Discussions

Manitoba Public Insurance has applied to the Public Utilities Board for a rate increase.  
 
MPI has applied for a rate hike of 4.3 percent which if approved would take effect March 1st.  
 
Do they never stop? They say that would add a $40 - $50 to you insurance. Not much over a whole year maybe, but it is high enough now.

I'm not sure what you mean by "do they never stop?", but last year's rate increase was 0%.

is to recoup losses due to badly performing investments.

the rate application will bring out all of the people who want a return to private insurance. Most don't realize however, that private insurance does not provide similar coverage at a similar price.

Paul A said "the rate application will bring out all of the people who want a return to private insurance. Most don't realize however, that private insurance does not provide similar coverage at a similar price. "

Private insurance provides BETTER coverage,particularly for those with serious injuries.  
They are usually easier to deal with since they want to keep your business & their reputation.  
Also,none of your premium is funnelled to government programs.

Privitize with legislation not to hose us, like AB did 16 years ago  
 
In the 90's, MPI had probably the least expensive insurance. Now, they among the highest, if not the highest.  
Don't believe me? Go online, pretend you live in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Fredericton, and see how much your insurance would be in those cities, with State Farm, The Personal, Co-operators ext. Bet you it's less expensive, for the same coverage.  
Then, see what your home would cost to insure in those cities.  
We Are Getting Hosed.  
 
My insurance in those areas are half, or nearly half of what I'm paying now.

My friend recently moved to Ottawa and took his car. He pays more there than he does here. Toronto is more expensive than Ottawa.

Too am a little confused... they haven't had an increase in a while. Also, the reasons prices go up - because we as Manitobans make so many claims, therefor they need more  
Money

When I moved here from Ontario my insurance went down $23/month. Sucks shopping around for insurance. Here everyone is the same.

We too moved from ab to mb. Insurance rates went through the roof. So now I pay the same amount for one vehicle as I paid for 2 vehicles + utility trailer + motorcycle + house insurance in ab. (Yes. All of that!). Keeping in mind our driving record was perfect (no at fault accidents speeding tickets ect) and we were over 25 years of age at the time. And yes claims were made while we lived there...did our rates go through the roof?!? No! Responsible drivers are not penalized. Drive like an ass and get a bunch of tickets, then yes your rates will likely go up as they do here. Either way. All my coverage (2 not new vehicles, utility trailer, house, motorcycle) was approximately $170 a month. FULL coverage on everything. I pay that for my one (not new vehicle) now. Private means people have a choice. Sorry. But competition in business is a good thing. Private means you shop around for best price and coverage. Does not necessarily mean worse coverage for cheaper price. I may ruffle some feathers but Manitoban's are sheep cradling their beloved MPI after listening to years of horse crap regarding the "savings" you think you have with a one horse team. Meanwhile your government run insurance company plays Russian roulette with the premiums and rates. Private is the way to go.

I think MPI should get into the business of providing insurance and only insurance. they should act like they are there to serve their customer base with good insurance and affordable insurance. they have a monopoly, their is no reason that they shouldn''''t have the most affordable rates around.  
 
They should get out of anything that isn''''t focused on serving their customers with the most affordable insurance options. That is their job after all, a non-profit insurance company. They should not be involved in sponsoring hockey teams, check stops, traffic stings, ad campaigns, or sponsoring anything else. insurance and only insurance otherwise my vote is for privatization.  
 
With all the money they would save on only focusing on insurance they could lower our rates and reward customers for using a greener vehicles by providing discounts for such vehicles. they could also provide a bundling option for people insuring a truck and a green car so people that need a truck and want to lower their footprint can insure a green car, for less than it would cost to suck up the extra gas cost of just running a truck.  
 
Edited by rum, 2016-10-15 23:33:22

due to increase in accidents, fraud, hail, etc.  
Sometimes we win (with the rebate cheques), sometimes we lose (and pay).  
 
Ahh, life's sweet blessed balances.

rum said "I think MPI should get into the business of providing insurance and only insurance. they should act like they are there to serve their customer base with good insurance and affordable insurance. they have a monopoly, their is no reason that they shouldn''''t have the most affordable rates around.     They should get out of anything that isn''''t focused on serving their customers with the most affordable insurance options. That is their job after all, a non-profit insurance company. They should not be involved in sponsoring hockey teams, check stops, traffic stings, ad campaigns, or sponsoring anything else. insurance and only insurance otherwise my vote is for privatization.     With all the money they would save on only focusing on insurance they could lower our rates and reward customers for using a greener vehicles by providing discounts for such vehicles. they could also provide a bundling option for people insuring a truck and a green car so people that need a truck and want to lower their footprint can insure a green car, for less than it would cost to suck up the extra gas cost of just running a truck.     Edited by rum, 2016-10-15 23:33:22"

You were doing pretty good up until the time you started talking about green cars. All you are doing is transferring their sponsorship of other government programs with a different program that has nothing to do with insurance.  
 
This is like Manitoba Hydro giving grants to people so they can use less electricity, or paying people for their old refrigerators and even picking them up.

Please share the name of your insurance company in Alberta that had such low rates that you said "So now I pay the same amount for one vehicle as I paid for 2 vehicles + utility trailer + motorcycle + house insurance in ab. (Yes. All of that!). "  
 
All that for about $170 per month ? Incredible bargain.  
 
I have friends and relatives living in Alberta and I am sure that they would love to be able to reduce their insurance burden by switching to that company.

The personal.

Like I said in my earlier post....private rates will be dependent on your driving record. At fault accidents, speeding tickets ect will all increase rates. As may the age of the driver. Much like here. However....the difference is that in AB your insurance company wants your business. As said before, we did make claims (all for non fault accidents) and the company worked with us to get the claims sorted out. Perhaps your friends/family's driving record is less than stellar.

cmp said "    rum said "I think MPI should get into the business of providing insurance and only insurance. they should act like they are there to serve their customer base with good insurance and affordable insurance. they have a monopoly, their is no reason that they shouldn''''t have the most affordable rates around.     They should get out of anything that isn''''t focused on serving their customers with the most affordable insurance options. That is their job after all, a non-profit insurance company. They should not be involved in sponsoring hockey teams, check stops, traffic stings, ad campaigns, or sponsoring anything else. insurance and only insurance otherwise my vote is for privatization.     With all the money they would save on only focusing on insurance they could lower our rates and reward customers for using a greener vehicles by providing discounts for such vehicles. they could also provide a bundling option for people insuring a truck and a green car so people that need a truck and want to lower their footprint can insure a green car, for less than it would cost to suck up the extra gas cost of just running a truck.     Edited by rum, 2016-10-15 23:33:22" You were doing pretty good up until the time you started talking about green cars. All you are doing is transferring their sponsorship of other government programs with a different program that has nothing to do with insurance.     This is like Manitoba Hydro giving grants to people so they can use less electricity, or paying people for their old refrigerators and even picking them up. "

I would agree that the first step needs to be to only focas on insurance.  
 
The reason I mentioned green is:  
1. Doing small steps like that would make a lot more sense than a carbon tax.  
2. I have been in a position where I owned a car and a truck. It is cheaper to run just the truck than to insure both vehicle, but a lot more emissions.  
3. trucks are cheaper to ensure than cars now.  
4. at one point I considered getting a smart car. but I found that my savings in fuel go to insurance, so there is no financial benefit to driving a smart car.  
 
that shouldn't be like that. When I'm talking rewarding people who drive greener vehicles, I'm not talking about all sorts of kickbacks and programs. simply a formula that tips the scales in those areas to adjust the rates. no rebates, no money back at tax time, nothing like that, simply pay less at the transaction point.  
 
I find it hypocritical on the part of the government when they talk green, but make it more expensive to do so in areas they control. The changes I'm talking about doesn't require additional money, as the difference doesn't need to be huge.  
 
But first they need to get back to insurance and only insurance, otherwise we should privatize.

The crazy thing about Private insurance is that, they understand that your vehicle depreciates in value, therefore, your rates drop, every year (without tickets or at fault claims). You can't say that here. MPI says I'm at the max discount, yet I pay more for my vehicle now, then when it was new nearly 3 years ago. Rip off?!?!  
Baaa baa baaa  
 
Plus, with private, you can have your home, vehicles, = discount + group rebate via union, government, Costco membership etc.  
But MPI customers will keep being sheep, and think they are paying the lowest rates.  
 
Rebate cheques? Haha. Once in what, 20 years. So worth it.

If it meant that we get better customer service and better customer hours that deal with claims, I would actually support the rate increase. I'm still a bit bitter from my experience with MPI in July when my car got written off from a hit and run accident (which they eventually caught the bugger and a half that hit my car). That previous car of mine is $400 cheaper to register and insure in Saskatchewan.

The rates autopac charges will be based, like any insurance company, on the risks involved. When it comes to smart cars and green cars vs trucks, I suspect it has something to do with the levels of personal injuries along with the number of accidents and the cost to repair.  
 
If you think about it though, the replacement of the vehicle likely pales in comparison to the injury costs. The risk is higher with a smaller vehicle that you will be hurt, so you end up paying more.  
 
There is another thread on Carbon taxes, so I won't get too heavy into that subject. But I suspect if every last Canadian went out tomorrow and bought a "green" vehicle, the cash strapped governments are still going to plug in to some form of this tax.  
 
Autopac is a monopoly. We have no choice but to insure our autos through them. I wish they could operate outside of government influence and we could just pay the appropriate rates to what could and should be, effectively, an insurance co-op for Manitobans.  
 
Edited by cmp, 2016-10-16 19:02:50

This thread should be renamed to "MPI rates will be going up". It may not be 4.3% or whatever they are asking.  
 
I would think min 3%.  
 
If I were to insure my 2 vehicles in Toronto. It will be less than here. They need get rid of this stupid MPI and start privatizing insurance. Get some competition going.

Here are 3 different links comparing insurance rates by province. They have very different results. It appears to be very situation dependent  
 
http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/ca/news/auto/ranked-yearly-auto-insurance-costs-by-province-196447.aspx  
 
https://gaa.qc.ca/en/statistics/automobile-insurance-rates/comparison-by-province/  
 
https://www.arcinsurance.ca/blog/average-car-insurance-rates-across-canadian-provinces/  
 
Personally I'm of the opinion that rates here can be reasonable but many of the tools MPIC uses to determine rates based on the vehicle you own make no sense.

Getty said "This thread should be renamed to "MPI rates will be going up". It may not be 4.3% or whatever they are asking.     I would think min 3%.     If I were to insure my 2 vehicles in Toronto. It will be less than here. They need get rid of this stupid MPI and start privatizing insurance. Get some competition going. "

Are you joking?

Getty said "This thread should be renamed to "MPI rates will be going up". It may not be 4.3% or whatever they are asking.     I would think min 3%.     If I were to insure my 2 vehicles in Toronto. It will be less than here. They need get rid of this stupid MPI and start privatizing insurance. Get some competition going. "

What insurance company would you be dealing with? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/adventure/trends/why-ontario-drivers-pay-the-highest-car-insurance-rates-in-the-country/article19522860/

Whiskers said "    Getty said "This thread should be renamed to "MPI rates will be going up". It may not be 4.3% or whatever they are asking.     I would think min 3%.     If I were to insure my 2 vehicles in Toronto. It will be less than here. They need get rid of this stupid MPI and start privatizing insurance. Get some competition going. " What insurance company would you be dealing with? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/adventure/trends/why-ontario-drivers-pay-the-highest-car-insurance-rates-in-the-country/article19522860/ "

PC financial ins  
 
an article is a joke for comparison. I have 2 vehicles of 2015. I have a good driving record. NO accident claims all my life.  
 
Same coverage between MPI and PC.

comparing the article to the time i was 24. My then car would''''ve cost me $5500 to insure in Toronto.  
 
and PC financial was the only company I checked. If i checked others it would be cheaper.  
 
MPI I pay $300 a month for 2 cars. PC gave me a quote of $290 a month for 2 cars.  
 
Edited by Getty, 2016-10-19 16:00:37