Insurance News - Thursday, May 30, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Thursday, May 30, 2013:

• The Quebec Court of Appeal in Axa Assurances v. L.S. clarifies the threshold for voiding an insurance policy for material misrepresentation.
  
• California Auto Club voluntarily drops rates 4.1% due to lower claims, something we haven't seen in Ontario in a while.
• I think we all have experienced this: Nearly half of all drivers who hit parked cars don’t always leave notes.
• Is e-commerce appropriate for insurance considering the complexity of the product?
• Another study by J.D. Power, this one suggests that insurance websites perform better in policy servicing than policy shopping.
• Transportation Minister Glen Murray is considering a 1-metre passing rule for cars passing bikes though not in this legislative session.
• Big Move revenue tools proposed by Metrolinx will cost an average of $77 per GTHA family and include: 1% HST increase, 5 cent rise in GTHA gas prices, business parking levy, development charges. Implementing pay-for-use HOV lanes may be problematic if users include both single and multi-occupant vehicles.
• The minority Liberal government's budget motion passed by a vote of 65 to 36 yesterday.  The next step is the second reading vote on Bill 65.  The auto insurance reforms are still alive.
• Insurers and brokers are going to have a real tough time explaining how the 15% rate reductions will work based on this story.
• Not surprising that Rob Ford's troubles are hurting Tim Hudak's PCs in the polls.

Electronic Proof

One would think that the standard auto insurance card seems like a throwback in this increasingly paperless age, but that it is not the case in Canada.

Despite smartphones, tablets and other technological gadgets now being part of everyday life, providing proof of auto insurance coverage is like a nostalgic trip back to the days of our parents or grandparents. In Canada, insurance companies and brokerages mail, fax and e-mail copies of the standard pink insurance slips to policyholders upon renewal or policy changes. 

In March 2013, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services provides its group health customers in Quebec with the option of an electronic version of their plastic insurance card. However, there is currently no movement to do the same for auto insurance policyholders.

In Ontario, the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act(CAIA) states that drivers must “have in the motor vehicle at all times, (a) an insurance card for the motor vehicle; or (b) an insurance card evidencing that the operator is insured under a contract of automobile insurance, and the operator shall surrender the insurance card for reasonable inspection upon the demand of a police officer.”

Despite confirming existence of a card, fake or invalid insurance cards can be easily acquired. Obviously, an invalid card is going to look legitimate if an unscrupulous driver cancels the policy immediately after getting the card.
 

The Uninsured Vehicle Project, an initiative led by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, provides an electronic means of determining whether or not a vehicle carries mandatory insurance coverage when licence plates are being renewed by checking with the insurance industry’s online database. The wrinkle is that police officers do not have access to the database and accept as valid any insurance card that appears to not have expired.

CHANGING TIMES

In Ontario, the five-year review report of the superintendent of financial services at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) raised the issue of electronic commerce back in 2009. The superintendent noted he had received feedback from insurers that they would like to see legislation and regulations updated so that transactions regarding applications, policies, endorsements and renewals could be conducted electronically. 

The submission of the Canadian Association of Direct Response Insurers stated, “Of concern also is the requirement to provide a paper copy of the liability card. Companies should be able to provide the liability card along with all the other documentation in electronic form if the customer approves.”

The regulator indicated its primary concern regarding electronic commerce is the production of fraudulent liability cards. However, FSCO also acknowledged that fraudulent paper insurance cards currently exist and technological solutions may exist to address these concerns.

Based on the submissions received, FSCO noted it appeared that not all industry stakeholders were aware that Ontario’s Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 already enables auto insurers and others doing business in the province to implement electronic document delivery and electronic counterparts to traditional written documents and written signatures, provided certain functional equivalency rules are followed.

The five-year review signalled to the insurance industry that electronic documents, including the insurance card, was acceptable under existing Ontario law yet no insurer has introduced electronic proof on insurance over the past four years.

Steve Whitelaw, senior vice president of business solutions at The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, says that guidance is required from regulators in all jurisdictions with respect to security and auditability requirements. In addition, there are other logistical issues that need to be addressed by The Dominion that are relevant to its distribution of insurance through brokers, Whitelaw reports.

The capability to issue electronic policy documentation, including liability slips, is on The Dominion’s roadmap. “There are competing priorities,” he says, pointing out that “this topic does not appear to be a priority for consumers, and from our perspective, The Dominion’s focus remains on the replacement of our legacy systems.”

Ontario law is silent about whether or not an electronic version of the insurance slip counts as valid proof of insurance, but it is uncertain if police officers would accept an electronic version.

Consider such an incident: a driver in a recent minor accident could not locate his pink insurance slip. He contacted his broker from the scene of the accident who e-mailed him his pink slip as a PDF file. The police officer responding to the accident informed the driver that he bought himself one hour to produce a paper copy.

Bob Percy, deputy chief of the Halton Regional Police Service, says he sees an electronic insurance card being accepted by police “as long as there was comprehensive awareness of the process, and assurances that the material could in no way, shape or form be manipulated to create false, but legitimate-looking insurance slips.”

But how many people would be comfortable handing their personal devices to an officer who requires the information to complete the accident report?

Percy suggested the ideal approach would be to have an insurance database that officers could access, similar to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. This concept would be an up-to-date information repository that confirms insurance particulars with no reliance on the driver.

SERVICE ADJUSTMENT

Last year, J.D. Power and Associations issued results of a survey of the insurance industry in the United States, entitled, 2012 U.S. Auto Insurance Study Management Discussion.

“As customer preferences and interaction behaviours continue to evolve, insurers must be prepared to adjust their service strategies to keep pace with those changing preferences,” the report notes. “All insurers face the reality that customer expectations are being reshaped by market forces beyond their control — whether through the emergence of devices, such as the iPhone or iPad and platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, or through changing servicing dynamics being introduced in other industries. Every insurer must recognize that adapting to the changing service — channel preferences is a decision of necessity that will need to be made in the not-too-distant future. Ultimately, it all comes down to customer choice — today that choice is rapidly expanding to include a variety of new self-service tools and interfaces.”

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) reports that 11 U.S. states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia and Wyoming — now have laws or regulations on the books that allow for electronic insurance cards to be used for both vehicle registration and when being pulled over by the police.

In Colorado, drivers can use the e-cards for registration, but will not for police traffic stops. However, the he state is considering legislation that would extent electronic proof to traffic stops as well.

PCIAA reports that the governors of Kansas and Indiana are expected to sign legislation in their states, while several other states — Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin — have pending legislation on the matter.

For drivers in states that allow for electronic insurance cards, it would be wise to still have a paper copy handy when driving outside of home jurisdiction.

PRIVACY MATTERS

There are some valid concerns about e-cards. For example, what privacy rights, if any, are being handed over when someone — let alone a police officer — is allowed to look at a driver’s phone to view his or her insurance card? While some states have put limits on what can be viewed — Arizona, for example, specifies that showing an e-card does not imply consent to view other items on a wireless device — many have no such language.

It appears inevitable that electronic proof of insurance will come to Canada. The technology exists and both government regulators and police forces appear open to the change. It just seems that no insurer particularly wants to be the first to make the move.

Insurance News - Monday, May 27, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, May 27, 2013:

• Two technological trends have dominated the auto insurance sector of late, usage-based insurance and driverless vehicles. Will only one win out or do they both survive?
• Ontario Divisional Court decision, Bouchard v. Motors Insurance Corporation and Financial Services Commission of Ontario, upholds pocket-bike finding: Not an automobile at time of incident.
• SAS has released a paper on premium leakage due to underwriting fraud and how to use analytics to prevent it.
• The trend toward electronic commerce in insurance continues as the Alaskan Governor has signed two pieces of legislation to modernize insurance laws and enable more online transaction.
• Cira Medical Services has just released a paper on the emerging trends in the IME industry - industry consolidation, enhanced service standards, collaboration with stakeholders.
• New Ipsos Reid poll suggests that Ontario Liberals and Conservatives are in a statistical dead heat among decided voters.  For now budget deal seems to resonate more with voters than gas plant scandal. 
• A Spanish driver has become the poster boy for anger-management classes after being caught on video trashing his expensive car. The driver impaled his Audi A8′s front end on a sidewalk railing.It appears to be a fairly minor accident.  But instead of waiting for a tow truck driver to come and get everyone out unharmed, the driver goes completely bonkers, melting his tires, jumping on the roof of the car, smashing the sunroof and then bashing the windshield in.

Insurance News - Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Wednesday, May 22, 2013:

• As telematics and usage-based insurance enter the Canadian auto insurance market will brokers jump on the bandwagon?
• There is an auto insurance policy available in Massachusetts that caters to rich people.
• The nine Detroit Democratic state House caucus members have unveiled their auto insurance reforms to counter the governor's reform package.  The proposed Democratic reforms include a prohibition on use of credit history. 
• There is a new driver identification technology that can block or track a driver’s mobile phone use.
• A Texas woman pleads guilty to manslaughter after a fatal texting and driving accident.  Wonder if this will become a new trend in punishing distracted drivers? 
• The NDP will support the Liberal budget which means there will be no Ontario spring election and the auto insurance budget items will move forward. The NDP also launched an ad campaign so that Andrea Horwath can take credit for arm twisting the government.

Insurance News - Monday, May 20, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Monday, May 20, 2013:

• A huge New York crime cartel that tried to steal $400 million in false no-fault injury claims is being dismantled.
• 26 people are arrested in South Florida for staging accidents and auto insurance fraud involving over $20 million.
• A Massachusetts insurance foundation plans on subsidizing the purchase of a device that blocks texting while driving to curb multi-tasking behind the wheel.
• The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists has developed a new set of resources for older drivers.
• A 19-year old student has developed self-driving car technology at a fraction of the cost of the technology used by the Google car. Needless to say he won the science fair grand prize.
• Will driverless cars be vulnerable to being hacked like other computers?
• Below is a TV ad made by a chiropractor that will make you cringe.

Insurance News - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Thursday, May 16, 2013:

• How driverless cars could change everything - not just the end of auto insurance but the end of driving.
• A new University at Buffalo study of crashes involving cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has found those crash ratings are a lot less relevant than vehicle type.  In head-on collisions between passenger cars and SUVs, the UB researchers found that drivers in passenger cars were nearly 10 times more likely to die if the SUV involved had a better crash rating.
• To eliminate impaired driving the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is recommending such things as reducing BAC limits to 0.05 from 0.08 and requiring ignition interlocks for all offenders.
• Since the the middle of last decade the number of miles driven by Americans has been dropping to large part because many young people don't own cars. 
• I find this incredible but a teenager has designed a working prototype for an in-vehicle system he calls "HardHit," which can help detect whether someone may have suffered a concussion during a car accident.
• Maddie Di Muccio, a Newmarket city councillor, suggests that auto insurance cuts are all smoke and mirrors because insurers will compensate by raising property insurance rates.  I think she is right.  Though I don't agree insurers are leaving Ontario in droves.
• The Queens Park soap opera continues as Andrea Horwath backs away from bringing down the government.

Insurance News - Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Here are the leading auto insurance headlines from ONTARIO AUTO INSURANCE TOPICS ON TWITTER for Tuesday, May 14, 2013:

• A survey by CarInsurance.com of 1,000 U.S. drivers found 81.3 percent of respondents would require people with a DUI conviction to use a monitoring device; 62.9 percent would require monitoring of teenagers; and 35.8 percent said all drivers should be monitored.
• The share of Americans commuting by bike has grown by 47 % since 2000, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data. So has the number of bicyclists injured or killed in auto accidents.
• Yesterday Ajustco announced the launch of their user-based insurance program.  The company is using a wireless telematics device by iMetrik run on Bell's wireless network.
• State Farm in the U.S. is testing a smartphone app that measures driving behaviour not driving behaviour, a marked shift in user-based insurance.
• The Liberals have adopted NDP's call for auto insurance cuts like it was their own, handing out campaign-style brochures to commuters at GO stations.  It seems the proposed cuts may just outlive a Budget defeat and an election.
• The NDP has come out strongly opposed to tolls for high-occupancy lanes. Will Horwath trigger an election or is she bluffing?