IBAA responds to "misleading" ICBC auto insurance report

In response to a report commissioned by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), which implied that Alberta pays some of the highest auto insurance rates in Canada, the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IBAA) has issued a statement offering clarification on the matter.

According to the ICBC report released last week, which was conducted by Ernst & Young (EY), an 18-year-old novice license holder driving a 2012 Honda Civic LX would pay $5,936 for auto insurance in Alberta – one of the highest amounts possible. By comparison, the report said that the same driver would pay $2,551 in BC and $1,129 in Saskatchewan.

However, the IBAA cautioned in its release that ICBC’s report should be taken with a grain of salt.

“On Friday, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia released a report suggesting Alberta drivers pay the highest auto insurance premiums in Canada,” said IBAA president Barry Haggis in a statement. “The report, commissioned by the British Columbia government auto insurance provider appears to extoll the virtues of public insurance, should be read with a healthy dose of skepticism. We have serious concerns that the methodology used paints a skewed picture of Alberta’s auto insurance market and presents misleading findings as to the prices drivers are paying.”

The IBAA believes that there are “several key shortfalls” in ICBC’s report:

The broker association believes EY did not take the lowest quote when reporting the rates, by dropping the lowest quote and taking the “average” of the higher prices it obtained for the report.
EY declined all discounts offered in Alberta, IBAA maintained, which drove the quoted premiums higher.
The EY quotes were generated through an online quoting tool and did not use a licensed insurance broker.

“More can, and should, be done to improve the affordability of auto insurance in Alberta, but such discussions should be based in facts, not misleading arguments put out by the proponents of public auto insurance,” the IBAA said.