Other provincial regulators could take a page from Quebec, especially when it comes to allowing auto insurers the freedom to experiment, as in the case of telematics, says one direct insurer.
“We’ve got to have less regulatory burden as to how insurance companies can compete and move and adapt to reality,” says Michel Laurin, president and COO of Industrial Alliance, Auto & Home Insurance in Quebec City, Que. “Fortunately we’re not doing business in Ontario. Doing Mobiliz as we did, it could only have happened in Quebec.”
Industrial Alliance introduced a telematics product, Mobiliz, in 2012 to its young drivers, and has met with resounding success, as even drivers with a poor driving history are changing their ways through the weekly updates and monthly rewards for good driving habits.
And it is a technology that should already be operating throughout Canada, and not hung up in red tape waiting on individual provincial regulatory approvals.
“We had the leeway of open spaces where we could make innovations and try things out and come up with a new approach (in Quebec),” Laurin told Insurance Business. “In many jurisdictions in Canada, this is a burden that makes the industry far from proactive and innovative. It one step forward, three steps back.”
And the effectiveness of telematics products in Quebec – which are also offered by Desjardins and now Intact – can be seen in the premiums paid out by drivers in la belle province, despite the jokes made about Montreal driving habits. (continued.)
#pb#
“Our average premium levels for auto are the lowest in Canada,” says Laurin. “Quebecers pay less than their counterparts in the rest of the country – and that is including those bad Montreal drivers!”
Now entering its third year, telematics if introduced nationwide could not only save thousands of dollars for the industry, but save lives as well, Laurin has pointed out at various conferences, including the NICC back in September.
“It is something that the industry should work on,” he says. “We need to try and find success in providing customers with the products they need, at the rate they need, and having the features that reduce accidents and save lives.”
And it is inevitable that telematics will be universal, adds Laurin.
“Telematics will be spreading out in Canada at a fast pace. We’ve already seen Desjardins coming in and Intact is coming in, many other companies will too,” he says. “Even the broker associations have inked some deals with telematics providers. It’s coming; 2014 will be the year of Telematics in Canada.”
