Timing is everything. After the stock market closes on Friday is a good time for bad news. It is also a good time for questions for which there is no rush for answers. For government it is a good time for making announcements on which you do not want serious questions. These were recurring thoughts on the weekend when considering provincial matters. New Democrat leader Andrea Horwath gave the news media the weekend to harry the Wynne government on lowering automobile insurance rates.
Andrea drew a line in the sand on Friday: You shall lower insurance rates by 15 per cent or face an election. It is unlikely that the demand will seem as serious today (Monday). The problem for Andrea is that the auto insurance football is badly worn and tattered over time and no longer has the bounce and interest that it once held.
Her biggest problem with it is that the new bosses of the auto insurance game in Ontario are the big banks. They are a federally protected preserve and provincial politicians screw with them at their peril.
And sure, the banks can lower the premium rates if you tell them. They will also tell you that what they lose on the swings, they will gain on the roundabouts or something like that. What you have to remember is that the banks have you coming and going and they never lose money.
Look at the last time there was a directed drop in insurance premiums in Ontario. What was done at the same time was a government directed drop in coverage. You ended up getting what you paid for. And it was not happy news for many motorists.
The answer from any insurance expert is that Ontario first has to solve the problem of insurance fraud. It is hard to believe the figures they quote but we can all understand the difference in price between an insurance job and a private citizen’s job at a repair shop. Due diligence on behalf of your bank account should save you at least half the cost of that fender bender. As well, dealing in cash and being recommended by a member of the repair shop boss’ church can sometimes save the HST as well.
The complexities of the problems with auto insurance are not going to be solved overnight. The Ontario government certainly has no King Solomon on staff to solve these types of problems.
But Andrea is hardly wasting her time. She knew that auto insurance is always good for a shot. All she really needs is some new writers and a smarter brain trust. She would then be a problem.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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