Calgary, Alberta — Albertans are paying the highest auto insurance rates in Canada, according to a Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) report released Dec. 8.
According to the original report from the ICBC website, data was compiled from automotive insurance rates starting from Sept. 1, across nine provinces.
Out of 27 customer profiles varying by demographic, number of drivers, vehicle and accident history, Alberta’s rates were the highest of any province for 26 of these profiles.
This data was criticized by an Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) spokesperson, dismissing it as an ICBC commissioned report that reflected favourably on ICBC.
“That’s not how anyone shops around, and that’s not how any consumer makes a decision,” said Aaron Sutherland, v-p of IBC who questioned why the report did not factor in discounts, benefit rates across provinces or the highest and lowest quotes sampled.
According to the 2021 report by Alberta’s superintendent of insurance, Albertan insurers collected $6.1 billion in premiums and paid out $3.7 billion in claims in 2021—a 60 percent payout. By contrast, 2020 saw a 77 percent payout while 2019 saw a 79 percent payout.
The report highlights that the payout metric does not account for other costs, such as operational and administrative fees.
The initial ICBC report was further contested by the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta, with IBAA president Barry Haggis criticizing it for “appearing to extoll the virtues of public insurance, should be read with a healthy dose of skepticism.”
“We have serious concerns that the methodology used paints a skewed picture of Alberta’s auto insurance market and presents misleading findings as to the prices drivers are paying,” elaborates Haggis.
ICBC is projected to lose $298 million in the 2022/23 fiscal year, according to a recent IBC report.
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