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Regulator reminds public insurer of six outstanding orders


December 6, 2017   by Jason Contant, Online Editor


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Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is reviewing and intends to “fully comply” with outstanding directives in auto insurance and other matters issued by the province’s Public Utilities Board (PUB), an MPI spokesperson told Canadian Underwriter on Wednesday.

PUB brought up the outstanding directives Monday as part of its auto insurance rate filing decision. The regulator said in a statement that it is “concerned that MPI chose not to fully comply with a significant proportion of the directives in Order 162/16. As a result, the Board orders MPI to file a status of compliance report on or before April 1, 2018, and fully participate in several technical conferences.”

The MPI spokesperson said it is too early to say when the directives would be completed, as they had just received the orders on Monday.

According to PUB, Order 162/16 involved a total of 33 directives, 27 of which were “completed as ordered.” The six remaining orders include that MPI:

  1. File an overall five-year strategic plan in its 2018 general rate application (GRA) regarding its IT projects. The plan should include all major projects, including IT modernization and physical damage re-engineering projects, full business cases with cost-benefit financial metrics for each, and the plan should also clearly articulate the benefits of the projects and provide updates on their progress to implementation;
  2. Seek to gain insight on longer tail experience from outside the province, in particular from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), and report back on the results of its efforts in the 2018 GRA;
  3. Obtain an updated asset liability management study to be filed in the 2018 GRA, addressing 18 recommendations made;
  4. File a five-year strategic plan addressing all of its road safety programming, including: the overall budget and breakdown; targets for the reduction of collisions and fatalities; all priorities for road safety programming; MPI’s strategy for addressing and targeting road safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, including drug-impaired driving, wildlife collisions, mature drivers and vulnerable road users;
  5. Further study the use of fencing to prevent wildlife collisions, including discussion with other jurisdictions that employ wildlife collision management plans, and in the 2018 GRA, provide a report on its further study of wildlife collision management plans.
  6. Work with the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups on a proposal for a pilot project involving the use of fencing in order to study its effectiveness in reducing wildlife collisions.

A PUB spokesperson told Canadian Underwriter that the first three orders are “in progress.” For the fourth order, “MPI provided its 2017-2020 operation plan in response.” For the fifth order, MPI advised PUB that the directive was not a “cost-effective” solution. “MPI advised that this is an infrastructure project that it does not have jurisdiction to undertake” for the final order.

PUB approved a 2.6% overall general rate increase for Basic compulsory motor vehicle premiums, effective Mar. 1, 2018 and ordered a 1.8% rate increase to the demerit scale for driver premiums under the Driver Safety Rating system.


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