The Alberta Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB) has ordered a mandatory 7% car insurance premium increase for grid rated private passenger vehicles. This increase is industry wide and will affect anybody with policies rated on the AIRB's Grid system.
The Alberta Government created the AIRB in 2004 to help regulate car insurance rates in our province. They developed a rating system called "The Grid" to define base and maximum premiums to regulate what Albertan's pay to insure their vehicles. According to the AIRB, only about 10% of Alberta drivers are paying grid rates, so this increase will not affect all Albertan's.
The AIRB released the following statement in their September 26 decision:
"In accordance with Schedule 3, Section 3(1) of the Automobile Insurance Premiums Regulation, the Automobile Insurance Rate Board orders that the grid base premiums be increased by +7%. All insurers must implement the premiums in the table below effective January 1, 2015."
The report goes on to demonstrate how these changes will affect current premiums. For example, the current base premium for an car insurance policy with $1 Million third party liability and accident benefit coverage is $1,926. With this increase, that same coverage would have a base rate of $2,061. That's an additional $135 per year in premiums.
This increase will come into effect on January 1, 2015. For more information regarding this increase and other decisions made by the AIRB you can view this and a list of previous AIRB orders here: http://www.airb.alberta.ca/orders/
