This Ontario Election Ask About Eroding Auto Insurance Coverage

In 2010, the Ontario government made some major changes to auto insurance after caving to pressures from the insurance companies. These changes really hurt accident victims. This Ontario Election make sure to ask your representative what they plan on doing to fix this.

Here’s a rundown of the issue:

The main change that happened in 2010 was the introduction of the Minor Injury Guideline (also known as the MIG). The introduction of the MIG resulted in most insurance coverage for injuries getting reduced from $100,000 for treatment to $3,500. Not only is this a major reduction in coverage, but approximately 75% of all accident victims are stuck in the Minor Injury Guideline! That means that for 75% of victims their $100,000 policy will suddenly be reduced to $3,500.

The even bigger issue is that for most injuries $3,500 will only make a small dent in your treatment costs. Months of physiotherapy, time off work, home care, and other recovery expenses really add up. For almost all injured victims, this means that you can’t get the treatment you need – such as the physiotherapy to recover – because all the treatment money has dried up within the first few months. Even worse, injured victims with serious issues such as fractures and brain injuries often get focused in the Minor Injury Guideline.

Overall, the changes to Ontario system value big corporations over individual injured victims. The insurance industry in Ontario has shown an increase in profits at the expense of those who have paid for their services. When your injured you don’t want to be cheated out of your compensation, and for most people, $3,500 in return doesn’t even cover what you’ve paid into the policy over all these years!

Here are the questions to ask your representative:

Q: Why are politicians so focused on reducing premiums and not at all concerned about how much treatment victims receive?

Q: Are you aware that the 2010 changes – the so-called reforms – resulted in massive profits for insurance companies?

Q: Are you aware that Ontario actually has the worst coverage in the country for these injuries?

Q: Will you support a moratorium on further auto insurance coverage reductions?

Let them know these changes are not okay!