A DASH OF INFORMATION
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has announced the launch of the Driver and Auto Search History (DASH) system. This system specifically aims to provide industry-directed policy and claims information to users. The press release also outlined how DASH will be used to provide detailed reports on a consumer’s auto insurer history, including policies, claims and other relevant information used to provide an insurance quote. DASH is available to private auto insurers and brokers licensed to sell insurance in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. The service is offered through the official DASH portal and through an API that integrates with an insurer’s underwriting system.
PREMIER PUMPS BRAKES
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently announced that the province will not be considering government-run public auto insurance despite a recent report suggesting hundreds in savings for drivers. The report by Oliver Wyman and Nous Group was originally commissioned by the Alberta Treasury and Finance Board. Oliver Wyman and Nous Group further noted that making the switch to a no-fault system could save Albertans around $730 a year on premiums for an estimated $2.1 billion in consumer savings across the province. According to CTV News, “the sticker shock of bringing through a fully publicly-funded auto insurance program in Alberta made all the ministers’ eyes pop,” said Smith, adding that she believes “the appetite for a full Alberta-run public insurance system is very low. There are lots of Albertans who are prepared to pay the extra dollars so that if they do end up–heaven forbid—in a terrible accident, they can hold someone accountable through the legal process.”
From the report: “Olive Wyman’s calculations (predicted) the lowest required premium occurs in a change from the current court model to a care model where the government created a public insurer that offered both bodily injury and vehicle damage coverage. The next largest anticipated savings (were) found in a system that is similar to the insurance system in Quebec, where bodily injury coverage under a care model is provided by a public insurer, but vehicle damage coverage is provided by private insurance companies.”
