MPI requests 4% overall average decrease in auto insurance premiums

Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) has proposed a 4% overall average rate decrease for auto insurance rates next year.
This is in addition to providing customers with a $92-million rebate in the spring. The 12.9% rebate would amount to roughly $115 per vehicle.
MPI submitted its application to the Public Utilities Board on June 11.
This is the fifth rebate in the last 11 years and is based on the Basic Autopac rates paid in the 2009-2010 insurance year, the company reports.
“Our record of rate stability is unparalleled, having held the line or reduced rates 12 of the last 13 years,” MPI president and CEO Marilyn McLaren said in a press release.
MPI has also proposed to raise its Driver Safety Rating (DSR) vehicle premium discount to a maximum of 30% – up from 25%.
DSR levels 11 to 14 are being implemented and will provide vehicle discounts of 26% to 29% respectively, if approved by the PUB, MPI reports.
If the public regulator approves the application, 68 % of Manitobans will pay less for basic compulsory coverage next year, while 11% will pay the same amount and 21% of vehicle owners will pay more.
The proposed rates would be effective Mar. 1, 2011, but because renewal dates are staggered, some vehicle owners wouldn’t pay the new rates until Feb. 28, 2012.