June 3, 2008
Dear Stakeholder:
As Superintendent of Financial Services, I have responsibility for carrying out a review of Part VI of the Insurance Act (the Act) dealing with Automobile Insurance. I am requesting submissions from stakeholders to inform and assist me with this review.
Part VI of the Act includes provisions that deal with the approval of forms, motor vehicle liability policies, statutory conditions, direct compensation, limitations on accident insurance, court proceedings, and dispute resolution. Some of the regulations under Part VI include: the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS), uninsured automobile coverage, fault determination rules, disputes between insurers, and court proceedings.
The review is being conducted pursuant to section 289.1 of the Act:
The Superintendent shall undertake a review of this Part and any regulations made under this Part at least every five years or more often at the request of the Minister and shall recommend any amendments that the Superintendent believes will improve the effectiveness and administration of this Part and the regulations.
The review will focus on enhancing protection for automobile insurance consumers and ensuring ongoing product affordability and availability. Interested parties are asked to identify issues and concerns and to provide suggestions that will improve Ontario’s automobile insurance system. Stakeholders may wish to comment on the possible issues identified in the attached appendix.
Submissions should be made in writing and sent by mail to the attention of Willie Handler, Senior Manager, Automobile Insurance Policy Unit, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, 5160 Yonge Street, 15th Floor, Box 85, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 6L9. Alternately, submissions may be sent to him by e-mail at
5YearReview@fsco.gov.on.ca.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 14, 2008.
If you prefer to discuss your submission in-person, please contact Ms. Donna Soloway, Project Coordinator, Automobile Insurance Policy Unit at 416-590-7123.
Please note that all submissions are subject to the access and privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Thank you for your interest and participation in the review.
Sincerely,
Bob Christie
Chief Executive Officer and
Superintendent of Financial Services
Appendix - Guide for Comments and Submissions
Automobile insurance provisions and issues that stakeholders may wish to comment on but not limited to in submissions to the Superintendent of Financial Services include:
- Affordability and Availability - Improvements to the auto insurance system that maintain affordability and availability for consumers.
- Consumer Protection - Further measures that may enhance consumer protection in purchasing auto insurance and accessing compensation and services following an accident.
- Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule - Possible changes and improvements to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule in particular to reduce complexity and enhance compliance.
- Dispute Resolution at FSCO - Possible changes that could improve the Dispute Resolution process at FSCO.
- Other Issues - Any other issue related to auto insurance that improves fairness and can improve the efficiency and operation of the auto insurance system including regulatory burden reduction proposals.