New report shows auto insurance rates slowly declining in Alberta
A new report released by LowestRates.ca on Tuesday shows Alberta saw a drop of 3.6 percent in automobile insurance premiums for the first quarter of 2021.
However they still remain nearly 15 percent higher, year over year.
“Now it's reached an equilibrium, or close to reaching an equilibrium where insurance companies want to compete for Alberta drivers business,” said Justin Thouin, co-founder of LowestRates.ca.
Thouin says the removal of a five per cent premium cap on insurance rates from the UCP started the increase of rates nearly two years ago.
The cap was brought in by the previous NDP government.
“It was an unsustainable environment for car insurance under the NDP,” said Thouin.
“Car insurance companies couldn’t make any money. So they were all pulling out, and forcing Alberta drivers, some of them to have to drive without insurance, because they couldn’t find an insurance company that would be willing to insure them.”
Sherif Abdelrahman started driving in Canada in 2019. His insurance rate was a little more than $2,600 annually.
Last November his company asked him to pay an additional $1,000.
“I had no accidents, no demerits nothing and what I got was a 40 percent increase,” he said.
“That was a big thank you from insurance companies to us Albertans.”
BILL 41
The province introduced Bill 41 last year to make it more fair and affordable for consumers.
Fair Alberta said that while the legislation helped, there is still a lot to do when it comes to lowering insurance rates.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said spokesperson Keith McLaughlin.
“We know that insurance companies continue to share information that is not supported by publicly-available data around their profitability.”
The province says rates will not increase.
“The Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB) regulates auto insurance rates in Alberta,” read a statement from the ministry of finance.
“So far, two insurers have filed for a rate reductions, and we understand that AIRB is not approving further rate increases, unless an application demonstrates a rate change is absolutely necessary.”
“At the end of the day, Alberta has a competitive auto insurance marketplace. Drivers are encouraged to shop around and compare quotes to find best insurance options for their needs and budgets,” read the statement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.