Advocacy group fired up about Alberta auto insurance rate hikes

EDMONTON A group of hundreds of Albertans ranging from lawyers to doctors to concerned citizens is raising concerns over auto insurance rate hikes.

Fair Alberta formed as a counter-voice to the insurance industry to ensure that laws applying to injury victims are fair, that auto insurance companies are accountable and that Albertans receive fair compensation and treatment options for injuries.

The coalition is speaking out after the provincial government scrapped a five-per-cent insurance rate cap that was put in place by the previous NDP government.

The province decided to end the cap because they were hearing from companies that they were losing money by paying out more in benefits than they were making in premiums.

Premier Jason Kenney said recently that personal injury claims have been “growing massively,” contributing to higher premium costs.

“Lawyers have found loopholes through the restrictions on personal injury awards that were established by the Klein government,” Kenney said.

“Those restrictions brought control to the cost of insurance in Alberta, but now, as I understand it, personal injury awards have been growing massively, year after year after year, and that’s ultimately what’s forcing up premium costs.”

But Mark Feehan, spokesman for Fair Alberta and a former president of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, says there’s concern over the possibility of more changes to minor injury regulation.

The previous NDP government made an amendment in May 2018 to the minor injuries regulation to make it clear that sprains, strains and whiplash injuries are considered minor injuries. Related physical and psychological symptoms, and some temporomandibular (TMJ), also known as jaw joint injuries, are also defined as minor.

“So you think that the insurance industry would be happy with that,” said Feehan, but Fair Alberta believes the industry is going to ask for more.

“What they’re asking for is to make the phrase ‘minor injury’ inclusive of concussions and TMJ injuries and chronic pain. And those are conditions that can haunt people for life,” he said.

“Another term for concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. They’re trying to get the government to include in the definition of minor injury, a brain injury.”

Feehan said Fair Alberta is working on a campaign to get their message out and for the province to hear what they have to say. The coalition isn’t looking to change the system but rather advocate for fairness for consumers.

“We are writing letters to the government officials, we are having people go and meet with the MLAS, we’re even having a meeting with Celyeste Power (Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Western vice-president),” Feehan said.

“We’re concerned about the message because it’s not a fair message, and that’s why the program is called ‘fair.’ Let’s be fair about this.”