MPP Smith says Bill would have raised car insurance rates here

A bill that would have raised car insurance rates across Prince Edward-Hastings was defeated at second reading in the Ontario legislature today.
Local MPP, Todd Smith, spoke on behalf of the Progressive Conservative caucus in Opposition to Bill 45, the Insurance Amendment Act.

The Bill, which would have eliminated the use of geographic location as a factor in determining auto insurance rates, would have led to significantly higher premiums for drivers in Prince Edward-Hastings.

Smith used data collected by a local insurance provider to show that drivers in Brampton, Toronto and Hamilton currently pay rates that are as much as three times those premiums paid by drivers in Picton, Belleville and Bancroft.

“If this Bill had passed,” Smith said, “drivers in the GTA would have paid less at the expense of drivers in Prince Edward-Hastings who would have ended up paying several hundred dollars more every year because the cost would have been spread over the whole province.”

“Drivers in Prince Edward-Hastings currently enjoy some of the lowest auto insurance rates in the province,” Smith said. “There are lower incidences of fraud and lower accident benefit claims here. The same driver could pay $1100 a year in Belleville and $3200 a year in Brampton.”

“The cost of living for families in Prince Edward-Hastings is already high enough. The last thing we needed was a bill that would have made it worse,” Smith said.