Public auto insurance in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and B.C. saddles consumers with high rates and limited choice: Fraser Institute

Drivers seeking auto insurance in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia are confronted with limited choice, uncompetitive rates, and some of the most highly regulated markets in all North America, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute.
“B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are dominated by government-run auto insurance monopolies that attach social goals to insurance, rather than trying to provide consumers with the best value,” said Brett J. Skinner, Fraser Institute director of insurance policy research and co-author of Auto Insurance Market Quality Index 2010: Comparison of International Auto Insurance Markets.
The report assesses the performance of auto insurance markets in 10 Canadian provinces and 50 U.S. states using data from 2003 to 2005, the most recent years for which complete data were available across all jurisdictions.
Using 13 variables, the study measured and compared the performance of auto insurance markets and categorized the results into five indices: cost and pricing fairness, choice, business climate, regulatory severity and overall market quality.
“In terms of overall market performance, Canadian provinces hold down seven of the bottom 10 rankings for 2005, led by Saskatchewan with the worst overall score (60th),” the institute says in a press release announcing the results of its study. “Manitoba followed (59th), then British Columbia (58th), Ontario (57th), New Brunswick (56th), Nova Scotia (55th), New Jersey (54th), and Quebec (53rd).”
Alberta was the best-performing province at 44th overall. The best performing jurisdictions overall were Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Wyoming, and Illinois.