Don Forgeron told the Economic Club of Canada yesterday that the
Insurance Bureau of Canada is “ready to roll up our sleeves and get down to work” with the new majority Liberal government.
“I’m here to discuss Ontario’s auto insurance system. It’s a conversation that has been going on for far too long,” Forgeron, president and CEO of the IBC, told a large group gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Toronto, Ont., Wednesday morning. “After last week’s election, we have a new Liberal government and a Premier with a clear mandate. As the association representing Ontario’s auto insurers, we welcome this fresh start. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get down to work.”
Forgeron stressed that it will require more than just words to make real change in the insurance industry, setting the tone for what insurers will require from the government.
“Words about ‘fresh start’ and ‘rolling up our sleeves’ simply aren’t enough this time,” said Forgeron. “This post-election period must be about true leadership. It must also be about Ontario’s nine million drivers and what they truly want from their auto insurance system. I’ll give you a hint: it’s lower premiums. I intend today to take us down a path that focuses on both – leadership and lower premiums.”
Forgeron was optimistic that there has been movement on the legislative side to improving the state of insurance in Ontario, pointing to legislation in 2010 that stopped accident benefit costs from spiraling out of control and resulted in stable, but still high premiums.
Then in 2013, the government committed to reducing premiums by 15 per cent by implementing reforms that would reduce system costs.
“It is unfortunate that some of our recent hard work died on the Order Paper when the election was called in early May,” says Forgeron. “Specifically, this meant that Bill 171, a Bill designed to reduce system costs, fell victim to the political calendar and delayed our progress towards this target. That was out of our control, but I see it as a temporary setback.”
