Ontario Car and Auto Insurance News
The New Auto Insurance of Ontario — 09/01/10
Effective September 1, 2010, the Ontario government introduced changes to the auto insurance system intended to provide greater price stability...
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After three consecutive years of increases, basic auto insurance rates will soon fall for some Ontario drivers – but not enough to compensate for the increases of previous years.
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Did you know that approximately 16,000 people are convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit in Ontario each year? That’s almost two people every hour!
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Ontario released figures that show average auto insurance rates decreased by almost 0.1 per cent, on average, in the third quarter of 2010.
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With high schools, colleges and universities back in session, Aviva Canada Inc., reminds young drivers and their parents about the importance of proper driving educatio
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Rivalries run deep in Ontario and there’s no dividing force quite like the capital city itself. Mere mention of Toronto can bring a range of reactions, from the pride of a city-dweller to the subtle self-conscious contempt of an Ottawa resident.
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The auto insurance reforms that started in Ontario on September 1 were developed to help the insurance industry keep a control on costs, while also allowing customers more choice in their policies.
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Insurance companies are embracing new investigative psychology techniques to assess the credibility of home and auto claims as they prepare to manage an expected fraud rise in the wake of the recession.
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Insurance Brokers Association of Canada commends the publication by the Government of Canada of regulations extending protection for the insurance consumer to the on‐line marketplace.
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Having your car stolen is not only emotionally upsetting, but also very time-consuming and expensive. Unfortunately, car theft is all too common and costs Canadians $1 billion per year.
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A network of eight electric car charging stations have already been installed across southern Ontario.
The network, managed by Better Place, is backed by the provincial government and is being treated as a one-year pilot project.
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Eight charging stations are now up and running in Ontario in partnership with world leader Better Place.
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4 minivans are the latest 2011 Top Safety Pick winners.
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In support of our segmentation approach to rating and to help attract and retain business, Intact introduced the following changes to commercial car, auto and fleet insurance coverage, effective immediately:
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The incidence of alcohol in car crashes in which a Canadian male died in 2008 was significantly higher than that of women
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If you’re suffering from the kind of car lust that can be cured only by something shiny that fills your nostrils with the exhilarating smell of new car, you’re in luck.
For what may be a short-lived aberration, you can actually justify such a purchase as a frugal move. Even though the recession...
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Canadian researchers have announced the development of the first permanent anti-fog treatment that might be applied in the future to car windshields. How will this affect your safety and car insurance rate?
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Auto insurance brokers are increasingly taking advantage of the ability to offer their clients an online car insurance quoting capability as a means of competing...
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Road improvement projects are good investments, saving itself and its customers five to 12 times that amount in car damages...
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Loss ratios in auto insurance liability and other signs indicate Ontario's auto insurance reforms have not yet eliminated abuses in the car accident side of the business
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Ontario's upcoming election in October 2011 represents a major risk for insurers because of its potential to interfere with the ongoing reforms of the province's auto insurance
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An adjuster's comment leading an auto insured to believe there was "no need to sue" an insurer for payment of a vehicle loss...
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A Peel Ontario Regional Police Officer has been arrested in Brampton following a fraud investigation into staged car collisions.
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Slightly more than half of Ontario's auto and car insurance market had rate changes, and average increase of 3.32%
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Although similar auto benefits may be claimed before and after a catastrophic car collision determination, an applicant would undergo a different assessment in a catastrophic determination
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he Ontario Bar Association will award James Simmons and Paul Lee with its 2011 Award for Excellence in Insurance Law.
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The idea that no-fault car insurance increases fatal auto accidents seems preposterous. But a number of studies in Ontario, Canada...
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A spokesman for public Auto Insurance says he looks for the weirdest cases of auto fraud to make his annual top five list...
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Higher gas prices drove consumers toward more fuel-efficient car choices but not out of the new auto market in Canada last month as many automakers reported improved and even record-breaking car sales.
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One-in-five Canadians under the age of 35 admit they have purposely lied or omitted important facts when filling out a car insurance application, according to a recent study
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Ontario is proposing changes to Auto Drive Clean testing that would save car drivers time and money, while continuing to protect the environment.
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A provincial auto insurance review is recommending that the province raise its standard car and auto insurance accident benefits package from its current level of $25,000 to $50,000, and then including a provision to allow insurance policyholders to ‘buy down' to a basic package
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Canada is a producer and Net exporter (to the USA, etc.) of oil which is used to produce gasoline to run our car and auto vehicles. Car and auto gas prices are set on oil prices, as measured by the "barrel of oil". It costs...
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Ontario direct auto insurance writers have about a 24% market share, with the car insurance broker channel in Ontario holding onto a 57% market share. Is this good for rates?
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As pain at the pumps intensifies, the 2011 car driving survey reports that the average cost of driving a mid-sized auto 18,000 kilometers a year has gone up 3.6 percent from 2010. But the actual bottom line is much worse than that...
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High auto gas prices are finally pushing Canadian consumers towards smaller, more fuel efficient car and auto vehicles, says a new report by Scotiabank economist Carlos Gomes.
He found that sales of compact cars and auto in April are up 23 per cent from where they were last year. And, it's the same story in the U.S.
Despite the high gas prices, car and auto sales are still up overall. Gomes says this is thanks to the fact that we're still in a rebounding economy.
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Car and auto road safety partners have worked closely with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario to promote safedriving practices and reduce highway fatalities.
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Hybrid and gasoline-only car and auto models that are among the most fuel-efficient cars as recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to earn the Top Safety Pick award
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The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) is warning consumers using vehicles such as scooters and electronic bicycles (e-bikes) that these non car or auto vehicles do not offer liability coverage on one's auto insurance policy
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The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) launched a consumer Web site promoting a ban on the use of credit scoring in home and other personal property insurance.
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The price of new cars, car insurance premiums are based largely on the driving habits, financial wherewithal and the value of the car. How is this affecting you?
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"If car, auto and home insurance consumers are given an opportunity to look someplace else, if somebody else gives them a reason or an invitation to look, they're going to do it."
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Ontario (FSCO) has confirmed that getting out of a car or auto vehicle "safely" falls within the definition of the ordinary use or operation of a car or auto vehicle - even when that means the driver has locked the car door and walked around the car without incident to get to a shoveled "access point" next to a snow bank on a curb.
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The Ontario car and auto insurance board has amended the liability of a public transit vehicle owner or car driver in a single-vehicle collision, where previously they were not liable in these types of auto crashes; and the addition of a section that states public transit passengers cannot claim statutory accident benefits if the car or auto vehicle did not collide with another vehicle or object.
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Ontario's car and auto insurance broker association is encouraging the province's consumers to provide input to the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) on the use of credit scoring in auto insurance. What does this mean to you?
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Canadians hoping to relieve the stress of summer road trips in their car are apparently turning to their tunes, study finds.
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Ontario car and auto insurance reforms implemented last year have led to stability in the auto product, car insurance rates finally stable and in some cases lowering, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says
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More than a quarter of Ontario drivers could be missing out on cheaper car insurance by automatically renewing their policies, according to research by a price comparison website
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The car and auto insurance industry in Ontario is calling for the accreditation and regulation of assessment clinic ownership to help put the brakes on fraudulent car accident benefits claims.
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Ontario car and auto insurance rate filings increase an average of 1% in 2011 Q2, compared to 4.6% in 2010 and some carriers showed a decrease!
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Car and auto theft is the number two claim insurance companies have to face today. Car theft costs Ontario about $200 million a year, including health care expenses, court policing, legal and out of pocket costs such as deductibles, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The average auto claim in Toronto is $34,858 (outside of the Greater Toronto Area)
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Ontario has a newly created Car and Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force will be examining the scope of auto insurance fraud in Ontario and is expected to make final recommendations to the government in Fall 2012.
The recommendations will address prevention, detection, investigation, enforcement and consumer education strategies around fraudulent car - auto insurance claims.
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Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was at car maker Toyota's Woodstock plant to congratulate auto workers and celebrate Ontario being chosen to produce the Toyota RAV4 EV (electric car) because of the province's commitment to electric car and auto vehicles. Ontario is on a quest to become the world's leader in making cost-saving, efficient car and auto vehicles.
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Ontario car and auto insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), has charged Ontario Disability Management Inc. with knowingly making false statements to a car and auto insurer to obtain payment for goods and services provided to a car insured.
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The Ontario government announced an $80 million investment in electric car and auto vehicles charging infrastructure. This, in addition to the provincial incentive program for the purchase of EVs as well as Ontario’s own commitment to green its fleet of car and auto vehicles, demonstrates a strong commitment to greenhouse gas emission reductions.
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Ontario is helping Magna International and Magna E-Car develop the next generation of clean car and auto vehicle technologies creating 728 jobs and protecting another 1,337 jobs for all aspects of clean car and auto development, becoming a world car manufacture leader.
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Good news for car drivers in Ontario! Changes to Ontario car and auto vehicle Drive Clean came in to effect on September 1st, 2011 and will save Ontario families money and protect the air our children, grandchildren and seniors breathe. (Car - auto insurance Ontario files)
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Ontario car insurance regulator, The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), is warning consumers that Lima Automobile Insurance Company is not licensed to do business in Ontario. Lima Auto Insurance Company is collecting premiums from Ontario clients without providing coverage. They are providing cheap car insurance quotes as the attraction.
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Ontario car and auto accident results are already showing signs of a drastic improvement, one year after the implementation of the reforms. The loss ratio for Ontario car insurance & personal auto accident lines had soared to 143.3% in 2010, Mango noted. But by the end of the first half of 2011, that figure plummeted; good news for Ontario auto insurance rates.
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Ontario auto insurance policyholders were about four times more likely to purchase the increased death and funeral benefit than any of the other optional benefits offered under the Ontario car insurance scheme. The Ontario car insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), asked the largest private passenger auto insurance insurers in Ontario to complete a survey in January 2011 regarding take-up of optional benefits. 78% of the Ontario...
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The Car Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) is urging the Ontario car insurance regulator, Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to include administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) in the auto Insurance Act. A “cease and desist” order is not sufficient to prevent massive amounts of Ontario car insurance fraud”. This bold move…
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The interpretation of ‘ordinary car driver' in Ontario courts has expanded to include those car drivers who "sometimes make mistakes," and has thus increased exposure to liability for not keeping safe roads. "The ordinary auto motorist includes those of average range of driving ability - not simply the perfect”. Ontario car insurance regulator had this to say…
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Ontario Car Insurance association (IBAO) and the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving to remind Ontario students travelling over the Thanksgiving holiday to exercise caution and to not drink and drive, text or talk while driving their car in Ontario.
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Live in Ontario and paying too much in car insurance? You can thank fraudsters and their false claims in part. According to a new study, fraud explains why on average Ontario auto insurance drivers pay a $1,281 premium while Quebeckers pay nearly half that, $642, on average. Fraud investigators [characterize] Toronto as the center for organized crime rings that carry out a number of fraud scams in car insurance.
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Groups that plan car accidents to make fraudulent insurance claims are costing the system billions, experts say. In Ontario, car insurance fraudsters are hiking the rates for everyone, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. Its time for Ontario car insurance regulator, The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), regulates over 30 car insurance providers that provide Ontario car insurance, to crack down.
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With an increased number of Teens who are deemed high-risk drivers and pay higher auto insurance in Ontario, will new restrictions make a difference? Programs that keep young drivers from taking the wheel at night, or with a car full of teens, may reduce the risk of fatal crashes in some drivers -- but increase that risk in others.
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Government-run car and auto insurance 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 set in Ontario, with no such government monopoly. With drivers paying the most for Ontario car insurance, is it time to let the government take this over? Would motorists finally get some relief and see lower Ontario auto insurance?
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You can pay several hundred dollars more for Ontario car insurance each year because of where you live. Yes, car insurance companies charge a higher premium if you live in an area with a higher rate of accidents, thefts or vandalism. Don’t believe me? Just go to a website that lets you compare Ontario car insurance rates, such as ThinkInsure. Getting your car insurance has never been easier. Click here to get a quick quote and save now! . There’s a reason why the website asks for your postal code on the first page.
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In attempting to justify Ontario's high and increasing car insurance premiums, the Insurance Bureau of Canada has trumpeted what it calls Ontario's "generous" no fault accident benefits. Ontario auto insurance premiums do not justify high costs.
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Ontario car insurance regulator has given the car insurance industry new powers in the fight against auto insurance fraud, and insurers will need to use them responsibly. Ontario car insurance companies were given the ability to say no to treatment plans they feel are suspicious. Given that Ontario's auto accident benefit loss ratio is well over 160%, this change might have a significant impact.
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Ontario auto insurance reforms highlight the importance of documenting all communications with consumers - even if those communications prove to be entirely one-sided. The 2010 Ontario auto insurance reforms, particularly changes to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, marked the first time in Ontario car insurance history that coverage has actually been taken away. At the same time, auto insurance consumers were faced with an increase in premium for less coverage than previously enjoyed. We can agree on one thing, it's this: paying more for Ontario car insurance is not on anybody's list of Top 10 priorities, especially not after the past three years of economic challenges.
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Ontario residents have not paid more than $1 billion in Provincial Offences Act fines, and one-third of these fines relate to car and auto driving with invalid or false Ontario car insurance cards, according to a white paper released on Nov. 9 by the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB). Will unpaid fines affect the average Ontario car insurance rate?
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Driving your car without winter tires will not void an Ontario car insurance policy in the event of an insurance claim, but in a scenario in which an Ontario auto driver has crashed and winter tires may have helped to avoid it, it may be a deciding factor in determining fault, ICBC said. "Driving without winter tires will not void your Ontario car insurance in the event of a claim or mean that you are automatically at-fault for a crash."
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Ontario car Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) launched a mobile service for its members to assist with productivity and keep brokers organized while on the go. Listen and compose emails while driving, follow me/find me feature allows broker clients to reach, multi-conferencing and toll-free calling are among the many features of this Ontario auto insurance broker service.
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York, Ontario Region police have arrested 14 suspects and laid 145 charges following a three-year investigation into a multi-million dollar fraud ring that allegedly staged Ontario auto collisions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Ontario car insurance division Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)'s vice president of investigative services, Rick Dubin, congratulated York Regional Police for slicing off "another major tentacle of fraud. Organized insurance fraud is big business in Ontario and, specifically, the Toronto GTA, and their crimes drive up the cost of Ontario car insurance for everyone" said Dubin.
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Ontario is cracking down on car insurance and auto insurance fraud to reduce insurance premiums, make roads safer and ensure people who are hurt in car accidents receive the treatment they need. The government is working to ensure auto insurance rates are affordable and that coverage provides Ontario with the best possible protection. Under the McGuinty government, Ontario car insurance rates have risen at a slower pace than inflation, and Ontario's accident benefits remain the most generous in Canada when compared to other provinces with similar auto insurance marketplaces.
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With the average cost of Ontario car and automobile accident injury claims - $56,000 - being about five times higher than the average injury claim in other provinces, Ontario drivers pay much higher car insurance premiums than other Canadian drivers, Auditor General Jim McCarter says in his2011 Annual Report. In the Greater Toronto Area, car insurance fraud is a big problem in Ontario.
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Drivers in poor neighbourhoods pay far more for Ontario auto insurance than in prosperous areas like Rosedale, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath charged Tuesday in calling for a thorough review of the system. “It’s the law in Ontario that you can’t set car insurance rates based on race, religion, income or home ownership,”
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The Liberal government is doing nothing to tackle rampant Ontario auto insurance fraud despite Auditor General Jim MCCarter’s report detailing the cost to Ontario car drivers from the problem, PC MPP Jeff Yurek said Tuesday. The cost of car crashes is rising significantly in the province, even as the number of collisions and injuries declines. No wonder higher Ontario car insurance rates prevail.
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Ontario car insurance drivers have not paid more than $1 billion in Provincial Offences Act fines, and one-third of these fines relate to driving with invalid or false insurance cards. Recommendations to correct this include discounts for early payment and more severe penalties for those who do not pay (including license suspensions or car impoundment). Driving without insurance - for any period of time - can severely hurt your ability to get car insurance in Ontario.
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Drivers in Ontario, Canada, are discovering that due to changes in auto insurance, if their doctors prescribe rehab after a car accident, the associated costs may not be covered by their car insurance policies. The brain injury clinic director from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Donna Ouchterlony, explained that there have been a growing number of declined claims for treatment plans by insurance companies.
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While the Ontario auto insurance industry has loudly proclaimed the pervasiveness of car insurance fraud, it has been quietly leading a battle to deny benefits to the most seriously injured car accident victims. That battle is being waged over the definition of catastrophic impairment. As of September 2010, those seriously but not catastrophically impaired are entitled to reimbursement of medical and rehabilitation benefits to a maximum of only $50,000 and this includes both physical or psychological impairments. Imagine prostheses, wheelchairs, assistance devices, attendant care, housekeeping services, medication expenses, home modifications and other costs all come out of the accident benefit limits. It’s easy to exhaust $50,000 in a hurry. Do you have the right Ontario car insurance coverage?
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TORONTO - Drive carefully — your auto insurance is going up. Just in time for the first snowfall of 2012 comes word the average insurance rates crept up in the last quarter — although some drivers may see more or less of a hike depending on the company they use. The combination has meant drivers continue to pay more for Ontario car insurance than all other provinces. There are ways to save, let us show you how…
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The number of medical treatment claims, as a result of car insurance accidents, being rejected by insurers has soared since September when the Ontario government introduced new rules designed to combat insurance fraud, according to the results of a survey conducted by a group representing medical and rehabilitation providers. Rehabilitation providers found that 42 per cent of requests for treatment are being rejected compared to about 11 per cent last year.
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The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), car insurance watchdog, is seeking help from up to four private dispute resolution companies to help eliminate a backlog of files, estimated to be more than nine months as of May 2011. Hired service contractors to provide arbitration services in order to respond to the expected increase in demand of auto insurance claims.
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Automobile insurance costs in Ontario, and particularly those related to accident
benefits, have risen dramatically over the past several years. A number of
observers believe that fraudulent activity has increased, and that those bent on
defrauding the system are better organized than previously. Much of their evidence
is anecdotal and difficult to prove or to quantify. What can be demonstrated,
however, is that costs have risen faster than can be explained by other factors.
The situation is particularly acute in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
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It was specialized training in identifying staged collisions that allowed an Ontario police officer—who noticed something didn’t look right at the accident scene—to uncover one of the province’s largest Ontario auto insurance fraud rings. Now, all frontline police officers in Canada will have free access throughout 2012 to an online training course on the signs of a staged collision and how to investigate one.
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Police in southern Ontario have arrested six men and laid more than 500 charges in connection to a massive chop shop and insurance fraud racket operating out of Toronto and the Niagara Region.
Five Toronto men and one from the Niagara Region were charged in connection to the theft of 100 stolen vehicles, many of which ended up back on the road after passing fraudulent structural safety inspections. This is the largest fraud ring of its kind in many years. Removing fraud can help in reducing Ontario car insurance rates.
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