announced by the B.C. government are designed to save ratepayers money while improving transparency, accountability, and service at auto repair shops. Read more…
Whichever way you slice it, private car insurance options always cost more. Read more…
When a private insurance company decides they don't want to insure a condo, they walk away. And no other insurer will do it either because they don't want the risk. Sounds like "choice" and "competition" at work. But the private insurance lobbyists want to convince us this same setup is okay for car insurance? Read more…
Another day, another story about massive insurance premium rate hikes in yet another private insurance jurisdiction. Read more…
Just another example of a private insurer doing whatever they can to deny a claim, even if it means going after someone well after a case has been supposedly settled through the courts. Read more…
The verdict is out and Albertans are paying much more for car insurance in their private model. Read more…
In his weekly radio show titled Legal Talk, trial lawyer Kris Bonn went in-depth into the nearly $40K secret deductible that Ontarians have to pay on pain and suffering damages, but also discussed the predatory practices of private insurance companies who are solely motivated by profit, the accident benefits that Ontarians have seen dwindle over the past two decades, as well as commenting on the public auto system in British Columbia. Listen…
Letter writer Robert Rock responds to an earlier letter from another reader and provides a good explanation of the discriminatory practices of private insurance companies that many people in BC aren't aware of. Read more…
While we often only hear the sensational stories that cast our public auto insurer as a villain for simply being an insurance company, this story gives kudos to ICBC for doing their due diligence and uncovering a fraud attempt. Read more…
When we say private cars insurers discriminate, it's not just for shock value. And it's not just on things like age, gender, or marital status like we hear about often in Canada. Read more…
Included in this piece penned by Integrity BC Executive Director Dermod Travis is a shot at the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) where he raises a good point. While the IBC and their campaign takes every opportunity to take shots at ICBC, they have shied away from entering the debate between whether public car insurance or private car insurance is better. They've also failed to provide any evidence to suggest private car insurance is a better deal for consumers, while facing a mountain of evidence that shows the opposite is actually true. Read more…
We always knew "choice" was code for less coverage. Ontario learned that in 2010 when they had their accident benefits cut. Any idea what they'll look to cut in Alberta to make it seems like rates are lower? No wonder the Insurance Bureau of Canada is on board. Read more…
Things are getting so bad with skyrocketing car insurance rates in Alberta that their provincial government, who actually removed the previous rate cap that existed on car insurance, has appointed a committee to look into it. But the committee will only look at options that retain the private model. Considering the committee includes those from the legal and medical fields, can anyone guess what they will recommend cutting in to make it appear that rates are lower? Who are they really looking out for? The public, or the private car insurers? Read more…
What good is the concept of "choice" if private insurance comapnies can simply "choose" not to insure you? People facing skyrocketing condo insurance rates are asking that now. Now picture that but with car insurance in a private system. Read more…
Continuing efforts to make rates more affordable for British Columbians, Attorney General David Eby has directed ICBC not to make an insurance rate application to the B.C. Utilities Commission until February in order to allow time for two sets of planned reforms. Read more…
Delayed claims. Denied coverage. Sound familiar? Only this story isn't about car insurance, but condo insurance which operates in a private system. And even with "competition" and "choice", rates are still skyrocketing and many insurers are refusing to provide coverage. Read more…
Ghost brokers appear to be popping up again in Ontario. Unlike a public system where you know your car insurance comes from just one source, fraudsters are ripping off people by taking advantage of the confusion that exists in a private system with many different players. Read more…
While the Insurance Bureau of Canada keeps trying to suggest car insurance rates are high because of lack of competition, they perplexing suggest the exact opposite when it comes to skyrocketing rates for condo insurance. It seems like the private insurance lobbyists can't even get their stories straight in BC. Read more…
In Manitoba, the Public Utilities Board recently admonished the provincial government for trying to mess with their public car insurance. If only someone had stopped the BC Liberals when they were busy making a mess at ICBC. Oh, and by the way, Manitobans will enjoy a rate decrease thanks to public car insurance.
Speaking at their Commercial Insurance Symposium, the president of the private insurance lobby group admits that insurance prices are high everywhere, "the market will sort it out" doesn't actually work, and that governments may step in if they can't get their act together and that's not what they want because it would cut into their profits. Read more…
An Ontario-based insurance broker working at Sound Insurance confides that people are "seeing increases of 10 to 75 per cent for no apparent reason." Read more…
At the 2019 BC NDP Convention held November 22-24, there was overwhelming support for fixing BC's public car insurance system with a resolution successfully passed. Read more…
With rising legal costs a continuing concern, something even the private insurance lobbyists have admitted is happening in private jurisdictions, BC Attorney General David Eby discusses some of the challenges in making changes to clean up the mess left behind by the previous BC Liberal government. Read more…
It's not just individual drivers and businesses that are being affected by the shocking rate hikes by private car insurers in Alberta. Public schools are also bracing for the devastating impact of the rate increases to come. Read more…
The CEO of a private insurance company, Stratford, provides some reasoned analysis about issues that ICBC faces rather than just regurgitating rhetoric from the private insurance lobbyists and their supporters. Read more…
After witnessing the previous former BC Liberal government siphon $1.2B from ICBC during their time in power, BC Attorney General David Eby has proposed a new law preventing that from occurring in the future. Read more…
Does the IBC's "look somewhere else" suggestion for Albertans really work if every private insurer is looking to dramatically hike their rates? Read more…
Drivers are private insurance jurisdiction Alberta are bracing for major rate hikes, with many businesses suggesting staff and operations may be cut as a result. Read more…
While private insurance lobbyists respond to skyrocketing rates by suggesting people can still shop around, the private insurance companies are actually saying they don't want the business. Read more…
A representative from the Insurance Bureau of Canada with a few key revelations while in damage control in Alberta. They admit "choice" means coverage suggesting consumers should just get less coverage if costs are too high. They also admit the Alberta system has been broken for years, yet this is the same system the IBC says will work in BC. Watch the video…
Insurance rates in Alberta, a private insurance jursidiction, are getting set to skyrocket. A leaked bulletin shows one company, Aviva, is preparing for a 15% hike across the board. What do the private car insurance lobbyists have to say? There was no choice but to massively hike rates. It seems they're selling a different story in Alberta than they are in BC. Read more…
Letter-writer Timothy in Fort Langley understands not only the complications that come when getting caught up in a claim involving competing private insurance companies, but added benefits of having a public insurer for our communities and the roads we share. Read more…
BC Attorney General David Eby sets the record straight issues related to staff and salaries at the public insurer. Read more…
The Government of Saskatchewan's 2019 Intercity Comparison of Taxes and Utilities paints a much different picture on the cost of car insurance than the one being shared by private car insurance lobbyists. Read more…
A Q&A with a Vancouver-based insurance broker who reveals what his experience has been when quoting clients on private car insurance options. Read more…
Brokers are integral part of delivering auto insurance to British Columbians, says BC Attorney General David Eby, who indicated there would be significant set-up costs and training required if brokers were not part of the system. Read more…
No claims, clean driving record, same car, but suddenly a 62.5% rate hike? That's in private insurance jurisdiction Ontario. Here's a story the private insurance lobbyists don't want you to read. Read more…
Public insurance is working well in Manitoba. Now, interestingly, their Conservative provincial government is trying to mess with it. It's not quite siphoning $1.2 billion like the BC Liberals did here, but it sure makes you wonder. Read more…
BC Attorney General David Eby sets the record straight on the issue of legal fees and staffing levels at the public insurer. Read more…
Video evidence of the BC Liberals, back in 2015, promising to give away ICBC property to a business lobby group. Read more…
While we've known about the $1.2 billion siphoned from ICBC by the BC Liberals, as well as the recommendations the previous government deliberately hid from the public, Attorney General David Eby has new bombshell revelations including the previous Transportation Minister's attempt to give away public property to a lobbyist group. Read more…
BC Attorney General David Eby discusses issues related to ICBC, including the reveleation that a report commissioned by private insurance lobbyists in January 2019 actually stated that drivers under the age of 34 would see premium rate increases ranging from 18 to 35 per cent with private insurance. Read more…
Letter writer A.D. Langvand in Edmonton shares his story of his premiums going up 32.38 per cent in one year. And that's despite no accidents in 21 years and driving the same vehicle. This sure goes against the rosy picture that private insurance lobbyists try to paint. Read more…
The headline speaks for itself, but don't expect the private car insurance lobbyists to acknowledge this story either. Read more…
While private car insurers across the country are requesting rate increases in the double digit percentages, Manitoba's public insurer is requesting a decrease further demonstrating the strength of public auto insurance. Read more…
It seems British Columbians, for the most part, are starting to get wise about what's been happening to auto insurance in their province. Read more…
B.C. Attorney General David Eby discusses recent rate changes at ICBC, and discusses what the comparables in private insurance jurisdictions such as Ontario and Alberta. Listen here…
Get a ticket? Get denied coverage. That's exactly what's happening in Alberta's private insurance jurisdiction. Read more…
A cautionary tale particularly for those advocating for online transactions in insurance. Read more…
The Supreme Court has ruled private insurance companies can no longer retroactively rescind insurance policies without just cause and at least 15 days notice. Previously, private insurance companies could cancel your policy at any time. Read more…
As many drivers start seeing a decrease in their premiums with the new ICBC changes, British Columbia's public auto insurer provides some insight into how the system works. Read more…
Insurance specialist David Marshall explained to insurers at the National Insurance Conference of Canada why public auto insurance works and private auto insurance doesn't. Read more…
Changes at ICBC shows British Columbia is on the road towards fixing public car insurance. Read more…
A reader with a good take on how public services, including car insurance, actually works and is not buying the private insurance lobbyists' propaganda. Read more…
MoveUP President David Black and Vice-President Annette Toth discuss public car insurance and dispel the untruths being spread by private insurance lobbyists. Listen here…
ICBC explains the new rate calculation model which went into effect on September 1, 2019. Read more…
MoveUP's 'top 10' facts in response to the misleading information shared by the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Read more…
MoveUP's Vice-President Annette Toth sets the record straight and dispels the rosy picture the private insurance lobbyist attempts to paint. Read more…
ICBC President & CEO Nicolas Jimenez fires back against the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's dubious claims. Read more…
Changes to the way rate premiums are calculated at ICBC appear to be having the intended effect - low-risk drivers are paying less. Read more…
Premium rates are getting set to soar in New Brunswick, a private insurance jurisdiction, but that's not the only story as rate hike requests filed by "competing" companies owned by the same parent company seem unusually odd. Read more…
Drivers in New Brunswick, a private-insurance jursidiction, are being warned their auto insurance policies could go up by as much as 50 per cent. Read more…
ICBC CEO Nicolas Jimenez responds to incorrect claims made by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Read more…
Alberta's UCP government has eliminated the previous 5% limit on annual increases in auto insurance premiums in that province, and experts warn that major increases are on the way. Read more…
Is purchasing car insurance online a good thing? Not always, according to this award-winning brokerage. In addition to different discrepancies, they found that, on average, online quotes were off by $220. Read more…
Insurance broker in Alberta's private-insurance jurisdiction talks about the increasing number of uninsured drivers in that province because people can't get insurance. Read more…
Breaking down all the misleading information shared by the Insurance Bureau of Canada regarding auto insurance prices in British Columbia. Read more…
Private car insurance lobbyists admit "choice" actually refers to coverage. Less coverage makes rates seem lower but, in reality, underinsured drivers puts all of us at risk when we share the roads. Read more…
The financial picture at ICBC is improving, the number of people hiring personal injury lawyers has dropped significantly, and motorists in a crash are successfully accessing a host of improved medical benefits. Read more…
Retired BC senior civil servant Richard McCandless' commentary shows further flaws with the General Insurance Statistical Agency's methodology. Read more…
Right now in Ontario, the private car insurance industry, backed by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, is fighting for the right to continue letting private insurers cancel people's insurance policies at any time without having to give notice. Read more…
IBABC Executive Director Chuck Byrne shares his expert knowledge of BC's auto insurance industry and points out what the private insurance lobbyists don't want people to know. Read more…
To simplify the public policy problem of ensuring adequate auto insurance coverage at the lowest possible price to a question of competition versus monopoly is deceptively facile, writes retired senior BC government public servant Richard McCandless. Read more…
Rates are up across Ontario, Alberta and Atlantic Canada (all private insurance jursidictions) in the second quarter of 2019, with drivers in Alberta seeing the steepest increase in the country. Read more…
ICBC is continually looking for ways to make car insurance better in B.C. In April 2019, it increased its Accident Benefits. Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies Group outlines the changes that are coming on September 1, 2019. Read more…
The private auto insurer was fined for charging automobile insurance rates other than those authorized by the Ontario government. Read more…
The problems in Alberta's auto insurance marketplace are two-fold. Not only are brokers unable to find coverage for certain risks, but those clients who do purchase auto insurance can have difficulties making payments on their premiums. Read more…
Through Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), Saskatchewan residents now enjoy, on average, the lowest overall personal vehicle insurance rates in Canada. Read more…
On the question of whether auto insurance should remain public, 47.1 per cent of respondents agreed, while 13.7 per cent thought it should be privatized. Read more...
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is misleading British Columbians about the benefits of an Alberta-style model. Read more…
A private insurance company in Alberta - Alpine Insurance - admits drivers are being turned away for coverage. Read more…
Joshi claims she was fired last year after confronting her managers over a plan to stop selling insurance to drivers who live in Brampton, which has some of the highest premiums in Ontario. She argued the plan was a thinly veiled attempt to deny auto insurance to the city’s largest visible-minority population. Read more…
This doesn’t mean Alberta drivers won’t get insurance, but they may not get renewed automatically, be allowed to pay in installments or be covered for what’s considered optional coverage. Read more…
In Hamilton and across much of Ontario, auto insurance rates continue to rise despite the provincial government’s intent to revamp the system and lower costs for drivers. Read more…
Of all the provinces in Canada, Alberta drivers saw the steepest rise in their auto insurance over the last year, with Ontario and Atlantic Canada not far behind. Read more…
An Ontario couple saw their home and auto insurance premiums increase to the tune of hundreds of dollars per year because of a change in their address – even though they didn’t move. Read more…
One of the groups heavily promoting privatizing car insurance is the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. But just exactly who are they and who do they represent? Read more…
Do private car insurers look for ways to cancel your policy? As it turns out, yes. It's a tactic used to dump clients who live in unprofitable areas. Read more…
A look at average car insurance prices for 2019 in the United States where their system is entirely privatized and competition is abundant. Read more…
If ICBC was privatized there would be a number of private insurance companies that would work together, just like the gasoline companies, to increase the price of the insurance industry for the betterment of the insurance industry, and not the consumer. Read more…
Insurance companies have been struggling with profitability of late because of government price caps in two of the largest private insurance markets in Canada: Ontario and Alberta. These caps limit the amount insurers can raise auto insurance rates, hurting their profit and leading them to exit certain markets. Read more…
Scam artists are taking advantage of people hunting for cheaper deals in Ontario's expensive private auto insurance market by selling them fake insurance. Read more…
When major rate hikes were happening in Atlantic Canada, the Insurance Bureau of Canada went campaigning with misleading numbers. It sure makes you wonder what else they might not so truthful about. Read more…
Substantial rate hikes happening in New Brunswick's private auto insurance market. Read more…
According to an analysis by the Saskatchewan government, Vancouver had premiums at $1,966 in 2018. Saskatchewan pegs premiums in Toronto at $4,669. Read more…
Detailing the massive amounts of money donated by the Insurance Bureau of Canada to the BC Liberals, who have tried to push the privatization agenda. Read more…
An Ontario woman is taking one of the province’s biggest insurance providers to court, alleging she was fired for pushing back on the company’s “discriminatory” effort to stop selling plans to drivers who live in Brampton. Read more…
A major Canadian insurance company direct-debited a Toronto-area widow for 16 months even though she cancelled her policy and sold the vehicle when her husband died. Read more…
Approximately 40 percent of people seeking coverage from Surex are determined to be too high of a risk and are ultimately denied coverage. Read more…
Alberta’s introduction of a cap on the cost of liability -only vehicle insurance has insurance companies mitigating their financial risk by increasing other rates and pricing some drivers out of coverage. Read more…
A total of 11 Ontario auto insurers have now been named in proposed class-action lawsuits alleging they short-changed accident victims by ignoring rules surrounding the payment of sales tax. Read more…
A commentary by retired senior B.C. government civil servant Richard McCandless demonstrates the flaws in using GISA General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA) data which is often cited by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Read more…
On Ontario, insurance companies are allowed to set your rates based on your age, gender, marital status, driving record, the kind of vehicle you drive, where you live, your annual mileage and whether you’re using your car for business and pleasure. Read more…
Saskatchewan is one of three provinces in Canada where drivers are required to buy auto insurance from a public company. Read more…
It started when an insurance company gave David a quote – roughly $4,500 a year, if he bought the Chevy. He asked the insurer what his costs would be if he were a woman. He was told his annual bill would sink to roughly $3,400 – a $1,100 difference. Read more…
A public insurance model that ensures all drivers have the most basic level of insurance protects anyone who is in a crash. In other places, you can see as many as one in five cars driving uninsured. Here in B.C., it’s one per cent. Read more…
A report by a York University professor found the average person in Ontario has been overpaying on car insurance by $143 every year. Read more…
Despite Toronto man’s clean driving record, a new postal code causes his premium to spike. Read more…
British Columbia’s mandatory coverage includes third party liability, accident benefits, uninsured automobile protection, hit and run, and inverse liability protection. Alberta’s mandatory coverage includes only third party liability and accident benefits. Read more…
Letter writer Andrew Gow of Victoria understands the frustration of rising premium costs, but cautions against private insurance based on his experience in Alberta. Read more…
Fixing public car insurance should also mean looking at how to make our system less adversarial so people can get the care they need. But when private insurance lobbyists try to bring up that issue, maybe they should take a long hard look at themselves first. Read more…
Outlining the BC Liberals' malfeasance and deliberate attempts to shield information from the public related to ICBC. Read more…
Eby accused the Liberals of siphoning a billion dollars out of the insurance corporation. He also claimed they removed pages from a consultant’s report that would have revealed the extent of the problem, and said the previous government’s actions appeared to have been made out of political considerations rather than public interest. Read more…
When Consultant EY submitted a report to the BC Liberal government including seven pages of suggested changes that would help fix issues at ICBC, the BC Liberals deleted those pages. Read more…
The BC Liberals ignored recommendations designed to put ICBC on a more stable financial footing and removed them from a report to the public in 2015. Read more…
Delayed claims and denied care? We've all heard those stories. But this one story about the lengths that Aviva, a private insurance company, went to deny a claim by a teen with mental health issues was so outrageous it was deemed as "borderline harassment." Read more…
Discrediting the methodology used by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in their comparison of insurance rates across Canada. Read more…
A former senior information officer with ICBC lays out how the BC Liberals messed with ICBC's finances by splitting Optional Insurance Premiums from Basic Insurance Premiums, in addition to siphoning billions. Read more…
Automobile prices charged in BC are in line with those of Manitoba. A driver in Vancouver pays significantly less than an otherwise comparable driver in Toronto. Read more…
Think rising legal costs is just an issue in BC? Think again. Ontario has been sounding the alarm for years in their private car insurance system. Read more…
Misinformation spread by the private insurance lobbyists has been called out before. Ontario's experience with the Insurance Bureau of Canada should make all British Columbians think twice. Read more…
It's not just cost that's a concern in Ontario, but coverage. And in Ontario, the treatment of auto accident victims by insurance companies has been described as "abuse." Read more…
Young drivers have always been paying astronomical rates for car insurance in private insurance jurisdictions. Even the Insurance Bureau of Canada admits purposely setting high rates is a way of denying people coverage. Read more…
Ontario consumers may have overpaid for auto insurance by $3 billion to $4 billion between 2001 and 2013, according to a study done for the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. Read more…
Not only have private car insurance lobbyists have always known premiums for inexperienced, usually young, drivers are exorbitantly high in private jurisdictions, they've justified those prices. Read more…
The survey encompassed 34 different driver/vehicle combinations. Driver profiles included the driving records and driver history and the related discounts and penalties. Read more…
The Consumers Association of Canada deems private auto insurance to be one of the biggest rip-offs that Canadians face. Read more…
Ontarians are no strangers to the private car insurance lobbyists campaigns on "choice" and they paid the price when their accident benefits were cut in 2010. Read more…
The money, accumulated as profit on the sale of optional auto insurance, rightly belonged to ICBC ratepayers. Give it back? The Liberals instead decided to keep it for their own purposes. Read more…
A report by the Consumers' Association of Canada from 2013 which listed 15 recommendations, and addressed the dangers of privatization. Read more…
A 2003 study by the Consumers Association of Canada compared insurance costs for drivers with the same profile (including age, accident record and vehicle type) in 40 cities across Canada. It found that motorists in public-insurance provinces paid less. Read more…
Back in 2012, as an Ontario MPP, Jagmeet Singh went after the Insurance Bureau of Canada in Ontario when private insurers raised premiums on drivers despite costs and claims volume dropping, pocketing $3.4 billion in profit as a result. Read more…
Faced with skyrocketing premiums, many private insurance jurisdictions such as Ontario have pushed for public auto insurance. Sadly, too many governments have been afraid to take on the private insurance lobby. Read more…
Allowing private firms to compete with ICBC in the provision of basic auto insurance will almost certainly result in a number of negative outcomes: discriminatory rate setting; higher insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of British Columbians; job loss; diminished investments in road safety and higher costs for the public treasury. Read more…

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