40% insurance premiums Hike a Manufactured Crisis "

 

Thursday, Jun 04,2009, 10:44:24 AM   Click:

CALGARY, June 3 / CNW / - Insurance Bureau of Canada at the request of a 40% increase of the insurance premium is nothing more than an attempt to manufacture a crisis, according to Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers' Association (ACTLA).

President of the Association Jamie Cuming said that the last application for a bonus of walking is a standard tactic of the insurance industry in Alberta has used before - to create a crisis in insurance rates and then try to get governments to solve. " "The key is that the winners of this crisis are the profits of insurance companies, not consumers or victims," he added.

ACTLA supports the Minister of Finance and Enterprise Iris Evans in his assertion that there is no evidence to support an increase of 40%.

ACTLA presentation rate hearings later this month confirms the insurance industry continued to generate profits of 20% or more, almost double a reasonable rate and in hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the rate of its own board of directors actuaries report a decrease of 11.5% in the number of claims for automobile collision insurance in Alberta in 2008. Actuaries AIRB also criticize that the premiums for basic insurance were set too high for each year since 2005.

"We urge the government and automobile insurance rates Council to review the facts about auto insurance and its impact on consumers - and not on the increase, already enormous profit margin for auto insurers in Alberta "said Cuming.

On 8 February 2008, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench struck the settlement of minor injuries that have imposed a ceiling of $ 4,000 on non-pecuniary damages suffered minor injuries. This decision was appealed and argued before a panel of 3 members of the Court of Appeal of Alberta on September 12, 2008. At the time of this writing, the decision of the Court of Appeal of Alberta has been delivered. ACTLA supported and continue to support the challenge to the slight injury settlement.

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