Legislated Capitalism

Insurance reform will mean rate cuts: Whalen Last Updated: May 12 2005 03:31 PM NDT
ST. JOHN'S - Auto insurance rates will be drop by five per cent for most drivers, and by as much as 46 per cent for some young drivers, Government Services Minister Dianne Whalen said Thursday.Proposed reforms announced by the provincial government will also eliminate ratings based on age, gender and marital status.
The announcement builds on insurance changes adopted last year.
Whalen says while all drivers will benefit from an across-the-board reduction of five per cent, younger drivers will especially benefit.

Dianne Whalen"I feel this is a good news story for the young drivers in this province," Whalen says.
"Some of the students who are going to university can't afford to drive because of the high cost of insurance. With these kinds of reforms, it's certainly going to be favourable for the young people."
Whalen says that costs for older drivers will not be affected by proposed rate cuts for drivers under 25.
Steve Marshall, a personal injury lawyer in St. John's, says rates could have been cut even further.
He says several insurance companies threatened to pull out of the province last year, but did not.
"No one's moved out of here since," Marshall says.
"It tells me that the insurance industry is enjoying some pretty healthy profits."
Whalen says if an insurance company thinks the legislation goes too far, it can apply to the Public Utilities Board for a smaller rate cut.
The government will introduce the bill next week. Whalen says the new system should be in place Aug. 1.

What a joke. Moving home to Newfoundland from Saskatchewan, my insurance rate jumped 250 %. That's right, two hundred and fifty per cent higher than the cost of government run insurance, with less coverage. The insurance companies know that we HAVE to have auto insurance. By definition, the auto insurance industry is a government industry, as a result of it's legal linkage to vehicle ownership. It is reprehensible that any government would put corporate interests over the consumer in this regard. The only fair solution is government regulated prices.