Potential Ontario car insurance cut met with skepticism

CBC News Posted: Apr 30, 2013 7:46 AM ET

 The provincial Liberals are poised to deliver their budget Thursday, with several items to appease the NDP.

Among the concessions is lower auto insurance rates.

However, some people are skeptical that the government can do it without it hurting insurance benefits.

The NDP is asking for a reduction of 15 per cent in rates.

Personal injury lawyer Ruth Stewart wonders how that will affect benefits in the end.

“They try and sell it by saying they're going to reduce premiums but it generally really means a reduction in benefits,” she said.

Insurance broker John Comisso said he would like to see insurance rates lowered, as long as there are no negative side effects.

“Three years ago, approximately, they reduced accident benefits and changed accident benefits but the jury is still out whether or not that's going to make any changes because there's 23,000 cases are before the insurance companies right now with regards to the new regulations,” he said.

Comisso said the rates can come down if the government cracks down on insurance fraud.

But NDP activist and lawyer Victoria Cross said Ontario should adopt a public insurance system similar to other provinces, such as Manitoba.

“The cost of two people sharing a minivan is about $300 per cent greater in Ontario, or in Toronto, than it is in Winnipeg,” she said.

Cross wants the province to start examining the public insurance systems in provinces like Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec to see how it could be implemented here.