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B.C. has second-highest auto insurance rates in Canada: Study
B.C. has second-highest auto insurance rates in Canada: Study
OTTAWA — Government-run auto-insurance schemes in three provinces continue to charge some of the highest rates in the country, according to a new study.
But the highest auto-insurance premiums are apparently in a province with no such government monopoly.
The study, released Monday, found that Ontarians pay the highest rates of any Canadian drivers, with B.C. second.
The Fraser Institute, a right-leaning think-tank, found that the average auto-insurance premium in British Columbia was $1,113 in 2009 — the most recent year for which data are available — $1,049 in Saskatchewan, and $1,027 in Manitoba.
Ontario had the highest average premium at $1,281, while the lowest average premium, $642, was found in Quebec.
The Fraser Institute chalked up the high Ontario premiums to a combination of high levels of insurance fraud driving up claims costs, rate-setting regulations and mandatory minimum liability and accident-benefits laws.
The think-tank estimated the insurance costs based on publicly available data.
The cost of auto insurance in each province is also measured by calculating the average premium as a percentage of GDP per person, the average premium as a percentage of personal income per person, and the average premium as a percentage of personal disposable income per person.
The Fraser Institute also said that the study found evidence that taxpayers, including non-drivers, are subsidizing government auto insurers in some provinces. |
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