Alberta's UCP government is making moves to fix issues that have been plaguing Alberta drivers and insurance companies for some time. Insurance companies who have been attempting to work with our government to improve the situation for Alberta drivers are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel as the UCP announces plans to make changes for the better. This should mean a healthier insurance outlook, more medical support to those injured in collisions and more affordable insurance for Alberta drivers.
In recent years, Alberta auto insurance claims began exceeding the amount of premium being received. This creates, what's referred to in the insurance industry as a "hard market". This means that, because of current economical conditions and restrictions, the more policies you sell, the more money you lose. Depleting funds used for claims payments faster than you can replace them is unsustainable and bad for both the insurance company and the drivers who need those funds. When the insurance companies began asking for help to fix this issue the prior Alberta Government applied a cap to insurance rates which made the problem much worse.
“Both drivers and insurers have been paying the consequences of the previous government’s ill-thought-out rate cap that left many Alberta drivers without reasonable insurance options. These actions will start to ease cost pressures and stabilize premiums for Alberta drivers.” says Travis Toews, Alberta's Finance Minister.
Bill 41, the Insurance (Enhancing Driver Affordability and Care) Amendment Act
This new proposed change is called Bill 41 and it will accomplish 3 things:
- Address the affordability of auto insurance in Alberta
- Increase medical benefits
- Cut red tape to allow insurance companies to innovate and make their products better for their policy holders
This is good news for consumers and the insurance companies operating in Alberta. "We believe that having an affordable and accessible auto insurance product is good for both the drivers and insurance companies." says Rob Marusin, President of Armour Insurance. "it is important that auto insurance is accessible to everyone and we're hopeful that Bill 41 will bring us closer to making that happen."
Bill 41, if passed, is expected to be rolling out in early 2022, but short term measures, are scheduled to start on November 1st of this year. These include regulation changes, making rates more affordable, measures to improve care and provide more choices to drivers.
