Alberta’s auto grid, city rates not up for discussion, brokers told

Albertas auto insurance rate grid is not up for discussion, and the particular grid rates for the cities of Edmonton and Calgary will not change as a result of the Alberta Automobile Insurance Rate Boards premium review, now underway, the provinces superintendent of insurance, Dennis Gartner, told the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IBAA) in Jasper recently.
The rate board in May 2007 is holding its annual adjustment consultation meetings on automobile insurance premiums in the province. As part of its auto insurance reforms three years ago, Alberta in October 2004 implemented a grid that sets the maximum premiums that can be charged for compulsory auto insurance.
The rate boards mandate in its annual review of auto premium rates is to determine whether premiums for basic automobile insurance coverage should be uniformly adjusted given the industry-wide experience in the past year and what is expected to happen in the future, the ministry said in a statement.
The board said the focus of its review will be on loss trends, expense provision and the impact of Albertas auto insurance reforms on third-party liability costs and accident benefit costs.
Some insurers have called upon the provinces rate board to adjust premium rates for the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, observed Gartner, who is also the provinces assistant deputy minister of finance. But the rates will remain the same, he said.
Similarly, the all-comers rule is not up for debate, Gartner said. Introduced as part of the 2004 reforms, the all-comers rule requires insurers to offer coverage to anyone who wants it regardless of age, sex or marital status.
The rate board is accepting written submissions that fall under the scope of its review until May 31, 2007. It will hold meetings in Edmonton on June 18 and 19.