Despite a year of poor results, some of the largest auto insurers in New Brunswick have opted to hold off on big rate hikes in 2017 – which could have been as high as 35%.
Motorists avoided potential increases of as much as $247 per vehicle next year, according to new figures from the New Brunswick Insurance Board, as most companies opted for modest rate increases.
The figures show that most drivers will be looking at an average increase of 3% or less next year – amounting to around $20 more per vehicle.
“I think it’s fair to say we were surprised,” the executive director of the New Brunswick Insurance Board, Kevin Duff, told
CBC News.
“There are some significant variances between what the company actuaries say the companies require, and what the companies are asking the board to approve.”
Recent statistics from Canada’s General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA) shone a light on the worst year for New Brunswick’s auto insurers since 2001. A surge in claims in 2015, which amounted to $304.8m in total, resulted in the highest level of costs in 14 years for insurers in the province – and a considerable
hike in premium rates was expected to follow.
However, the new figures show that a number of major insurers are defying expectations – including Wawanesa, the largest auto insurer in New Brunswick.
The company, which covers 97,000 vehicles and nearly 21% of the province’s drivers, was entitled to a 35.27% increase following poor results in 2015.
However, recent filings for the insurer’s 2017 rate application show that it is seeking an increase of just 2.83% in 2017 – saving customers $190 per insured vehicle in the coming year.
Intact, New Brunswick’s next largest insurer, said it was entitled to a 14.29% increase in light of recent results, but applied for a 2.99% rise.
One insurer which is seeking a higher increase is The Personal, which insures over 14,000 vehicles in New Brunswick, and has applied for a 12% hike in 2017.
Duff explained that companies which keep their increases below 3% avoid mandatory hearings, though the insurance board is still able to schedule a hearing in any case.
“I think it’s fair to say the board will be asking for some explanations from the companies about why they’ve decided to hold the line this year,” Duff told
CBC News.
Related stories:
Surge in auto insurance claims could lead to rate hike in 2017
Canadian car insurance policies deemed ‘excessively high’ as global stats revealed
