Insurance News - Thursday, July 11, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Thursday, July 11, 2013:

• A Nova Scotia driver found guilty of killing teens while impaired by drugs may be the first conviction of its kind in Canada.
• Rate evasion takes place in states with high auto insurance premiums like New York, New Jersey and Florida where drivers buy insurance in another state.  It's also considered insurance fraud.
• Rhode Island insurers are lobbying the governor to veto a bill that would permits auto repair shops to deem a car repairable or a total loss.  They are concerned about the impact on rates.
• Earlier this week Hamilton police pulled over an 11-year-old driver who was out doing errands for his neighbour.  Police have since charged a 68-year-old female with permitting an unlicensed driver to drive a vehicle and having no insurance. 
• Here is the story behind the $200,000 Ferrari that was abandoned in Monday's flood.  It is owned by a lawyer who was in a hurry to get to a hearing in Ottawa.  He actually made it out of town.

4 Tips for Safer Driving

4 Tips for Safer Driving



As a recent CNN article
pointed out, it seems as if younger millennials (people in the 30-40 year-old
age group) are placing less value on owning a vehicle and more value on owning
technological gadgets. However, there are two sides to every argument, and some
are arguing back that this is not the case despite statistics which show a
decline in the number of young

Insurance News - Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Most of the news has focused on the Toronto storm yesterday but here some of the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Tuesday, July 9, 2013:

• A self-driving Mercedes arrives in Canada this fall but lawmakers would prefer that drivers keep their hands on the wheel.
• Weed-stinking driver nabbed over the weekend doing 225 km per hour in Mississauga. Most weekends there are quite a number of these charges laid.  In one weekend in April there were 45 stunt driving and speeding charges in Ontario. 
• That was quite the storm yesterday and put a strain on homeowners, commuters and city personnel.  The most unusual would have to be Doug Ford spotted directing traffic at the corner of Dixon and Islington.  How is that for constituency work? 

•  Finally there was a $300,000 Ferrari abandoned on Lower Simcoe in a flooded underpass.  You don't see a floating Ferrari every day.

Insurance News - Saturday, July 6, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Saturday, July 6, 2013:

• South Dakota has some of the youngest drivers in North America so they now have a law bars drivers from ages 14 to 16 from using cell phones. 
• How is this for a big tort award?  Jury awards $43 million to a Vermont woman paralyzed in car crash.
• New Brunswick has merged financial regulators.  The new Financial and Consumer Services Commission will be responsible for securities, insurance, pensions, consumer affairs, co-operatives, credit unions, caisses populaires and trust companies.
• California offers a no-frills auto policy to low-income drivers. Those policies just got cheaper as rates fall in that state.  The no-frill policies start at $226.
• FSCO's final 2013 Statement of Priorities is now available online.  A list of auto insurance related priorities can be found here.
• Also last week FSCO launched an auto insurance fraud hotline (1-855-5TIP-NOW ) and a new fraud web portal.
• The Consumerization Of Risk Management: Using technology to allow drivers to reduce their own risk.
• Talk about big sinkholes.  A sinkhole in Ohio was so large it swallowed entire car and the driver needs ladder to climb out. 
• A new way to heal broken bones: 3D-printed casts. I wonder what impact they will have on claims in the long run.
• A Chinese man has to be King of the Scammers. He was involved in 334 staged accidents to scam insurers, that's one every three days for three years.

A Look At Products Offered By Esure Insurance

A popular adage has it that the line between success and failure is very thin. With competition in the market reaching phenomenal levels, it has become important for business entities to up their game and ensure that they stay on top of their game. Achievement of a competitive edge is something that each and every business hopes for. In this regard, a business that is dynamic and effectively understands what its customers want stands a greater chance of making it. You probably have noticed the proliferation of insurance firms across the globe. This in itself is an indication that people are finally embracing the role that insurance plays in the society at large.

However, the surge in the number of insurance firms has also brought to the fore the delicate balancing act of meeting and exceeding the expectations of clients. People want to insure with a firm that offers the best rates, the best products and one which aptly cares for their needs. Esure insurance has indeed proven to be ahead of the pack as relates to this concept. Esure was founded in the year 2000 and has experienced exponential growth attracting over a million customers to date.

The popularity and meteoritic rise of the firm has been largely attributed to its policies, dynamism, attention to detail, quality assurance, customer satisfaction as well as continuous improvement. Esure insurance believes that one of the effective methods of keeping their customers is by providing them with everything that they need. As such, the firm has been at the forefront of introducing insurance products meant to ensure that customers get everything that they yearn for. Some of these products include, home insurance, car insurance, travel insurance, personal liability, fire insurance among many others.

The car insurance product is without a doubt meant for individuals with automobiles on the road. The product is flexible and provides clients with an option of taking a comprehensive insurance or covering aspects that they are comfortable with. This is a policy that aspires to compensate clients for any losses related to accidents or vandalism of the cars. Home insurance on the other hand is a product that sets out to insure your home against burglary, cases of fire and other natural disasters. It’s a policy that has a flexible payment option and which has greatly improved the ratings of the firm.

Travel insurance on the other hand is designed to cover individuals while on travel and any eventualities that might happen. Basically, Esure insurance has earned the trust and respect of many customers because of its transparency and emphasis on providing customers with the best they can ever ask for. The firm continues to carry out incisive research aimed at coming at the right formula in so far as meeting the expectations of customers is concerned. Indeed, it goes without saying that Esure insurancecontinues to be a model of excellence in the insurance industry and this is why it has managed to attract so many customers in such a short period of existence.

FSCO Releases Final Statement Of Priorities For 2013

Section 11 of the FSCO Act requires FSCO to deliver to the Minister of Finance and publish in The Ontario Gazette by June 30th of each year, a statement setting out the proposed priorities of the Commission for the fiscal year in connection with the administration of this Act and all other Acts that confer powers on or assign duties to the Commission or the Superintendent.

FSCO has released a final Statement of Priorities for 2013 which varies slightly from the draft released in April of this year. The changes largely reflect initiatves included in the provincial budget which passed last month.  Here is a summary of the auto insurance initiatives:

Design and implement an information technology Enterprise Development Program

• FSCO will develop a web-based information technology system offering integrated services to stakeholders by giving them one-window access for all of their dealings with FSCO.

Work with the Ministry of Finance to implement a cost and rate reduction strategy for auto insurance 

• FSCO will work with the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of legislative amendments from the 2013 Budget that commit to an average auto insurance rate reduction of 15 percent within a period of time to be determined by regulation, and provide the Superintendent with authority to require insurers to re-file their rates for approval.

Respond to the recommendations of the Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force

• FSCO is addressing several recommendations. It is working with stakeholders to develop a consumer engagement and education strategy, developing an anti-fraud hotline, and will continue to work with the Ministry of Finance to implement recommendations from the Task Force, as directed by the government.

Respond to Auditor General’s 2011 Value-for- Money follow-up audit

• The 2012 Ontario Budget included two initiatives that address the auditor’s recommendations.
• In 2013, FSCO will begin the next five-year review of the auto insurance system which will include a review of cost containment strategies and benefit levels in other provinces.
• FSCO considers several factors, including ROE, in reviewing the reasonableness of auto insurance rates filed by insurers.
• FSCO is expanding its auto insurance attestation.

 Enhance auto insurance information and analysis

• FSCO will conduct a closed claims study on third-party liability bodily injury claims in Ontario.
• FSCO will review the data available through the Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI) system.

Review and implement requirements for usage based auto insurance

• FSCO is examining key regulatory issues and working with the auto insurance sector to ensure consumers are fairly treated when implementing voluntary usage-based auto insurance rating programs.

Work with Ministry of Finance on statutory and system reviews

• FSCO will lead a mandated five-year review of the auto insurance system and a three-year review of the auto insurance risk classification and rate determination regulations.
  

Develop Minor Injury Treatment Protocol 

• FSCO has retained medical and scientific experts to develop an evidence-based Minor Injury Treatment Protocol.

Work with the Ministry of Finance to develop and implement changes to the definition of Catastrophic Impairment

Work with the Ministry of Finance to complete a review of insurance company solvency regulation leading to recommendations for changes to the Insurance Act

Develop proposals to modernize disciplinary hearings for insurance agents and adjusters

• FSCO will consult on proposals to create a model that aligns with the modern disciplinary, licensing, and enforcement processes and standards used in the other sectors FSCO regulates.

Implement fraud awareness stakeholder engagement strategy

• FSCO will expand its fraud awareness social media outreach across all its regulated sectors.
• FSCO will partner with law enforcement, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Consumer Services, and industry associations in joint fraud awareness activities.

Work with other auto insurance rate regulators on common rate filing issues and requirements

Insurance News - Tuesday, July 2, 2013

We are in the dog days of summer still I bring you the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Tuesday, July 2, 2013:

• The Florida Supreme Court rules new 'examination under oath' provision does not apply to cases before the new laws took effect as Florida continues to struggle with implementing auto insurance reforms.
• Distracted walking is the new public safety problem as injuries soar for pedestrians on phones.
• Alberta to see huge write off of water-logged vehicles but hopefully those vehicles don't find end up being bought by an unsuspecting consumer.
• Wireless vehicle networks such as the one being piloted in Ann Arbor, Michigan could make driving safer and more efficient but the cost of deployment will be significant.