Ontario auto insurance rates continue to decrease

Toronto, Ontario — January 16, 2014 — The Ontario government has announced that the province’s auto insurance rates have decreased again.

The province’s auto insurance rates dropped 3.98 per cent, making the total rate decrease 4.66 percent on average since August 2013. The provincial government hopes this progress will make auto insurance more affordable for Ontario drivers. 

The decrease comes as Ontario continues to implement its Auto Insurance Cost and Rate Reduction Strategy.

Introduced as part of the 2013 Ontario Budget, the strategy is targeting an average 15 percent auto insurance rate reduction by August 2015, with a target of an average eight per cent reduction by August 2014. 

As part of the strategy, Ontario has recently introduced new initiatives to help reduce costs, such as legislative amendments proposed within the Dispute Resolution System Review, introducing a province-wide system to oversee the towing and collision industries, while enabling health service provider licensing so that providers can be paid directly by insurance companies.  

A final report on the review of the Automobile Insurance Dispute Resolution System will be delivered by the end of February; this follows an interim report that was submitted to the government in October 2013. The province will propose legislative amendments in the spring session based on recommendations of the review.

Although the government is reporting decreased auto insurance rates, several Toronto area rehab clinics were recently charged with auto insurance-related offences.

To read the full release, please visit Collision Repair magazine.