Ontario NDP leader says lowering auto insurance rates a priority for spring session

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwarth has listed several of the party’s proposals and priorities for the new legislative session, with lowering car insurance rates among them.

Among the ideas, listed Monday, would be a mandate for the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to reduce auto insurance rates in the province by 15% by March 2014. 

The NDP also laid out priorities related to homecare and the province’s overall finances.

“These are realistic, achievable results that we can deliver, that will help balance the books and help Ontarians in their everyday lives,” Horwath said in a statement.

Read more: IBC says Ontario NDP critic cherry picking facts on auto insurance premiums

NDP consumer affairs critic and Bramalea-Gore-Malton MPP Jagmeet Singh has been vocal about the need for change in Ontario’s auto insurance industry. He recently cited research that suggests insurers “have been saving 25% per insured driver following recent insurance reforms even though the average driver has seen their rates increase.”

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), however, suggests that those statistics are flawed and misrepresent the issue.