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Hot Topics
D.U.M.B. Struck
This summer, the D.U.M.B. Car will visit communities in Alberta as part of the D.U.M.B. Struck Tour, and The Drive to Survive Tour will bring the simulator to communities in Ontario. To learn more about distracted driving click here. What are you doing behind the wheel? Drivers have always had the radio, coffee and other attention-grabbers in their cars to distract them from the task at hand. Now, increasingly, they’ve also got high-tech gadgets like cellphones and MP3 players to occupy them when they should be paying attention to the road. Injury prevention Home, car and business insurers have a long history of working with
provincial governments and safety organizations to make Canada’s
communities safer for everyone. The Be Smart. Be Safe. program
reinforces this commitment to prevention and is dedicated to helping Canadians
be safer at home, on the road and at play. Click
here Road safetyThe insurance industry has always been at the forefront of road safety initiatives, including seatbelt laws, anti-drinking-and-driving campaigns and graduated licensing. Current initiatives include efforts to improve graduated licensing, education about proper headrest use to mitigate whiplash injuries, and a driver distraction study. For more, click here. Auto theftAuto theft is big business with economic and societal costs for all Canadians. Every year, more than 170,000 cars are stolen in Canada. This crime costs auto insurers and their policyholders more than $600 million a year in claims pay-outs, or about $43 per policy. In addition, auto theft costs taxpayers more than $400 million in other costs, such as court, policing and health care expenses. All told, the annual cost of this crime is more than $1 billion. In addition, about 40 Canadians die every year as a result of auto theft and 65 are seriously injured. For more, click here. Penalties for auto theftCanada’s home, car and business insurers are among the growing number of voices pushing for stiffer penalties for auto theft. Currently, punishment is so minor that there is no deterrent for this dangerous and costly crime. As a result, a great many car thieves are repeat offenders. Auto theft is also a growing source of funding for organized crime. For more, click here. Business insurance – insurance for small businesses and non-profitsResponding to concerns about the affordability and availability of commercial liability insurance, the industry created forums across the country for insurers and their commercial customers to work together toward solutions. One result has been the development of a series of risk management modules for affected categories of businesses and volunteer-based groups. For more, click here. Insurance crime – injury claims fraudThe number of serious auto collisions on Canadian roads has been decreasing, but the number of personal injury claims arising from those collisions has been increasing dramatically. Confirming that something is amiss, a 2003 closed claims study concluded that 33.6% of all accident benefits (AB) claims and 25.6% of all bodily injury (BI) claims have some element of fraud. Fraud costs all policyholders because rising claims costs force premiums up. For more, click here. Government-run auto insuranceGovernment-run auto insurance is occasionally touted as the only way to achieve affordable auto insurance premiums. Unfortunately, supporters of a government monopoly tend to overlook important facts, such as the dramatically reduced benefits that usually come with a government-run system, the immense cost of establishing a government monopoly, and the lost taxes and employment that would result. For more, click here. Health careCanada’s (non-government) home, car and business insurers pay more than $2 billion per year into the country’s health care system, most of it related to auto insurance. The industry is concerned about rising health care costs and is a strong proponent of injury prevention as a solution. For more, click here. Natural disastersNatural disasters are hitting Canadians harder and with increasing frequency. The 1998 ice storm was by far Canada's most expensive natural disaster, affecting more than 3 million Canadians, and resulting in losses paid by insurers and governments exceeding $2.7 billion. Click here for more information about natural disasters, their impact on Canadians and what individuals can do to be prepared. To arrange for an interview on any of these topics or others, contact: James Geuzebroek |
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People rarely think about insurance until their policy is up for renewal
or they have to file a claim. But insurance is something that touches
all aspects of our lives and, without it, most people could not assume
the financial risk inherent in operating a business, driving a car or
owning a home. In addition to providing vital insurance coverage, here
are some of the issues and policy areas in which Canada’s home,
car and business insurers are active in making change and addressing underlying
insurance costs that consumers face.
Distracted
driving is one of the most serious road safety issues today. The 
to visit the Be Smart. Be Safe. website.